Home in the World: A Memoir
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- Create Date：2022-01-25 17:21:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Amartya Sen
- ISBN：1324091614
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Reviews
JUSTIN JOS
，
The book was a reminder for me to consider doctoral studies as a beginning of an academic career。 The book highlights Dr。 Sen's early life。 It is clear that Dr。 Sen came from a very privileged background but he used it to become more knowledgeable。 Dr。 Sen writes about a history which I do not know of。 He finished his PhD in 1950s。 My father was not even born in the 1950s。 It is about a different time where things were different。 The book takes you to a different time and it is nice to read abou The book was a reminder for me to consider doctoral studies as a beginning of an academic career。 The book highlights Dr。 Sen's early life。 It is clear that Dr。 Sen came from a very privileged background but he used it to become more knowledgeable。 Dr。 Sen writes about a history which I do not know of。 He finished his PhD in 1950s。 My father was not even born in the 1950s。 It is about a different time where things were different。 The book takes you to a different time and it is nice to read about his journey。 So jealous， that he got appointed as a Professor at 23 at Jadavpur University！ 。。。more
Pavan Korada
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Fascinating account of not just the leading economist of our times but a glimpse into the social life of an elite section （Upper Caste-Upper Class） of India。 I'm glad that Dr。 Sen allowed himself to be poetic， demonstrated in some few elegant turns of phrases。 This book also lays out his major themes of economic and philosophical work including social choice theory and realisation-based ideas of justice。 The chapter on Karl Marx is one of the most lucid analysis of his ideas I have ever come acr Fascinating account of not just the leading economist of our times but a glimpse into the social life of an elite section （Upper Caste-Upper Class） of India。 I'm glad that Dr。 Sen allowed himself to be poetic， demonstrated in some few elegant turns of phrases。 This book also lays out his major themes of economic and philosophical work including social choice theory and realisation-based ideas of justice。 The chapter on Karl Marx is one of the most lucid analysis of his ideas I have ever come across。 Other minor interests of his including Sanskrit， identity and， most importantly， Buddhism which have been discussed in enough detail。 One disappointment is that for all his intellectual and moral commitment to the problem of inequality， there is very little discussion about the strictly social aspect of inequality in the Indian context， that is， Caste; more so considering his other major interest Buddhism， which was as much a rebellion against social inequity （read Caste System） as it was a tussle with the major metaphysical debates of the time。 I felt the book ended abruptly。 It ends when Dr。 Sen was 30 years old。 He is 88 now。 I hope there is another part coming up soon about the remaining 58 years， at least。 Strongly recommend。 。。。more
Patrick Kabanda
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Simply put， this is a profound book。
Nikolai
，
Die Autobiografie von einer Person， die mich schon immer beeindruckt hat: Amartya Sen。 Gut geschrieben， die Details über seine Kindheit in Indien und seine Laufbahn als Economics-Student im Cambridge der Nachkriegszeit geben einen schönen Einblick。 Es empfiehlt sich ein gewisses Grundwissen im Bereich der Ökonomie， grundsätzlich aber auch so gut lesbar。
Vinayak Bhardwaj
，
Too beautiful， a most cherished read。 Amartya Sen's is a life to behold: at the confluence of so many important intellectual， political and economic trends about which his humane and fearsome intellect has had so much to say。 Thank you Amartya-Da for this excellent memoir。 Too beautiful， a most cherished read。 Amartya Sen's is a life to behold: at the confluence of so many important intellectual， political and economic trends about which his humane and fearsome intellect has had so much to say。 Thank you Amartya-Da for this excellent memoir。 。。。more
Lilisa
，
A significant contributor to the field of economics， Amartya Sen’s weighty memoir delves deep into his memory bank to give the reader insights into his home in the world。 Much of the book harkens back to his childhood in Dhaka， Mandalay， Calcutta， and Santiniketan， as well as his early formative years in school and university。 I found the early parts interesting as Sen describes his family’s association with the Nobel Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and Tagore’s significant contribution and in A significant contributor to the field of economics， Amartya Sen’s weighty memoir delves deep into his memory bank to give the reader insights into his home in the world。 Much of the book harkens back to his childhood in Dhaka， Mandalay， Calcutta， and Santiniketan， as well as his early formative years in school and university。 I found the early parts interesting as Sen describes his family’s association with the Nobel Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and Tagore’s significant contribution and influence on Bengal and India on numerous fronts。 Tagore’s groundbreaking philosophy on education and the cultural world were key factors in Sen’s education and outlook。 They left an indelible stamp on the author。 Also noteworthy is Sen’s focus on the struggle for India’s independence and the challenges of religious strife in a secular India， stirred constantly by politicians for their gain。 I particularly appreciated his ability to convey how people of different religions in India do live in harmony most of the time， despite the fact that we tend to frequently hear more about religious acrimony and conflict。 He waxed eloquently about his line of work， what influenced his thinking and approach， and his path to success。 From a writing style perspective， I found the book to be excruciatingly bogged down in overly minute details， a laundry list of names of who’s who in what seemed like every encounter he had in his entire life。 It felt like he wanted to acknowledge everyone he’d ever met or was testing himself on how many people he could remember going back to his childhood days， which works for him， but not to me， the reader。 Overall I found the book interesting in some parts， in others， not so much。 Many thanks to the author， publisher， and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book。 。。。more
Farhan Hossain
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Learnt so much of what it means to be a bangali。 Paradigm shifting experience in my life。
Meema
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Home in the World is the wonderful title of Amartya Sen's first autobiography。The title is in itself an homage to Tagore's Home and the World， which was also immortalized by Satyajit Ray's later movie。 A taste of what is to come。 I was glued from thence。Written with the full force of his usual wit， in this wholesome book， Dr Sen captures some of the very early influences on his thinking and life's work。 It is particularly great for people with an interest in India， as the periods between thirtie Home in the World is the wonderful title of Amartya Sen's first autobiography。The title is in itself an homage to Tagore's Home and the World， which was also immortalized by Satyajit Ray's later movie。 A taste of what is to come。 I was glued from thence。Written with the full force of his usual wit， in this wholesome book， Dr Sen captures some of the very early influences on his thinking and life's work。 It is particularly great for people with an interest in India， as the periods between thirties and early fifties in the subcontinent is chronicled through a child's memory supplemented by an adult's analysis。 Readers familiar with Dr Sen's non-academic writing will be happy to find scrupulous details about important influences and repeated subject matters- Tagore， Shantiniketan， Sanskrit， Adam Smith， justice， inequality and more。 It was particularly enjoyable to read about his University days，as I suspect most memoirs about University days would be。 There is a lot of details and warm regard for two of his teachers at Cambridge and this section is great for anyone with an interest in academia。 I was pleasantly surprised to read about his political convictions in more detail and a whole chapter is dedicated to the complex question of what to make of Marx。 The book finishes as he is starting a job at Delhi School of Economics in the early sixties， leaving more to be wanted。 Inspired by one of many lessons this great philosopher taught me over the years， I will utilise no singular identity to identify with the remarkable answer this book provides to humanity's age-old question "who am I " or আমি কোথা থেকে আসলাম？Purchased new from @booktopiabooks Book I have been directed to from this book: The importance of being Awkward by Tam Dalyell 。。。more
Katy
，
I received my copy free through Goodreads Giveaways
Abhinav Anand
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It is a beautiful journey through Amartya Sens's life， not limited to his personal accounts but expanding on those ideas that encompass India and the world。 The fascinating journey is eloquently sewn with intellectual exposition。 It is a beautiful journey through Amartya Sens's life， not limited to his personal accounts but expanding on those ideas that encompass India and the world。 The fascinating journey is eloquently sewn with intellectual exposition。 。。。more
Ujval Nanavati
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What a sublime read。 What an insight into a truly great mind。Sen is a wonderful person， economist， and as this memoir shows， a fabulous and entertaining writer as well。 Growing up in a crazy period （30s and 40s undivided India） shapes a person very differently。 More so if it is in a place like Bengal， which in that time saw much that was very good and very bad about this place。 Add to that a few formative years in the influence of Tagore， and you have a heady mix。By the time he was 30， Sen had p What a sublime read。 What an insight into a truly great mind。Sen is a wonderful person， economist， and as this memoir shows， a fabulous and entertaining writer as well。 Growing up in a crazy period （30s and 40s undivided India） shapes a person very differently。 More so if it is in a place like Bengal， which in that time saw much that was very good and very bad about this place。 Add to that a few formative years in the influence of Tagore， and you have a heady mix。By the time he was 30， Sen had probably lived a fuller life than most people do in a 100 years。 He is now 88 and going strong。 What an influence this man has been on development economics。 A gem。 Most fitting that he and the person who named him have Nobels to their name。Do get this book and read and re-read it。 。。。more
Arun Pandiyan
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This year I undertook a reading marathon of the books written by Dr。 Amartya Sen。 As I was finishing his previous literature one by one， curiosity filled me as to how such a novel approach to philosophy and economics was developed by Dr。 Sen which was heavily in contrast to the approach of his contemporary counterparts。 Much of his previous works had emphasized his relationship with Rabindranath Tagore and his formative years in Santiniketan as the root cause for his intellectual valor。 As I wai This year I undertook a reading marathon of the books written by Dr。 Amartya Sen。 As I was finishing his previous literature one by one， curiosity filled me as to how such a novel approach to philosophy and economics was developed by Dr。 Sen which was heavily in contrast to the approach of his contemporary counterparts。 Much of his previous works had emphasized his relationship with Rabindranath Tagore and his formative years in Santiniketan as the root cause for his intellectual valor。 As I waited patiently for the autobiography this year， when his memoir was first released， I quickly grabbed a copy of it and began reading。 In the backdrop of the 1934 earthquake with Bihar as its epicenter， tremors were felt in Kolkata where baby Amartya Sen was merrily asleep when his family was seeking protection。 This incident was the first-ever memory of his childhood， as told by his grandparents。 For the people who have read Tagore’s rebuttal to Gandhi’s proclamation that this earthquake was an act of God to punish the sinners， Dr。 Sen’s journey begins right there。 Much of this memoir has captivating references to Tagore's work and how the Santiniketan shaped Dr。 Sen’s intellect in his childhood。 At this time of ever-growing narrow-mindedness and parochialism， reading Dr。 Sen’s school life in Santiniketan makes us believe that true open-mindedness begins from exploring the world without letting it cloaked by jingoism and identity， rather by letting in tolerance， acceptance， and curiosity。 As the narration moves forward to his days in Presidency College， Dr。 Sen had penned relevant chapters on the history of West Bengal， Bengali， and Bangladesh starting from early India to the Battle of Plassey， followed by the rise of left-wing politics within the freedom movement and finally to the murderous Bengal Famine。 Even though he identifies himself as an atheist， his grandfather Kshitimohan Sen’s profound impact on him in the subject of Hinduism/Charvaka epistemology/Lokayata is yet another factor that molded Sen’s approach to Justice through the lens of Nyaay and Niti， which later got published in 2008。 Throughout the narration， Dr。 Sen makes the reader believe in two things: （a） his commitment to secularism from an early age and （b） his deep interest in seeing the world as a curator than as a clash of civilization or power struggle between the classes。 As far as I understood， this was due to the presence of multi-party adherents within his family， his multicultural connections in Santiniketan， and his conscious distance from active political engagements。 Astonishingly， when he turned twenty-three， he was ready to submit his Ph。D。 thesis and has agreed to set up the economics department at Jadavpur University。 Yet another interesting narration was on his willingness to try philosophy after economics when he quickly changed his domain working on philosophical arguments by continuing the idea from Kennet Arrow’s Social Choice Theory interlinking it with economics to further create a new field termed as welfare economics， which as a subject was though initially rejected by American Universities， but was later awarded Nobel Prize for it。 There is a particular chapter in the book titled 'What to make of Marx' which developed a rather peculiar interest in me to read a bit more of Karl Marx in the coming days， especially after reading Sen’s citation of the ‘Critique of the Gotha Program’ referring to Marx’s commitment to multiple identities， free speech， and liberty which the later communist powers failed to recognize and present post-modernists fail to promote。 This memoir was too small to hold all the names of men and women who influenced Amartya Sen， starting from Tagore in his childhood to his landlady with an aversion for brown people who later became a strong proponent of racial equality。 But this memoir is dense in detailing and carries sprinkles of wisdom from a wise man who learned his lessons from multiple people as he navigated his life。 Reading Amartya Sen had always ignited a passion for intellectual arguments in me that I can quickly point to him as an inspiration for my interests in economics， moral philosophy， and ethics。 There were many life lessons one could take from this memoir。 Firstly， it had deep insights on diverse subjects explained lucidly by a man who self-diagnosed his cancer at the age of eighteen with a few oncology books borrowed from the city library。 Secondly， it inspires one to learn， learn more， and learn without boundaries from everyone from the narration of a self-proclaimed atheist who took his idea of Justice from Indian origin religious texts and epics。 Finally， it persuades us to view the world as our home as Tagore once persuaded Dr。 Sen with his “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls”。 。。。more
Atreyo Mitra
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A fascinating history of a fascinating person， who believes in equality， integration， and mutual respect for humankind。 The book transcends the confines of a memoir and takes the reader through a journey across countries， continents， schools of thought， and ever developing ideas in economics and philosophy。 The book for me primarily questions the understanding of one's identity， and allowing space for multiple identities to coexist together instead of falling into the trap of viewing it through A fascinating history of a fascinating person， who believes in equality， integration， and mutual respect for humankind。 The book transcends the confines of a memoir and takes the reader through a journey across countries， continents， schools of thought， and ever developing ideas in economics and philosophy。 The book for me primarily questions the understanding of one's identity， and allowing space for multiple identities to coexist together instead of falling into the trap of viewing it through a narrow and singular lens。 Hopefully， someday， the world will come together。 。。。more
Rupesh
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Waiting for part 2。。
Nirmal Ghimire
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Something to learn about the Nobel laureate。
Ingrid
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This memoir spans the sweep of Amartya Sen’s life from his childhood in Burma， what is now Bangladesh and Shantiniketan in West Bengal through his academic life in Kolkata， Cambridge （England）， Cambridge （Massachusetts）， Stanford and his return to India in the early 1960s。 It spans an era that includes the Bengal famine， the Japanese attack on India’s border in World War II， India’s independence and the violence of Partition that followed， the rise of Communism through to the creation of post-wa This memoir spans the sweep of Amartya Sen’s life from his childhood in Burma， what is now Bangladesh and Shantiniketan in West Bengal through his academic life in Kolkata， Cambridge （England）， Cambridge （Massachusetts）， Stanford and his return to India in the early 1960s。 It spans an era that includes the Bengal famine， the Japanese attack on India’s border in World War II， India’s independence and the violence of Partition that followed， the rise of Communism through to the creation of post-war welfare states and the beginnings of European unification。 It shares in intimate， at times excessive， detail his family relationships and his wide and eclectic range of academic and social relationships and illuminates the roots of his liberal， cosmopolitan views。 It traces the evolution of his thought - economic， political and philosophical - and the many influences that shaped it。 A fascinating read， if long， with wonderful insights into a great life that embodies great erudition across domains and strength of conviction grounded in values of equity， liberty and dignity with a love of argumentation， deep empathy， an openness to contrary points of view and grace under fire。 。。。more
Inês
，
When I read aloud that passage from Smith in a lecture at the D-school， I remember the relief- and indeed the thrill- that could be detected from the class。 My students in Delhi may not have know much about people from the coast of Afica， but there was an immediate solidarity with ill-treated human beings from far away as well as nearby。 They were not persuaded by Smith’s words; they took pride in them。
Shakil Akther
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A wonderful read。 Like all other Sen's books， it is easy to read。 I taught environmental economics where social choice is an important element。 As I am not professionally trained as an economist， I have difficulty in grasping many concepts which Dr。 Sen explains so vividly especially issues with Arrow's impossibility theorem。 I am waiting for the second volume of it as the book ended in 1963。 I want to learn his view on the sad ending of his relationship with Nabonita Sen or his explanation of t A wonderful read。 Like all other Sen's books， it is easy to read。 I taught environmental economics where social choice is an important element。 As I am not professionally trained as an economist， I have difficulty in grasping many concepts which Dr。 Sen explains so vividly especially issues with Arrow's impossibility theorem。 I am waiting for the second volume of it as the book ended in 1963。 I want to learn his view on the sad ending of his relationship with Nabonita Sen or his explanation of the Bangladesh famine in 1974。 A very good read。 。。。more
Nagendra Sarma
，
{Regretfully I stopped it at half， and I promise myself I'll go back to it as soon as possible。}The book is a reminiscence that's plotted so wonderfully， I think I can say I cannot love it more than I do now！ It is not just his story。 It is a story of India， of Bengal， of Tagore， of Viswa Bharati， and of Calcutta and Dhaka。 The literary traditions of Bengal， the history of it， colonial backdrop， Hindu-Muslim relationships， The Great Bengal Famines， partition of Bengal， oh my god！ The activity of {Regretfully I stopped it at half， and I promise myself I'll go back to it as soon as possible。}The book is a reminiscence that's plotted so wonderfully， I think I can say I cannot love it more than I do now！ It is not just his story。 It is a story of India， of Bengal， of Tagore， of Viswa Bharati， and of Calcutta and Dhaka。 The literary traditions of Bengal， the history of it， colonial backdrop， Hindu-Muslim relationships， The Great Bengal Famines， partition of Bengal， oh my god！ The activity of Amartya Sen is enviable！ That was a dream！ What he went through and what he had witnessed gives him， as we see evidently， the perspectives he develops later in his life。 Sen recollects the discussions amid his family， friends， teachers and relatives， who were all kinds of artists， academicians， politicians， poets， and cultural thinkers， giving us a myriad of ideas complimenting and contradicting eachother！ An example is between Gandhi and Tagore， who were influential throughout his life， and with whom he had lovely discussions。 （Many with Tagore， one or two with Gandhi）。 Life in Calcutta is described in such one rugged and realistic manner， I'm planning to visit Calcutta this vacation！ What more can I say？This is one wonderful book that will walk you through the most turbulent times of the recent history: The World War 2， Indian Independence Struggle， Indian Partition， Era of Indian Politics， Indian/Bengali Renaissance， and so much more！ Life teems up in this work， it'll leave you bewildered， moved， and it'll make you love it to your core！If I ever say I love some other non fiction more than this， don't believe in me！ Amartya Sen is a beautiful writer， and after this book， a dearly friend！ 。。。more
Surajit Choudhury
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Excellent history book！
Aruna Kumar Gadepalli
，
The memoir with an apt title brings out various aspects with brilliant prose that makes the reader hooked to the book。 Starting with the question "home" goes into the various details of the first home of the Nobel Laureate - Dhaka， Shantiniketan， Calcutta to Trinity to MIT/Harvard and to Delhi， and the journey to places where meeting the brilliant minds and the way they impacted his academic and personal life。 The memoir with an apt title brings out various aspects with brilliant prose that makes the reader hooked to the book。 Starting with the question "home" goes into the various details of the first home of the Nobel Laureate - Dhaka， Shantiniketan， Calcutta to Trinity to MIT/Harvard and to Delhi， and the journey to places where meeting the brilliant minds and the way they impacted his academic and personal life。 。。。more
Pulkit Singh
，
Like a grandfather reminiscing about his childhood and younger years- that is how Amartya Sen's 'Home In The World' reads。I dreaded Economics the one year I studied it in school， scoring the least in it。 But the Nobel laureate in Economics has written a book that is surprisingly accessible。 Few bits are funny， it is mostly witty and comprehensively erudite the book's lilting tenor lulled me into a trance。 When it would break， without effort I would have read so many pages。English is Sen's third Like a grandfather reminiscing about his childhood and younger years- that is how Amartya Sen's 'Home In The World' reads。I dreaded Economics the one year I studied it in school， scoring the least in it。 But the Nobel laureate in Economics has written a book that is surprisingly accessible。 Few bits are funny， it is mostly witty and comprehensively erudite the book's lilting tenor lulled me into a trance。 When it would break， without effort I would have read so many pages。English is Sen's third language after Bengali and Sanskrit （！！）。 He even dreams in Bengali。Sen has led a privileged life， a fact he acknowledges with humility。 His mother was Rabindranath Tagore's student， Sen was named 'Amartya' by the great man himself。 He makes a passing mention of his achievements， never pausing to add more weight to them。My favourite incident from his life would be with the one with his landlady。 At 'Porter Lodge'， the lady worries that his brown colour would wash off with the water ruining her white bathtub。 He assures her it will not。 Interactions with him change her as much that she becomes a supporter of racial equality-she dances with an African for two hours straight when he can't find a partner。 It is the African who gets fatigued first。The book twinkles with anecdotes and his reflections。 The greats of the world with whom he has rubbed shoulders walk through his stories with as much ease as the reader does。 Sen takes you along on his journey from being a little boy growing up in Dacca（as it was known then） and Santiniketan to his adulthood。 You witness the evolution of his thinking， analytical mind- his intellectual trajectory。Hop on， it's an interesting cruise。 。。。more
Haaris Mateen
，
Amartya Sen is one of the greatest economists of the past 100 years。 He has been a huge personal influence and I consider him a thinker of the highest caliber。 Every book he has written in his amazingly productive life -- from technical social choice theory （https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。） to his irresistibly thought-provoking general audience books， such as Identity and Violence， and The Argumentative Indian -- is worth savoring and re-reading。His memoir is， alas， not as impressive。 T Amartya Sen is one of the greatest economists of the past 100 years。 He has been a huge personal influence and I consider him a thinker of the highest caliber。 Every book he has written in his amazingly productive life -- from technical social choice theory （https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。） to his irresistibly thought-provoking general audience books， such as Identity and Violence， and The Argumentative Indian -- is worth savoring and re-reading。His memoir is， alas， not as impressive。 There are sparkling moments and there are interesting incidents in his very eventful life。 But on the whole， I found it unnecessarily rambling at times; parts of it read like the acknowledgement section of a book。 The tone is self-indulgent， especially in the first third。 It would have been a better read had it been cut down by about 100 pages。 。。。more
Moinak Biswas
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A profound memoir
Nandini
，
This memoir is a remarkable story of the journey of a brilliant mind。 Sen speaks lucidly of diverse difficult subjects: economics of course， but also philosophy， hinduism， literature and so many other things that caught his interest on the way。 The story of how he came to find himself at home， not in one corner of the world but in myriad settings ，is peppered with stories of people and places told with love passion and wit。 What shines through the book is not just his intellect but his deep huma This memoir is a remarkable story of the journey of a brilliant mind。 Sen speaks lucidly of diverse difficult subjects: economics of course， but also philosophy， hinduism， literature and so many other things that caught his interest on the way。 The story of how he came to find himself at home， not in one corner of the world but in myriad settings ，is peppered with stories of people and places told with love passion and wit。 What shines through the book is not just his intellect but his deep humanity。 。。。more
Dipra Lahiri
，