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Primary sourceBook1884

Round the World

Andrew Carnegie · 1884

Andrew Carnegie's first book, a travel diary of his 1878–79 world tour, published in 1884.

Carnegie wrote this account of his 1878–79 world tour, showing his outlook on empire and civilisation.

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Front cover of the book Round the World by Carnegie. Brown cloth cover with a decorative band of leaves and an elephant head with trunk inside a gold circle at top. Gold title text reads Round the World, with crossed spears below and the name Carnegie in gold.
Andrew Carnegie, Round the World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884.

About this source

What it is

This is a travel book written by Andrew Carnegie, published in 1884 by Charles Scribner's Sons. It records his journey around the world, originally printed for private circulation before being released publicly.

Why it matters

As Carnegie's first book, it shows his early interest in writing and his views on the wider world, including empire and what he considered 'civilisation'. Letters from readers encouraged him to publish more, showing how his travel writing connected him to audiences beyond the business world.

Look closer

  • What does the decorative cover, with its elephant motif, suggest about how the book presented foreign places to readers?
  • Why might Carnegie describe this book as written first for private circulation?
  • What assumptions about other cultures might a wealthy Western traveller bring to a book like this?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Carnegie on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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