Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Many famous leaders have written accounts of their own lives. These books often have distinctive titles that appear in general knowledge exams. One potential source of confusion is between Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, which has a longer title, and Jawaharlal Nehru’s work, which is simply called “An Autobiography”. This question asks you to identify the correct author of the book titled “An Autobiography” without any subtitle.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, wrote an autobiographical work simply titled “An Autobiography”, sometimes printed with the subtitle “Toward Freedom” in later editions. Gandhi’s book is called “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”. Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh have different autobiography titles, and Sardar Patel did not author a work popularly known by this title. So the correct approach is to match the exact wording of the title with Nehru.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Nehru wrote several books, including “Glimpses of World History”, “The Discovery of India” and “An Autobiography”.
Step 2: Remember that Gandhi’s autobiography carries the longer title “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”, not just “An Autobiography”.
Step 3: Note that Sachin Tendulkar’s book is titled “Playing It My Way”, and Yuvraj Singh’s autobiography focuses on his battle with cancer with a different title.
Step 4: Recognise that there is no famous autobiography of Sardar Patel known by the generic title “An Autobiography”.
Step 5: Therefore, select Jawaharlal Nehru as the correct answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
A useful memory trick is to pair authors with their key works: Nehru → “The Discovery of India” and “An Autobiography”; Gandhi → “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”; Maulana Azad → “India Wins Freedom”. When you see “An Autobiography” alone in an Indian context, it almost always points to Nehru. Repeating these pairs a few times helps lock them into long-term memory for exam use.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Mahatma Gandhi: His autobiography has a different, well-known title mentioning “Experiments with Truth”.
Sachin Tendulkar: Authored “Playing It My Way”, not “An Autobiography”.
Yuvraj Singh: Wrote a personal account under a different title; not “An Autobiography”.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: There is no widely cited autobiography by him with this name.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often react quickly to the word “Autobiography” and choose Gandhi because they know he wrote one, without paying attention to the exact title. The exam trick lies in that detail. Always slow down and check whether the question refers to Gandhi’s specific title or to the more generic “An Autobiography”, which is Nehru’s work.
Final Answer:
The book titled “An Autobiography” is the autobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru.
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