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Chinua Achebe

There Was a Country: A Memoir Paperback – Illustrated, September 24, 2013

by Chinua Achebe (Author)

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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.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Foreign Policy Must Read 2012" by Books from Global Thinkers

“Chinua Achebe’s history of Biafra is a meditation on the condition of freedom. 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 in which politico-historical evidence, the power of story-telling, and revelations from the depths of the human subconscious are one. The event of a new work by Chinua Achebe is always extraordinary; this one exceeds all expectation.”—Nadine Gordimer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

“A fascinating and gripping memoir.” —The Wall Street Journal

“There Was a Country ought to be essential reading…an eclectic range of insights and fascinating anecdotes.”—Financial Times

“Achebe writes in a characteristically modest fashion…Like much of Achebe’s other work, this book about the progress of war and the presence of violence has a universal quality. In a world where sectarian hatreds augmented by political mediocrity have fractured Syria and threaten to bring Israel and Iran to blows, There Was a Country is a valuable account of how the suffering caused by war is both unnecessary and formative.”—Newsweek

"Memoir and history are brought together by a master storyteller."
—The Guardian

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.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

An Igbo proverb tells us that a man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he dried his body.

The rain that beat Africa began four to five hundred years ago, from the “discovery” of Africa by Europe, through the transatlantic slave trade to the Berlin Conference of 1885. That controversial gathering of the world’s leading European powers precipitated what we now call the Scramble for Africa, which created new boundaries that did violence to Africa’s ancient societies and resulted in tension-prone modern states. It took place without African consultation or representation, to say the least.

Great Britain was handed the area of West Africa that would later become Nigeria, like a piece of chocolate cake at a birthday party. It was one of the most populous regions on the African continent, with over 250 ethnic groups and distinct languages. The northern part of the country was the seat of several ancient kingdoms, such as the Kanem-Bornu—which Usman dan Fodio and his jihadists absorbed into the Muslim Fulani Empire. The Middle Belt of Nigeria was the locus of the glorious Nok Kingdom and its world-renowned terra-cotta sculptures. The southern protectorate was home to some of the region’s most sophisticated civilizations. In the west, the Oyo and Ife kingdoms once flourished majestically, and in the midwest the incomparable Benin Kingdom elevated artistic distinction to a new level. Across the Niger River in the East, the Calabar and the Nri kingdoms flourished. If the Berlin Conference sealed her fate, then the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates inextricably complicated Nigeria’s destiny. Animists, Muslims, and Christians alike were held together by a delicate, some say artificial, lattice.

Britain’s indirect rule was a great success in northern and western Nigeria, where affairs of state within this new dispensation continued as had been the case for centuries, with one exception—there was a new sovereign, Great Britain, to whom all vassals pledged fealty and into whose coffers all taxes were paid. Indirect rule in Igbo land proved far more challenging to implement. Colonial rule functioned through a newly created and incongruous establishment of “warrant chiefs”—a deeply flawed arrangement that effectively confused and corrupted the Igbo democratic spirit.

Africa’s postcolonial disposition is the result of a people who have lost the habit of ruling themselves. We have also had difficulty running the new systems foisted upon us at the dawn of independence by “our colonial masters.” Because the West has had a long but uneven engagement with the continent, it is imperative that it understands what happened to Africa. It must also play a part in the solution. A meaningful solution will require the goodwill and concerted efforts on the part of all those who share the weight of Africa’s historical burden.

Most members of my generation, who were born before Nigeria’s independence, remember a time when things were very different. Nigeria was once a land of great hope and progress, a nation with immense resources at its disposal—natural resources, yes, but even more so, human resources. But the Biafran war changed the course of Nigeria. In my view it was a cataclysmic experience that changed the history of Africa.

It is for the sake of the future of Nigeria, for our children and grandchildren, that I feel it is important to tell Nigeria’s story, Biafra’s story, our story, my story.

Publisher : Penguin Books; Illustrated edition (September 24, 2013)
Language : English
Paperback : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 014312403X
ISBN-13 : 978-0143124030
Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
Dimensions : 0.8 x 5.4 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #433,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in Nigeria History
- #115 in West African History
- #297 in Historical African Biographies (Books)

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Richard Humphries

Almost an insider account

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2019

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Fifty years ago the plight of Biafra made world headlines. Aid organisations rushed in, students marched on campuses and Nigeria came in for a lot of criticism for its crushing of the breakaway state. But what was it like to be there, trying to survive and get the infant statelet recognised and supplied. Achebe, a top-flight novelist, was there and knew the people in charge as well as the ordinary farmers, and soldiers. He give an good account from that vantage point. I'd have like more about what happened after and how the Igbo feel about their status within Nigeria today but I wouldn't even call that criticism. Worth reading about this semi-forgotten conflict.

One person found this helpful

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A good overview of the events leading up to the Biafran ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014

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A good overview of the events leading up to the Biafran War and the context in which it occurred. 'A Personal History' is a good subtitle for the book as it mainly revolves around Achebe's experiences during the war and doesn't necessarily give an overall view of how others in Biafra or Nigeria where impacted by the war, beyond more sweeping generalizations and specific stories sprinkled in. Ojukwu's (the leader of Biafra) intentions are explored to a degree and his relation to then Nigerian leader Gowon is explored to a degree. Would have liked to get a more detailed analysis of how the Biafran War affected Nigeria immediately afterwards and any consequences of the war that are still felt today (this is explored to a degree, but tends to delve into Achebe deriding Nigeria's current culture). Also, a more detailed background outlining the relationship between the Ibo, Yoruba, and Hausa people's leading up to the conflict would have been nice.

5 people found this helpful

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Chief Udoka

A very good book

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012

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The author is an accomplished and world acclaimed writer.The book was very well written. It is a very interesting book that was hard to put down once I had started reading it. It enlightened me about Biafra even though I was there as a very young person.
But the book was written from an Igbo man's perspective - and justifiably so. In the book, he listed the shortfalls of the Igbos but was too protective , as an Igbo person, to add most of what people know about the Igbo character. The sufferings of lesser tribes such as the Ibibios, Annangs, Ijaws, etc, were barely touched. The innumerable atrocities of some of the Biafran soldiers ( and Nigerian soldiers too) on women, that I witnessed, and the pillaging of properties did not appear in the book.
However, to be objective, these behaviors can be caused by the stress of being in a war torn environment.

2 people found this helpful

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Adrienne Wyker

this book changed my life

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2017

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This is about the most powerful, compelling, honest, enlightening book I've ever read. I read it shortly after having read Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun, and I've since been studying and devouring historical and sociological academic materials covering the time of the Nigerian-Biafran war. This book is as easy to read as a novel - one written by one of the greatest novelists ever. I cannot recommend this book more highly. I encourage anyone who has even the slightest interest in history, in West Africa, in understanding human relations and the human condition at all to read this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Bolaji A.

A good work by Prof. Achebe

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2012

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It’s good to read yet another eyewitness's account of this period in Nigeria's history. The book's opening sentence says “… a man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot says where he dried his body", aptly describes Nigeria's fruitless toil to make headway politically economically and technologically. Many of today’s problems are traceable to the crisis and bitterness of the '60s. Prof. Achebe has presented an important view point of a Biafra insider which gives in a concise manner, a summary of Igbo people's grievances. The book has elicited a lot of fiery ethno-nationalistic response from a number of groups and individuals in the country who probably have not even read it. In my opinion, the book has no political overtones, is non-revisionist and is not calculated to diminish anyone's stature; it’s just one man's attempt to bring to the fore the discrimination and injustices suffered by a people who deserved much better. Any country serious about unity and real development should not run from the truth, the best way to disprove this work is not through abusive language in newspaper columns, but to write another book to state the facts in the way considered more accurate. I thank Prof Achebe for his work which is a great benefit for people of my generation who did not witness the war and I enjoin Nigerians who disagree with the facts and conclusions to write books to explain their position. The history of this country has not been written about enough, and for any real development to take place there must be admission of the truth, apologies where necessary and genuine reconciliation.

6 people found this helpful

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Norman Housley

A great writer describes a terrible war

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2014

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An exceptional account of the Biafra war and more generally of the plight of post-independence Nigeria. Achebe is unsparing and bleak on the failure of the country to rise above ethnic tensions, and the unbreakable grip of corruption. He comes close to saying that independence has not worked and while he attempts to come up with solutions at the end, the cupboard is pretty bare. He even resorts to asking why Africa's self-aggrandising and phenomenally corrupt rulers can't be more like Nelson Mandela! The happiest time for modern Nigeria emerges as c. 1930-60, the immediately pre-independence decades when the author was young and everything was to play for.
The UK receives due recognition for the robust and impartial quality of its administration but the praise is tempered by the sad fact that we imposed an unworkable constitutional framework on Nigeria in order to protect our economic interests.
My reservation is that the book's structure is rather episodic and free flowing. It's a mixture of reflection, personal memoir and reportage, which at times could have benefited from tighter editing. It's hard to get a clear sense of the war's major events. The inclusion of some of Achebe's poems didn't work for me but that is highly subjective. But when all that has been said, as a book about Biafra, how it happened and why things panned out as they did, this must be a unique text.

9 people found this helpful

Heartfelt but even handed first hand account of the Nigeria - Biafra war by the country's literary giant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2014

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Chinua Achebe, the superb Nigerian (and Igbo) novellist, has turned his hand to creating a personal history of Biafra in this book. While in many ways autobiographical, he successfully manages to also cover the backgrounds to and the conflict more broadly, and given his involvement in it, surprisingly even handedly.

The book starts in the pre-independence days of British rule and portrays the author's and the country's growing up, with lots of emphasis being placed on the institutions of higher learning and the notable Nigerians who graduated there. In the period leading to and immediately after independence this autobiographical element gets more and more supplemented by the goings on in the country, something that the author is particularly well suited to chronicle, given his intimate involvement in many aspects.

While demonstrating the - in hindsight naive - optimism that everyone will work for the betterment of Nigeria all the way to the first ethnic pogroms carried out by the army against the Igbos, the author also with time recognised that his and his people's hopes for the country have been badly misplaced and that change was necessary.

The aspect I found particularly interesting was the portrayal of Ojukwu as not only a sensible and shrewd statesman but also as at times the reason for the conflict not having been concluded faster and with fewer casualties. While certainly not the same class of villain as Gowon and his military junta, who in their own words condoned the use of hunger against civilians and in particular children, and of indiscriminate brutality against civilians if it meant winning, he does not come out of the account as a saint, either.

The book is brilliant both in its language - as expected from the author - and its provision of a personal and at the same time historical account of this tragic episode of the twentieth century. At the same time it is likely to imbue the reader with a great sense of sadness that this genocide was allowed to happen, with active collusion of the UK government - in spite of mass popular opposition. It is an excellent complement to Forsyth's Biafra Story and definitely to be recommended for all who are interested in Africa and its problems, as well as for those who have previously enjoyed the author's novels (the book will provide an interesting context to some of them).

One person found this helpful

Orinoco

A disturbing read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 16, 2014

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My uncle was a missionary priest in Owerri, Biafra prior to & during the Biafran war. In fact, the airstrip used to land emergency supplies from Fernando Poo was in his parish. After the war, he was imprisoned by the Federal forces and accused of helping the rebels. He admitted to providing spiritual and medical assistance. He was expelled from Nigeria which upset him quiet a bit, as he had spent 25 years there in total. When he came home, he was very angry towards the British & Russian governments who assisted the Federals with weaponry. He had great admiration for the pilots who flew supplies in at night and then took off again. He told us stories of his experiences during the war. I was a young boy at the time and I suspect some of his stories were sanitised for me. The events described in this book match my uncles tales. The author also describes the horrific end of the war and its aftermath which is probably what my uncle did not want us young people to hear. For me, this book was a good read. I have retained an interest in Biafra's struggle.

5 people found this helpful

Oliver Chandler

Fascinating insight from literary great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2018

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Added a personal element to insightful historical analysis. In addition to learning about the experienced realities of the Nigerian Civil War, its provides an insight into the life of one of the 20th centuries literary greats. If you want to learn about one of the defining chapters in Nigeria's history, and one of the most tragic losses of life in the post-war era this a must.

Ike

One of the giants of African Literature and world intellectual ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2015

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One of the giants of African Literature and world intellectual has to bring to the attention of the world as a reminder that millions of people were killed for nothing and their properties stolen by their own government that suppose to protect them. The history is not even thought in Nigeria, so the present generation dont even no anything about the war. Will history repeat itself if the younger generation is denied the truth?

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