Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pioneers of a new frontier -- The magical years -- A primary exposure -- Leaving home -- The formative years at Umuahia and Ibadan. The Umuahia experience ; The Ibadan experience -- Meeting Christie and her family -- Discovering Things fall apart -- A lucky generation -- The march to independence -- The cradle of Nigerian nationalism -- Post-independence Nigeria -- The decline -- The role of the writer in Africa -- 1966 (poem) -- January 15, 1966, coup -- The dark days -- Benin road (poem) -- A history of ethnic tension and resentment -- The army -- Countercoup and assassination -- The pogroms -- Penalty of Godhead (poem) -- The Aburi Accord -- Generation gap (poem) -- The nightmare begins -- The Nigeria-Biafra war. The Biafran position ; The Nigerian argument ; The role of the Organization of African Unity -- The triangle game : the UK, France, and the United States -- The writers and intellectuals -- The war and the Nigerian intellectual -- The life and work of Christopher Okigbo -- The major Nigerian actors in the conflict : Ojukwu and Gowon. The aristocrat ; The gentleman general -- The first shot (poem) -- The Biafran invasion of the Mid-West -- Gowon regroups -- The Asaba massacre -- Biafran repercussions -- Blood, blood, everywhere -- The Calabar massacre -- Biafra, 1969 (poem) -- The Republic of Biafra. The intellectual foundation of a new nation -- The Biafran state. The Biafran flag ; The Biafran national anthem ; The military ; Ogbunigwe ; Biafran tanks ; A tiger joins the army ; Freedom fighters -- Traveling on behalf of Biafra -- Refugee mother and child (A mother in a refugee camp) (poem) -- Life in Biafra -- The Abagana ambush -- Air raid (poem) -- The Citadel Press -- The Ifeajuna manuscript -- Staying alive -- Death of the poet : "Daddy, don't let him die!" -- Mango seedling (poem) -- Refugees -- We laughed at him (poem) -- The media war -- Narrow escapes -- Vultures (poem) -- The fight to the finish -- The economic blockade and starvation -- The silence of the United Nations -- Azikiwe withdraws support for Biafra -- The recapture of Owerri -- Biafra takes an old rig : "The Kwale incident" -- 1970 and the fall -- The question of genocide -- The arguments -- The case against the Nigerian government -- Gowon responds -- Nigeria's painful transitions : a reappraisal -- Corruption and indiscipline -- State failure and the rise of terrorism -- State resuscitation and recovery -- After a war (poem) -- Postscript: The example of Nelson Mandela -- Appendix: Brigadier Banjo's broadcast to Mid-West.

Achebe's long-awaited account of coming of age during the defining experience of his life: the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 1967-1970.