The Life and Times of Chinua Achebe Global Africa Series

The Life and Times of Chinua Achebe introduces readers to the life, literary works, and times of arguably the most widely-read African novelist of recent times, an icon, both in continental Africa and abroad.

The book weaves together the story of Chinua Achebe, a young Igboman whose novel Things Fall Apart opened the eyes of the world to a more realistic image of Africa that was warped by generations of European travelers, colonists, and writers. Whilst continuing to write further influential novels and essays, Achebe also taught other African writers to use their skills to help their national leaders to fight for their freedoms in the post-colonial era, as internal warfare compounded the damage caused by European powers during the colonial era. In this book Kalu Ogbaa, an esteemed expert on Achebe and his works, draws on extensive research and personal interviews with the great man and his colleagues and friends, to tell the story of Achebe and his work.

This intimate and powerful new biography will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinua Achebe, and to anyone with an interest in the literature and post-colonial politics of Africa.

Introduction Timeline: Key Dates in the Life and Times of Chinua Achebe 1. The Life and Education of Chinua Achebe 2. Chinua Achebe’s Education as Template 3. The Four Phases of Chinua Achebe’s Writing Career 4. Leave of Absence Abroad Interrupted for Patriotic Duties at Home 5. My Interviews with Chinua Achebe 6. The Eagle on Iroko Critically Analyzes the Problem with Nigeria Of Governance, Revolutions, and Victims: Chinua Achebe and Literary Activism in Anthills of the Savannah 8. Year 1990 and After: A New Life and Phase IV of Achebe’s Writing Career 9. My Review of Chinua Achebe’s There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra 10.Other Critics’ Reviews of There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra 11. Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God: A Foretaste of Igbo Intra-ethnic Democracy in the Present Day Nigerian Geopolitical System 12. Remembering Achebe the Man, His Literary Mission, and His Achievements

Kalu Ogbaa is Professor of English and Faculty Scholar Award winner at Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, where he teaches English, Africana Literary and Cultural Studies, as well as Commonwealth Literatures. He obtained his B.A. (Hons) degree in English from The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, MAin Black Studiesfrom The Ohio State University, and PhD in English from The University of Texas at Austin.