Hitchhiking to India in 1962

John Waller was born in Hythe, Kent in 1940 and was evacuated. After Cambridge University, he trained as an engineer at IBM and set up and ran a successful computer company in 1969. In 1970, he and his Danish wife built a minute house in Corfu, where he has written his seven non-fiction books after his retirement in 1999. He was Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Twickenham in 1979, 1983 and 1987.

• INTRODUCTION 1.'DON'T MENTION THE WAR' 2.WESTERN EUROPE BEFORE SCHENGEN 3.YUGOSLAVIA AND SECRET POLICE 4.GREECE, OCCUPATION AND CIVIL WAR 5.ISTANBUL, TURKS AND GREEKS 6.TURKEY AND ARMENIANS 7.IRAN TO TEHRAN AFTER CIA COUP 8.SOUTH IRAN OR AFGHANISTAN? 9.ANDREW ON TURKEY AND PERSIA 10.PAKISTAN AND PARTITION 11.AMRITSAR AND THE SIKHS 12.DELHI, TEA WITH INDIRA GANDHI 13.AGRA, AJANTA, ELLORA AND ON 14.BOMBAY AT LAST 15.HOMEWARD UP THE PERSIAN GULF 16.INDIA FIFTY YEARS ON 17.THE BALKANS IN 2015 AND REFUGEES 18.3 DAYS THAT SAVED THE EURO 19.LIFE IN A FINANCIAL GREEK TRAGEDY

Vince Cable: This is a really interesting piece of work which blends personal anecdote and adventure with the history and politics of the places visited on an epic journey. We are reminded that today's tourist traps in the Balkans and Turkey, not to mention the Punjab, have a terrible history. But the kindness of the people that hitch-hikers have to trust shines through as does the strength of the friendship of John and Andrew who made this journey of a lifetime.