A perfect mix of travel writing and history. Dalrymple both takes you on a tour of Dehli, meeting a wonderful set of characters, but also takes you back in time to the various 'ages' of the city. Although always able and eager to satisfy his curiousity he is maintaining an almost 'fly-on-the-wall' kind of distance to his subject. Never critizing, never judging, but without being reserved or distant.

This was exactly the kind of book I was looking for when I wanted to read more about India.