"Binyavanga Wainaina was many things in his short, frenetic life: memoirist and roving essayist, trailblazing editor and publisher, agitator and activist. . . . Wainaina's language [is] barbed, playful, inventive . . . his omnivorous brilliance matched by ambition and vision on a continental scale."
–The New York Times "It's beginning to seem like Binyavanga Wainaina's satirical essay 'How to Write About Africa' might be, after the Bible, the most read English-language text on the African continent. . . . This collection of his writing–the first to be published since he died–makes it difficult not to feel the scale of [his] loss. . . . A fierce literary talent . . . [Wainaina] shines a light on his continent without cliché."
–The Guardian "Brilliant . . . incisive . . . each [essay] showcasing Wainaina's sharp wit and penetrating analysis."
–Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Unflagging in his generosity, unflinching and direct in his criticism, [Wainaina] produced work in his short life that will have longer-lasting impact than those whose time here is twice as long."
–Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, OBE, chair of the Caine Prize for African Writing