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{{short description|Book by Jawaharlal Nehru}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Glimpses of World History
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Glimpses of World History book cover.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption =
| author = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| genre = History
| publisher = [[Penguin Books]]
| pub_date =1934
| english_pub_date =
| pages = 1192
| isbn = 978-0-19-562360-4
| oclc = 21227307
}}
'''''Glimpses of World History''''' is a book published by [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in 1934. The book is subtitled ''Being further letters to his daughter, written in prison, and containing a rambling account of history for young people''.

== Context ==

It is a collection of 196 letters on [[world history]] written between 1930–1933 in various prisons in [[British India]]: [[Naini Central Prison|Naini]] and [[Bareilly Central Jail|Bareilly]] prisons as well as at [[Dehradun]]; two letters were written aboard an Italian steamer in the Arabian sea.

The letters were addressed to his young daughter [[Indira Gandhi|Indira]] and were meant to introduce her to world history.<ref name=Mehrotra1990>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4_O8ZlGzkEC&q=glimpses|title=Nehru: Man Among Men|last=Mehrotra|first=Raja R.|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1990|isbn=978-81-7099-196-0|page=172}}</ref>
They were a continuation of the letters he sent to her in 1928, which were published as ''[[Letters from a Father to His Daughter]]''.

The letters start off with one he sends to his daughter on her birthday. He says he is sad about not being able to send her any "material" gift from prison, so he would try to give her something he can "afford", a series of letters from his heart.

As it was written in different prisons, he had little recourse to reference books or a library but his personal notes.

The letters were not actually sent to his daughter and he kept them until his release from prison in 1933.

== Content ==

The letters on history are sprinkled with contemporary and personal events, things that happened to himself or his friends, colleagues or family members. At times the style is that of an intimate conversation with his daughter, who is at [[Anand Bhavan]], in which he also anticipates her reactions and the feelings she might have when reading it. At other times he "provided a profoundly philosophical interpretation of world history".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/leonard-mosley-12/nehru-on-world-history-glimpses-of-world-histor-2/|title = Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction}}</ref>

Some letters are written on a daily basis and some have gaps in between of weeks and even months.
Nehru stated in his preface that ''[[The Outline of History]]'' by English writer [[H. G. Wells]] was a major influence on the work. The book contains important aspects of the history of humankind from [[Ancient Greece]] (letter 6) to the time of writing the book, when Nehru anticipated a new major conflict arising (letter 195). In later editions, Nehru added notes at the end of some letters on 20th century events, with updates made in November 1938, as well as a postscript. According to an article by Arun Sharma for the ''[[National Herald]]'', "Nehru’s books reveal the thinker, philosopher and a historian in him", with ''Glimpses of World History'' advocating for "a composite world view of history." Sharma writes that Nehru believed "history should be taught and understood as the story of human civilization as it developed in various parts of the world."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/a-tribute-to-nehru-the-literary-statesman-on-his-death-anniversary|title=A tribute to Nehru, the 'Literary Statesman', on his death anniversary|date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

It could be considered as one of the first attempts at historiography from a non-[[Eurocentrism|Eurocentric]] angle, or as an "Oriental interpretation of man's progress."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1942-10-01/glimpses-world-history|title=Glimpses of World History|date=8 October 2011}}</ref> In particular, his letters on [[Genghis Khan]] and [[Mongol invasions and conquests|Mongol conquests]] rrancounter to predominant European conceptions of the period. Prefacing his introduction to the [[Mongol empire]], which Nehru notes was larger than the [[British Empire]] and lasted as long, he wrote that "It would be foolish not to recognize the greatness of Europe. But it would be equally foolish to forget the greatness of Asia." And he goes on to state: "[[Genghis Khan|Genghis]] is, without doubt, the greatest military genius and leader in history.... [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] and [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] seem petty before him." According to American historian [[Jack Weatherford]], this was possibly the first re-evaluation of the Mongol empire since the 18th century.<ref name=Weatherford2004>[[Jack Weatherford|Weatherford, Jack]] (2004). ''[[Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World]]''. Three Rivers Press. p. 44. {{ISBN|0-609-80964-4}}</ref> Editions from 1939 onwards included 50 maps designed by British cartoonist [[J. F. Horrabin]].{{fact|date=December 2021}}

==Reception==

The ''[[New York Times]]'' described it as: "[...] one of the most remarkable books ever written [...]. Nehru makes even H.G. Wells seem singularly insular [...]. One is awed by the breadth of Nehru's culture."<ref name=PenguinBooks>http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Bookdetail.aspx?bookId=1954 Penguin Books India: Book Detail.</ref>

A review by ''[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]]'' describes it as "pleasant chatty", including "reflections on philosophy and politics" that make it an "extraordinarily agreeable book".<ref>International Affairs, Volume 18, Issue 6, November/December 1939, Page 826, https://doi.org/10.2307/3019545</ref>
In 1960, [[Saul K. Padover]] created an abridged version of the book, called ''Nehru on World History'', which was published by [[John Day Company]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/06/05/archives/the-pandit-and-the-past-nehru-on-world-historycondensed-by-saul-k.html|title=The Pandit and the Past; NEHRU ON WORLD HISTORY.Condensed by Saul K. Padover from "Glimpses of World History." by Jawaharlal Nehru. 304 pp. New York: The John Day Company. $5.|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 June 1960|last1=Muller|first1=Herbert J.}}</ref>

==Sources==
* Nehru, Jawaharlal. ''Glimpses of World History.'' Penguin Books India. {{ISBN|0-670-05818-1}}

==See also==
* ''[[Letters from a Father to His Daughter]]'' (1928)
Also written during Nehru's imprisonments:
* ''[[An Autobiography (Nehru)|An Autobiography]]'' (1936)
* ''[[The Discovery of India]]'' (1942–46)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glimpses Of World History}}
[[Category:1934 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:20th-century history books]]
[[Category:Universal history books]]
[[Category:Books by Jawaharlal Nehru]]
[[Category:Prison writings]]
[[Category:Collections of letters]]

==External links==
*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.108462/page/n5 ''Glimpses of World History'']. Asia Publishing House (1934)
{{Jawaharlal Nehru}}

Glimpses of World History - Revision history

->AnomieBOT at 05:42, 28 December 2021