Glimpses Of World History
What is the book about?
The book is one of the classics produced by the compilation of 196 letters written by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, to his daughter Indira Gandhi. Through these letters, Nehru gave his daughter a glimpse of world history. Interestingly, the letters were written while Nehru was in jail (consider the depth of knowledge he must have had to share so much of world history).
Who’s it for?
The book is long and recommended for;
- History geeks
- Those interested in world politics
How many pages does the book contain?
The book contains more than 1000 pages (1196 pages to be exact).
Book Review + Reflections
I first encountered this book in one of the bookstores I visited. The book immediately caught my attention. It was the largest book that I saw in the bookstore. I thought to myself, “Who reads such long books?”. The more important question however was, “Who writes such long books?”. It was at this moment, that my eyes took notice of the name of the author. It was Jawahar Lal Nehru, one of the pioneers in the fight for freedom and liberation of India from the colonial forces. Jawahar Lal Nehru was also the first Prime Minister of India. As much as I was shocked to know that he authored such a large book, I was curious to read it.
As I read the very first page, I was left startled. This entire book was a compilation of letters written by Nehru during his time in jail to his daughter, Indira. He also explained how he is writing those letters with limited references and resources to verify. It astonished me how much knowledge and clarity Nehru must have had about the world and its history to write in so much detail with such consistency and clarity.
The book truly gives one a fairly good idea about the entire world history. Nehru adopted the style of explaining the story of all nations within a single time period rather than the usual style of focusing on one nation under several time periods. This gives the reader a sense of how different cultures and people lived and reacted in the same era. Being a letter written to his daughter, the element of love and the pain of separation between the father and the daughter adds lively emotions to the book.
It is not possible to detail the book as it is really large. But reading such a book gives one lot of insights. Firstly, we will end up learning about history. Secondly, we get astonished by the depth of knowledge and clarity of learned people of the past (something that is lacking today). Finally, it reminds us that nations used to be governed by people with such clarity about how the world works during a point in history.