This was the wrong book to read prior to my trip to India. All of the fantastic stories that the author relates seem to end with, "these wonderful sights/monuments/environments/people have all been completely destroyed, and nothing is left except worthless ruins". He makes Delhi seem like a wasteland, all the more disgusting and pathetic in light of its former splendor. The only positive of this book is that the stories he relates are interesting. In short, this book was a major downer.