4.0
There Was a Country
ByPublisher Description
From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart—a long-awaited memoir of coming of age in a fragile new nation, and its destruction in a tragic civil war
For more than forty years, Chinua Achebe maintained a considered silence on the events of the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Decades in the making, There Was a Country is a towering account of one of modern Africa’s most disastrous events, from a writer whose words and courage left an enduring stamp on world literature. A marriage of history and memoir, vivid firsthand observation and decades of research and reflection, There Was a Country is a work whose wisdom and compassion remind us of Chinua Achebe’s place as one of the great literary and moral voices of our age.
For more than forty years, Chinua Achebe maintained a considered silence on the events of the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Decades in the making, There Was a Country is a towering account of one of modern Africa’s most disastrous events, from a writer whose words and courage left an enduring stamp on world literature. A marriage of history and memoir, vivid firsthand observation and decades of research and reflection, There Was a Country is a work whose wisdom and compassion remind us of Chinua Achebe’s place as one of the great literary and moral voices of our age.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThere Was a Country Reviews
4.0
Osaro Iyoha
Created 16 days agoShare
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“This book was a lovely autobiography and a good account of the history of the Biafran War, the genocide that killed a large number of ethnic Igbos. Before he got into the war, Achebe talked about his childhood, pre-Independence Nigeria, and the great educational institutions the British established that helped him to become a writer. Then he talked about the high hopes of Nigerian citizens after independence, which unfortunately wasn't to last long.”
Fogo
Created about 1 month agoShare
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“This book combines history and moral reflection. It's not just about the Biafran War but also the fragility of Nigeria’s so-called independence. It made me question whether we ever truly achieved freedom or simply moved into a new phase of neo-colonial control. I learned so much about the war, politics, and the human faces behind the headlines and the names on our currency. Achebe doesn’t just recount history; he makes you feel its weight and ensures you don't forget it.”Harper
Created 3 months agoShare
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Abhishek Banerjee
Created 4 months agoShare
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About Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) was born in Nigeria. Widely considered to be the father of modern African literature, he is best known for his masterful African Trilogy, consisting of Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No Longer at Ease. The trilogy tells the story of a single Nigerian community over three generations from first colonial contact to urban migration and the breakdown of traditional cultures. He is also the author of Anthills of the Savannah, A Man of the People, Girls at War and Other Stories, Home and Exile, Hopes and Impediments, Collected Poems, The Education of a British-Protected Child, Chike and the River, and There Was a Country. He was the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and, for more than fifteen years, was the Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard College. Achebe was the recipient of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Nigeria’s highest award for intellectual achievement. In 2007, Achebe was awarded the Man Booker International Prize for lifetime achievement.
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