Looking back at his own life and education, this book by the giant of African literature is a deeply personal and essential key for unlocking Achebe's literature and politics

Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) was born in Nigeria and, in a long and distinguished career, has published novels, stories, essays and poems. Cited in the Sunday Times as one of the '1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century' for defining 'a modern African literature that was truly African' and thereby making 'a major contribution to world literature'. Achebe has received more than 30 honorary doctorates from universities around the world. In 2007 he was awarded the Booker International Prize.