"Chinua Achebe, the well regarded Nigerian novelist, is perhaps best known for his novel Things Fall Apart, published in 1958. After a short introduction editor Booker (comparative literature and cultural studies, U. of Arkansas), presents a series of essays and excerpted chapters from other works critically examining Achebe's themes. Four essays were written especially for this volume. A complete bibliography of Achebe's works is included."-- Provided by publisher.

On Things fall apart / --Biography of Chinua Achebe / -- The Paris review perspective / -- Things fall apart: cultural and historical contexts / -- The critical reception of Things fall apart / -- An adequate revolution: Achebe writing Africa anew / -- "You must not stand in one place": reading Things fall apart in multiple contexts / -- Things fall apart / -- Chinua Achebe: Things fall apart / -- The centre holds: a study of Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart / -- Principle and practice: the logic of cultural violence in Achebe's Things fall apart / -- The possibilities and pitfalls of ethnographic readings: narrative complexity in Things fall apart / -- Rhythm and narrative method in Achebe's Things fall apart / -- Achebe's sense of an ending: history and tragedy in Things fall apart / -- Okonkwo and his mother: Things fall apart and issues of gender in the constitution of African postcolonial discourse / -- Masculinity, power, and language in Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart / -- The plight of a hero in Achebe's Things fall apart / -- Okonkwo's suicide as an affirmative act: do things really fall apart? / Alan R Friesen. On Things Fall Apart -- Biography of Chinua Achebe -- The Paris Review Perspective --\Things Fall Apart: Cultural and Historical Contexts -- The Critical Reception of Things Fall Apart -- An Adequate Revolution: Achebe Writing Africa Anew -- “You Must Not Stand in One Place”: Reading Things Fall Apart in Multiple Contexts -- Things Fall Apart -- Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart -- The Centre Holds: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart -- Principle and Practice: The Logic of Cultural Violence in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart -- The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Ethnographic Readings: Narrative Complexity in Things Fall Apart -- Rhythm and Narrative Method in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart -- \Achebe’s Sense of an Ending: History and Tragedy in Things Fall Apart -- Okonkwo and His Mother: Things Fall Apart and Issues of Gender in the Constitution of African Postcolonial Discourse -- Masculinity, Power, and Language in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart -- The Plight of a Hero in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart -- Okonkwo’s Suicide as an Affirmative Act: Do Things Really Fall Apart? -- Chronology of Chinua Achebe’s Life --\Works by Chinua Achebe -- Bibliography.