Ngugi wa Thiong'o is renowned for his political novels and plays, yet he honed his craft as a short story writer. First published in 1975,Secret Lives and Other Storiesbrings together a range of Ngugi's political short stories. From tales of the meeting between magic and superstition, to stories about the modernising forces of colonialism, and the pervasive threat of nature, this collection celebrates the storytelling might of one of Africa's best-loved writers.

Ngugi wa Thiongois one of the leading writers and scholars at work in the world today. His books include the novelsPetals of Blood, for which he was imprisoned by the Kenyan government in 1977,A Grain of WheatandWizard of the Crow;the memoirs,Dreams in a Time of War,In the House of the InterpreterandBirth of a Dream Weaver;and the essays,Decolonizing the Mind,Something Torn and NewandGlobalectics.Recipient of many honours, among them ten honorary doctorates, he is currently Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.