The publication of this biography marks the culmination of over four decades of my concentrated study of Professor Chinua Achebe’s literary works and sociopo- litical and cultural activities that have had a lot of impact on many people all over the world, especially our Igbo people and their existential situation in our country Nigeria. The thought of writing the book crossed my mind in March 2013 during his funeral service in Providence, Rhode Island. As I heard people pouring out praises for the man and his works, I began to think of how to requite the deep love and kindness this world-renowned master storyteller bestowed on me, for he treated me as his adoptive son, literary disciple, and Igbo cultural inher- itor all those years. While still wondering if I had the ability and capacity to tell his story – my story and those of others who knew him – as well as he deserved, I received a letter from his second son, Dr. Chidi Achebe, inviting me to write a biography of his father, which would update the information contained in two biographies of him published more than a decade earlier. I felt honored and inspired and immediately accepted to do it. Hence, I offer my profound gratitude first to Chidi and his mother, Professor Christie Achebe, for trusting my ability and competency to write the biography, and for all the useful assistance they gave me during my research. However, there are other people who contributed to the development and completion of the biography whose contributions I must acknowledge. Among those to whom I owe a debt of gratitude is Professor Bernth Lindfors. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to him for making very important comments on the first draft of the manuscript and subsequently copyediting the final draft. Besides, I sincerely thank him for the overall support and guidance he has been giving me since my graduate years at the University of Texas at Austin, which deepened my research activities in Achebe studies. I also offer my grati- tude to my fellow Igbo scholar, Professor Onwubiko Agozino of Virginia Tech University, for reading the manuscript and making beneficial comments on the cultural issues contained in it.