"Chinua Achebe (1930-2013): The Nigerian writer published his first novel, ""Things Fall Apart,"" in 1958. A contemporary classic that has been translated into more than 50 languages, the novel captures the violence and tension between African culture and the white missionaries and colonizers determined to change Africa in the late 1800s. Widely regarded as the first African book that drew a global readership, ""Things Fall Apart"" was the beginning of a literary career steeped in race and politics. Always a front-runner but never a winner of the Nobel Prize, Achebe won the 2007 Man Booker International Prize for fiction for his body of work, which also included poems, short stories and essays."