There Was a Country: A Memoir

Chinua Achebe

Oct 2012 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

This book simply tells the story. From politics to selfish desires and betrayal among political elites leading to eventual war. But it wasn't just war but genocide by presumed brothers against each other. It's just unfortunate that the reasons for the war have refused to vanish after forty years. This book has offered more explanations to stories merely narrated by Madiebo and Forsyth in thier own books. Though I wasn't born then but it has become clearer the intent behind the genocide.

Excellent read! Personal account with such a vibrant bibliography. Achebe checks out with a story that needed to be told. The storyteller recounts his childhood, education, experiences of the Nigerian civil war and the current state of the country today.

This is nothing but the truth. Thanks to Jehovah who communicates in mysterious ways.

About the author

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.