As a 26-year-old English teacher in 1958, Chinua Achebe had no idea that the book he was writing would become a literary classic, not only in Africa but also throughout the world. He could only try to articulate the feelings he had for his countrymen and women. Achebe had a burning desire to tell the true story of Africa and African humanity. The language in which he decided to write his book would prove to be pivotal, because in stories about African people in the 1950s, they rarely spoke like humans. Achebe fused English and Igbo (pronounced "EBO"), the language spoken by the Ibo people, a cultural group in Nigeria, using English words with Igbo syntax, idioms, and proverbs. The end result was one of the most acclaimed novels in literary history: "Things Fall Apart." This novel has become a required text in schools throughout Africa and the English-speaking world. It has been translated into more than 50 languages and more than 10 million copies have been sold. It is often included on lists of the top 100 novels from Africa to the United States. Published in 1958 by London's Heinemann Press, commemorative events have already taken place and others will be held throughout the world to observe the 50-year anniversary of the novel and to honor the 77-year-old Achebe, who now teaches at Bard College in New York.