Presents the facts of Sanskrit language primarily as they show themselves in use in literature, and only secondarily as they laid down by the native grammarians.
Nothing reveals the bankruptcy of the once widely-held distinction of the rational west and the mystical east as clearly as a thorough and systematic study of Sanskrit.
Not a bad introductory textbook. The explanations are long and technical, while examples are relatively few (compared to Deshpande's Sanskrit Primer). Probably too difficult for self-study, but very nice when used along with a tutor or classroom practice.
He introduces sandhi early on, which seems impossibly challenging at first, but turns out to be very nice because one starts to get used to it right away. I also enjoyed the readings, which retell part of the story of the Rāmāyaṇa, culminating with a passage from the original text.