Glimpses of World History

196 letters written from British prisons between 1930 and 1933 to Nehru’s daughter Indira, sketching world history from memory with almost no reference books to hand.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “best history book” thread. A world history composed in a cell by a future prime minister — and one written deliberately from outside the European centre.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @typesfast asking “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet).

Connections

• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• India — the author’s country, and the reason he was in prison while writing it.