"This has a lot of good information, but I didn't love the style in which it was written. I felt like it was more one person's perspective of and experience in India (with basic research added to make it more academic) than an objective overview. It has a pretty casual tone which in some ways is nice because it's more entertaining than a dry style, but in other ways it was a little much for me.

I skimmed or skipped a couple sections that weren't relevant to my purposes like how to set up a house for long term stays (and how to manage household staff) and tips for doing business in India.

This book covers a wide range of topics, but I got the feeling that other than some general information, a lot of it was coming from the author's own experience which seemed to skew the way the information was presented and limit her in what she could speak authoritatively on.

I did appreciate that the author had an overall positive view of India, but, at the same time, wasn't shy about giving information about some of the difficulties or hardships you might encounter there.

I learned a lot of interesting things about India and I think this would be a good reference book, especially if you were planning to go there long-term. It's pretty easy to read and has a nice reference section in the back with quick facts about India, language helps and further reading recommendations. It's worth reading, but it felt more like a "Girlfriend's Guide to India" than an objective travel guide. "