It has the tense narrative grip of the best fiction. It is also a revelatory entry into the intimate character of the writer's brilliant mind and bold spirit. Achebe has created here a new genre of literature -- Nadine Gordimer Engrossing ... an elegy from a master storyteller who has witnessed the undulating fortunes of a nation ... his strongest expressions are his poems, scattered between chapters, offering affecting interludes -- Noo Saro-Wiwa Guardian Matchless ... what a man; what a life -- Giles Foden Daily Telegraph Part-history, part-memoir, [Achebe's] moving account of the war is laced with anger, but there is also an abiding tone of regret for what Nigeria might have been without conflict and mismanagement Sunday Times A blend of historical overview, personal memoir and political manifesto ... fascinating Evening Standard