India is a country that fascinates me and I was looking forward to Mehta's book to help me understand more about the country. It does do that but her writing also assumes that you already know a lot about the history of the country, which, I admit, I don't. At times, this makes it frustrating to read. Also, as I know realize the book is 11 years old, I wonder how much of what she writes still holds true today. In any case, part four of the book, which told more about the culture and general life in India, was the most interesting. I'd look to a different source for a history of India as detailed in many of the earlier chapters of the book.