As a travelogue, this book is out of date (Iver's chronicle takes place in the 1980s). Author is obviously well educated, well traveled, and the book is well written; however, the book is very tedious in many places (I realize the chapter on Indian cinema was meant to serve as insight to Indian culture, but really--47 friggin pages?). Saying that, I was glad I read it and it did whet my appetite for our planned round the world trip.