Rating: 
Summary: A very good collection of information
Review: I happen to be an Indian and bought this book to have a better idea of my country.I am impressed by the coverage of the book. It covers a lot of ground and the collection of maps is really good... from the Golconda Fort to Kanyakumari city.There is the element of humour in the writings.... makes it all the more interesting. As others have written, prices change.. esp in a country like India. The hotel rates etc. have risen. Be aware of that fact. A great buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't make India sound too great!
Review: I just returned from a month in India, traveling with both the Lonely Planet (9th ed.) and Rough Guide (3rd ed.) If you are considering a long trip across the breadth of India, I would strongly suggest taking BOTH books. The Lonely Planet is great for practical details (train times, phone numbers, etc.) but spends too much space reviewing individual restaurants and hotels. Even though the book tops out over 1000 pages, the sections devoted to actually explaining the sights and the wonderful culture and history of India are very short. In contrast, the Rough Guide spends much more space discussing the background and culture of individual locations, and is packed with lots of interesting details not found in the Lonely Planet. The RG spends less space on restaurant/hotel reviews, which was perfectly fine - I'd rather know more about the places I'm visiting than worry how much chicken shahjani costs at some particular restaurant. The tone and approach of the books are different too - the RG takes a much more optimistic, romantic view of India, while the LP is often so terse and cynical that it doesn't really inspire you to visit many wonderful places. Get the LP for the listings. Get the RG to appreciate the beauty of India.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it all before you go (but don't take it all with you)
Review: I used the 98 edition while travelling in Sept/Oct 99 and found it extremely informative even though the prices were outdated. Prices may change overnight but 1,000 year-old temple ruins probably won't. It did seem as though every other traveler (and hotel owner and rickshaw driver...) owned a copy, yet it provided an excellent orientation to the places I visited and served as a great reference tool for further exploration. The maps were better than anything I found locally and the cultural info was very helpful. The book is bulky/heavy but tearing out key sections can easily solve this. I cut my book in half this way and got lots of envious stares from others lugging their entire LP or Rough Guide around and actually referring to maybe a third of it. Get this book, get the LP Hindi-Urdu phrase book, but skip the LP travel atlas unless you want to walk across India.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone's obsessed with Lonely Planet!
Review: I was in India earlier this year and as it was my first trip out of my own country I made the mistake of presuming that the Lonely Planet guide would be the best as it is the best known. After struggling with it for a few weeks, I pretty much stopped using it. My criticisms of it would include - poor maps and outdated information on things such as banks and costs. These are not things that particulaly bothered me after I had worked out that The Lonely Planet wasn't actually a bible, but just a tool for travel. I think the Lonely Planets biggist problem is that everyone has a copy and is out there doing exactly the same thing as everyone else. In parts of India such as Calcutta, Darjeeling and Sikkim, this wasn't such an issue because there were'nt so many tourists. The hotels I stayed at were generally how they were described in "The Book" , the prices were right and the people unaffected and friendly. Sometimes I was the only westerner staying in a hotel. But the places that were unaffected were few and far between. Most places I would go the Indians were all obsessed with the power the Lonely Planet had over travellers. For example, In Agra, there has been a sceme going where a resturant will purposely poison a tourist and then get a cut from the hospital from the unfortunate victims travel insurance. This is good advice and I must admit that I didn't risk eating at any other place other than that recommended, but the Indians had taken full advantage of this and all the resturants were incredibly expensive as a result. While this is not a direct fault of Lonely Planets I would definately suggest getting a lesser known guide, such as The Rough Guide, so that you don't spend your whole trip surrounded by Lonely Planet readers.
Rating:
Summary: Some of this, some of that
Review: I'm a little amused by the number of reviews, both for and against this book... I'd just like to say that, while a great number of people regard this book as a precious object, it doesn't mean that it's automatically the most horrible trendy thing ever. I like to go against the flow as much as the next "rebel" but LP's India guide is very helpful to someone who has never been to India before. Everyone has it -- so what! It must be good, then... The book is large and full of information, a great place to start, even if you don't want to haul it along.
Rating:
Summary: the hippie's bible for India
Review: It's both amazing and pathetic how many rucksack travelers to India follow every word of this book as if it were some holy scripture. So many travelers spend their all of their time with their noses in this book, trying to fill every last moment following each and every step recommended by the book. In the meantime, all too often, they fail to experience India itself. Such devotion to a travel guide is a bizarre phenomenon. Without a doubt, this book is an indispensible guide for those who truly need assistance in knowing on which Bombay street corner they should tie their shoe laces. There's too much chit chat and lame humour in this book (although, granted, it evidently appeals to some). To the book's credit, there are some nice city layouts and state maps. However, for travelers who prefer information without all of the weak attempts at humor and for those who prefer to make their own opinions rather than to blindly follow someone else's words, I would wholeheartedly recommend Robert Bradnock's India Handbook. I've traveled India with both books, and clearly Bradnock's is, in my opinion, the superior of the two.
Rating:
Summary: useful tool
Review: Lonely planet provied you with a good resouces to navigate through this difficult country. IT provides you with toold such as phone numbers and how to book plane and train tickets. It also gives a great deal of information about history, culture and religion of the India. In addition, it also gives a lot of do and don'ts and what to watch out for.
Rating: 
Summary: an exhaustive but not too accurate book
Review: lp's book on india is a must for westerners travelling for the first time to india. the book covers everything a tourist needs to know - including (and this is stressed all too often) all the negative things about india. as an indian, i find the book not very accurate, and at times misleading. but it certainly caters to the holier-than-thou attitude of most tourists from usa and some western europian countries who visit india - more often than not to find faults than appreciate a different culture!
Rating:
Summary: No one guide has it all....
Review: One should never rely on just one source for a major adventure, as any trip to India is, and this very complete guide is no exception. This guide has excellent information on the history, culture and people of India, and the color section on Sacred India is a nice touch. It has lots of very practical information on what to bring, what you can and can't photograph, what to read before you go, how to avoid "cultural misunderstandings." It's helpful for preparing people for the assault Westerners often experience--ask for directions and you have a friend/guide for life, often accompanied by a very aggressive demand for money. The health and safety information is also pretty good--except that they say that tap water in cities is OK to drink--ignore this advice! I find this guide limited in its retaurant and hotel selections, especially if you're not a low-budget or student traveller. Also, information changes constantly--internet cafes spring up and close overnight, new restaurants and hotels open up every day, and the political situation bears watching up until the day you leave. And of course no guide book has really good maps. But why limit yourself--the internet is chock full of information on this wonderful, confusing, fascinating country!
Rating:
Summary: All-Star
Review: spent 5 weeks in many dif regions in India. Very impressed by the details from the book in rural towns. The book may be a bit bulky, but pays off in effectiveness. A must have!
| 
