Migrants: The Story of Us All

Product Information

This sets predictable limits on Miller’s work: after a certain passage of time, untold stories generally have to stay that way. Migrants, as a consequence, is uneven. We survey population movements in and out of Britain over the years: a resume of the case for the Viking invasions; a rundown of the Neolithic discovery of America; the horrors of the last slave ship to arrive in the United States. Mythic migrants – Aeneas of Troy, Brutus of Britain – have only walk-on parts. Starting this I was a little worried that it might be one of those books that basically just glorifies traveling and the stupid upper-class liberal belief that everyone needs to "see the world." Being a big advocate for localization and simple living I just have no patience for that idea at this point. Fortunately, though Sam Miller is sort of into a lot of the same things I am and therefore puts a little more of a radical spin on the topic than the typical travelogue.

The trouble with this line of argument is that there are umpteen “natural” reasons why people move about the earth. Humans naturally consume and lay waste to their immediate environment. Humans naturally overbreed. HumansMigrants cuts through the toxic debates to tell the rich and collective stories of humankind’s urge to move. Alas, neither did they write. Nor did the Roma, until the 19th century; nor did the (very literate) Chinese of Victorian London. Migrants rarely find time to write, and where first-person accounts are missing, fantasy is bred. Some of it ( Asterix) is charming, some of it ( Fu Manchu) is anything but. Briefs for the defence are thin on the ground. Nomads and seasonal migrants made up a majority of human beings over most of time, but literate society meant, nearly always, settled society. What emerges from this onion of a book (fascinating digressions around no detectable centre), is, however, more than sufficient compensation. We have here the seed of an enticing and potentially more influential project: a modern history that treats the modern nation state – pretending to self-reliance behind ever-more-futile barriers – as but a passing political arrangement, and not always a very useful one. Miller thinks that humans naturally emigrate, and our unease about this is the result of pastoralism, cities, and other historical accidents.

While I personally haven’t read up much on the world history of migration, I can say that I have read about what the author has to say in India’s context. The author does write that the arguments of the Aryan Invasionists and migrationists were pretty flimsy, and even recognises the theories of the two extremes. But then the author gives merit to Tony Joseph and his 2018 work Early Indians which basically claims AIT/AMT. Whereas many historians such as Abhijeet Chawda have debunked Joseph’s book and his so called research. Chawda wrote a rebuttal, arguing that the peer review process is flawed and that it being published in a oeer reviewed journal does not automatically endow a research paper with credibility , Josephs research is based misrepresenting the datings on the expansions. So I would not take this part of the book by Miller too seriously. But as Migrants goes on – and Miller retraces the migrations that made him – it becomes evident that the effort, if not wasted, is attachment to sedentary life. Migrants left a lasting impression on me. Through its engaging narrative and authentic writing, it powerfully depicts the challenges and triumphs of those who embark on the migratory journey. Sam Miller's ability to humanize the experiences of migrants is a testament to his talent as a writer. This book serves as a poignant reminder of the shared struggles and resilience that define our common humanity. Tremendous: blends the personal and the panoramic to great effect' Robert Winder, author of Bloody Foreigners Migrants: The Story of us all by Sam Miller is an insightful and thought-provoking book that delves into the history of human migration. The author explores the concept of migration from its earliest origins to the present day, highlighting the role it has played in shaping our societies and cultures.Miller himself knows identity’s appurtenances (genes, heritage, family and ethnic histories) are always contingent. None of that abates his desire for it. ‘I’ve never really felt at home in England, as if I didn’t belong there,’ he writes. He surmises ‘that I was born into the wrong nation’. He’s what George Steiner called a luftmensch, the common culprit-victim of modernity, resident everywhere, nowhere at home. His own travels – migrating, swallow-light, across the globe for work – provide solace but no solution. Migrants by Sam Miller is a captivating walk through that delves into the theme of migration. As an avid reader interested in stories that shed light on the human experience, I was drawn to this book's exploration of some interesting topics. It’s a powerful thing to have the earth for your mother. This was, Athenians told each other, their heritage and their unique gift. Alone of the peoples of the ancient Aegean, wrote Plato, the children of Athens could claim to be autochthonous, earth-born, living always in one place, ‘truly dwelling in the land’. Timely and empathetic: a rare combination on this most controversial issue' Remi Adekoya, author of Biracial Britain