A trailblazing collection of writing from Binyavanga Wainaina's extraordinary life, featuring an introduction from his long-time friend, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Binyavanga Wainaina was a seminal author and creative force, remembered as one of the greatest chroniclers of contemporary African life.

This ground-breaking collection brings together, for the first time, Binyavanga’s pioneering writing on the African continent including many of his most critically acclaimed pieces, such as the viral satirical sensation How to Write About Africa.

Writing fearlessly across a range of topics - from politics to international aid, cultural heritage and redefining sexuality - this is a remarkable illustration of a writer at the height of his power.

'A fierce literary talent' Nesrine Malik, Guardian

‘A provocative satirist . . . his omnivorous brilliance [was] matched by ambition and vision on a continental scale’ New York Times

"[A] Kenyan writer and LGBT activist who made a revolutionary impact on literature from and about the African continent" - Guardian

"Barbed, playful, inventive . . . African literature would never be the same . . . An outsize figure on the literary landscape, his omnivorous brilliance matched by ambition and vision on a continental scale" - The New York Times

"A collection of brilliant writing - essays, stories, journalism, and even recipes. I admire Wainaina's humour, flamboyance and intelligence and the way he skewers the usual stereotypes about Africa" - Times

"[An] award-winning Kenyan writer whose humorous, incisive books and essays explored themes of post-colonialism, gender and sexual identity . . . with wit and humour he took apart the paternalism of certain writers who talk of Africa as one country" - Independent

"An uncompromising commentator . . . [Binyavanga Wainaina] shines a light on his continent without cliché" - Guardian

"[A] barrier-shattering presence in African literature" - Washington Post

"A trail-blazing Kenyan legend" - Al Jazeera

"Hilarious, worldly, biting, flippant, and meaningful" - Africa is a Country

"[A] Kenyan literary icon . . . [Binyavanga Wainaina's] work continues to challenge stereotypes and prejudices about Africa" - The Stream

"[Binyavanga Wainaina's] writing dances beyond the borders of language, lineage, genre, containment . . . [His] imagination hops, skips and jumps, in that space of infinite possibilities and worlds waiting to be made and unmade" - Bubblegum Club

"Wainaina's sharp wit and penetrating analysis . . . shows off his talent for withering satire" - Publishers Weekly

"Both an ode and an introduction to one of the continent's most inimitable literary geniuses" - Africa is a Country

"Provocative . . . A lively selection of work that well represents the scope of this fine author" - Kirkus

"How to Write About Africa gathers vivid, powerful essays and fiction by the late Kenyan icon" - Open Country