". . . some 10 years of painstaking enquiry are presented with sustained energy . . . Ezenwa-Ohaeto has completed a remarkable feat . . ." —West Africa ". . . a gold mine of a source for future researchers." —The Literary Griot " . . . in this meticulously researched work, [Ezenwa-Ohaeto] provides a wealth of information that should prove invaluable to all future studies of Achebe." —Library Journal "Great back-up for classes reading Achebe's Things Fall Apart." —Booklist "This pioneering biography draws upon a wealth of printed and oral sources to produce a vivid record of the life and times of Africa's most influential novelist. Ezenwa-Ohaeto is Achebe's Boswell; nothing of importance, large or small, seems to escape him." —Bernth Lindfors, University of Texas This is the first biography of the internationally acclaimed author of Things Fall Apart, the most widely read African novel, first published in 1958 and now a classic, with more than 12 million copies in print. Things Fall Apart is a defining moment in African and world literature. Ezenwa-Ohaeto's biography is the first comprehensive account of Achebe's life to date. Based on extensive research and numerous interviews, this is also the first work to trace the story of Achebe's life while putting his achievement into a social and historical context.