Eschewing any discussion of the life of the elites, Henderson (sociology and anthropology, Rutgers U.) devotes separate chapters to various aspects of the cultural life of the "common" people of India. After a brief overview of the history and economy of the South Asian nation, she presents chapters on India's religions, world views, arts and literature, landscape and architecture, food and dress, gender and family life, festivals and leisure activities, music and dance, and social customs and lifestyles. For a nation with such stunning diversity as India, any treatment of this length is necessarily somewhat superficial. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)