The writer Chinua Achebe was raised by Christian evangelical parents in the large village Ogidi in Igboland; which is located in Eastern Nigeria, he received most of his education in english, but had to grow up in the complex fusion of Igbo traditions and the colonial legacy. By the time, he is married and he has four children, He currently lives in the United States.
He did two carrers: literature and medicine at the university of Ibadan and after graduating he went to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting in Lagos.
He is known because he played an important role in the founding and development of African literature. He is well known for the famous novel "Things fall apart" in 1958. This novel sold over twelve million copies around the world; and it has been translated in 50 languages or more. Other novels of the ones he has done are: No Longer At Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), and A Man of the People (1966).
He wasn't only a writer, he also was a critical thinker and essayist who has written questions of the role Africa should have in culture, and the social and political significance of the postcolonial state in Africa.
He has received over twenty honorary doctorates from universities around the world. He received Nigeria's highest honor for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award, in 1987. His novel Anthills of the Savannah was shortlisted for the Booker McConnell Prize that same year.

REFERENCES:
Africana Studies (2012) Africana studies. [online] Available at: http://brown.edu/Departments/Africana_Studies/people/achebe_chinua.html [Accessed: 21 Jan 2013].

Biography of Chinua Achebe (2010) Biography. [online] Available at: http://www.gradesaver.com/author/chinua-achebe/ [Accessed: 21 Jan 2013].