I own this book and I have had the privilege of learning yoga from Mr. Ramaswami even though it was for a brief period of time. The book can not substitute for him, as he is an exceptional teacher but being in the United States, I treasure the book as he has done an extraordinary job in presenting yoga as he has learnt from his Guru. This book is a must have for anyone who wishes to even learn a little about Yoga. Don't go for other superficial books when such a rare gem is made available for us.
I've seen this book reviewed in many reputable places as "also" for beginners, but it is not.
Quality of presentation is also poor -- photographs border on creepy and paper is odd.
Yoga for Your Life (Pierce) and Yoga of Heart (Whitwell) are my 5- and 4-star choices respectively for Vinyasa. The former has excellent sequences; the latter has refreshing philosophy.