Madhav Khosla’s edited compilation of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Letters to his chief ministers could not have been published at a more opportune moment. Three generations of Indians have grown up taking India’s stability, its unselfconscious diversity, and its democratic freedom for granted. Today, all three of these, its most prized attributes, are under threat. Khosla’s intelligently selected compilation, from out of nearly 300 letters that Nehru wrote over 16 years, is a timely reminder of how much we owe to this one man’s foresight, sagacity, self-restraint and generosity of spirit.