“A first-rate work on the great civil rights icon (Martin Luther King, Jnr.), and two of Africa’s most credible leaders in politics (Mandela) and literature (Achebe) by a thoroughly informed and credible writer (ChidoNwangwu of USAfrica) who has focused for the past 25 years on Africa in the international arena.” — George Kennedy, U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, rtd.
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Chido Nwangwu, award-winning writer, multimedia specialist and founder of USAfricaonline.com, the first African-owned U.S-based newspaper published on the internet, in his insightful, first book notes:
“I’ll forever remember having walked inside and peeped through that historic Mandela jail cell (where he was held for most of his 27 years in unjust imprisonment) at the dreaded Robben Island, on March 27, 1998, alongside then Editor-in-chief of TIME magazine and later news chief executive of the CNN, Walter Isaacson (and others). It was when President Bill Clinton made his first official trip to South Africa and came to Robben Island. Come to this island of scourge and you will understand, in part, the simple greatness and towering grace of Nelson Mandela. The punitive impositions and racist impunity which Mandela faced, endured and overcame at Robben Island offer some contextual clarity to what I refer to as the power of forgiveness….”
“Achebe’s works -especially the 1958 literary masterpiece novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ and his 2012 blockbuster book ‘There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra’ -opened the eyes of millions and have combined to amplify the power and permanence of Achebe. The two books, in my view, have set him on a higher pedestal as the master of artistic lucidity and a courageous, factual witness to history.”
On Friday, November 16, 2018, on what would have been Prof. Achebe’s 88th birthday, Dr. Chido Nwangwu wrote a highly-acclaimed tribute-review of Achebe & 60 Years of Things Fall Apart. . Chido moderated the 2012 Achebe Colloquium at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island — it was Achebe last major outing. On 08-08-08 (August 8, 2008), he hosted and moderated the USAfrica special global event “50 Years of Things Fall Apart: Harvest of Chinua Achebe.”
