Teju Cole hits it out of the park over and over in Known and Strange Things, his essay collection on photography, travel, race and being. I know I'll be rereading and engaging with the ideas here for years to come. (Lauren Elkin Guardian 'Books of the Year')An essential and scintillating journey. (Claudia Rankine New York Times)Truly excellent . . . [Cole has] wide learning, great intelligence and a beguiling, elegant style. (Theo Tait Sunday Times)The forms of resistance depend on the culture they resist, and in our era of generalizations and approximations and sloppiness, Teju Cole's precise and vivid observation and description are an antidote and a joy. This is a book written with a scalpel, a microscope, and walking shoes, full of telling details and sometimes big surprises. (Rebecca Solnit)Showcases the magnificent breadth of subjects [Cole] is able to plumb with . . . passion and eloquence. (Harper's Bazaar)It is absolutely wonderful. Teju is so erudite, so laser sharp, his intelligence shimmers but best of all, his personality shines through as being kind and generous. I found myself transported and moved deeply. (Petina Gappah)Cole's writing is masterful and lyrical and politically and socially engaged, and he is probably one of the most interesting African writers at work today. (Chris Abani)There is such richness in these essays that it is not possible, in this short space, to do justice to all their delights. (Petina Gappah Observer)Brilliant . . . Reveals Cole's extraordinary talent and his capacious mind. (Time)

Shortlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay

A blazingly intelligent first collection of essays from the award-winning author of Open City and Every Day Is for the Thief.

With these pieces on politics, photography, travel, history and literature, Teju Cole solidifies his place as one of today's most powerful and original voices, covering subjects as diverse as Virginia Woolf, W.G Sebald, Instagram, Barack Obama and Boko Haram. Persuasive and provocative, erudite yet accessible, Known and Strange Things is an opportunity to live within Teju Cole's wide-ranging enthusiasms, curiosities and passions, and a chance to see the world in surprising and affecting new frames.