The letters on history are sprinkled with contemporary and personal events, things that happened to himself or his friends, colleagues or family members.

Nehru stated in his preface that The Outline of History by English writer H. G. Wells was a major influence on the work.

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.

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.

"[5] A review by International Affairs describes it as "pleasant chatty", including "reflections on philosophy and politics" that make it an "extraordinarily agreeable book".

[6] In 1960, Saul K. Padover created an abridged version of the book, called Nehru on World History, which was published by John Day Company.