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Glimpses of world history
being further letters to his daughter, written in prison, and containing a rambling account of history for young people
First published 1951 · 1420 pages
A sweeping, deeply personal journey through human history, told with the warmth of a father's letters from a prison cell.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting in a quiet room listening to a wise, affectionate elder recount the entire story of humanity. Because it was written as a series of letters to a young daughter from a prison cell, the narrative possesses a uniquely meandering, conversational pace that contrasts beautifully with the massive scope of its subject matter. The mood is deeply reflective and intimate, wrapping vast historical epochs, the rise and fall of empires, and complex political philosophies in a warm, paternal embrace. It is a profoundly humanistic experience, devoid of dry academic detachment, offering instead a passionate, anti-imperialist worldview. This is a perfect read for those who want their world history delivered with soul, philosophical depth, and a deeply personal touch.
- Mood
- reflective
- intimate
- expansive
- contemplative
- Tone
- earnest
- paternal
- philosophical
- affectionate
- didactic
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- the march of civilization · father-daughter bond · anti-imperialism · interconnectedness of humanity · resilience in captivity
- The writing
- Conversational and deeply erudite, blending warm paternal affection with sweeping, accessible historical narrative.
- The arc
- Begins in the quiet isolation of a prison cell and expands outward into a hopeful, sweeping embrace of human resilience and global interconnectedness.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love vast, philosophical histories grounded in a deeply personal, humanistic perspective.
Content notes
- colonialism
- imperialism
- war
- imprisonment
About the book
"On New Year's Day, 1931, Jawaharlal Nehru began a remarkable series of letters on the history of the world to his daughter, Indira [Ghandi], then thirteen years old. Over the next thirty months, Nehru wrote nearly two hundred letters in this series, which were later published as Glimpses of World History. With its panoramic sweep and its gripping narrative flow, all the more remarkable for being written in prison where Nehru had no recourse to reference books or a library, Glimpses of World History covers the rise and fall of empires and civilizations from Greece and Rome to China and West Asia; great figures such as Ashoka and Genghis Khan, Gandhi and Lenin; wars and revolutions, democracies and dictatorships. An enduring classic, this book is dazzling testimony to the breadth of Nehru's world view, his grasp of the lessons of history, and of the forces and personalities that shape it"--Publisher, 2004 reprint.
Written from prison, where he had no recourse to reference books or a library but his personal notes, Glimpses of World History contains the history of humankind from 6000 BCE to the time of writing of the book.
"Revised, to a considerable extent rewritten, and brought up to date to the end of 1938 by the author."--Foreword.
"First American edition."
Description from Open Library.
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