Poignant and perceptive, Drum Bits of Terror tells the story of Samuel Adooli, a young man struggling to find his place in society. Inadvertently learning he was not born of wedlock, a cultural taboo, he embarks on his pursuit to find his father. He hits a roadblock as his quest side-tracks his schooling; he flunks his fourth form exams, leaving him with little to no option, but join a polytechnic college. Along the way, he forges a couple of unstable friendships, resulting in his assault not only once, but twice. Soon, his life becomes endangered when he finds himself entangled in an ethnically charged quagmire that threatens to down the stability of his nation. Ultimately, his survival becomes suspect and his choices startling. The realism in this story is exquisite.

A Fallen Citadel and Other Poems is a powerful collection of over forty prose poems. The poems cover an array of issues ranging from the crisis that ensued after the 2007-2008 elections in Kenya to other social issues: loss of identity, poverty, hopelessness, and AIDs. These poems are powerful, vivid, full of imagery, and delightful. Some begin tragically, but end with hope; they begin with an everyday event, but end with a philosophical question about the meaning of life; and others are not only disturbing, but also thought provoking. Abala's poetic maneuvers in this collection are bound to delight and fascinate any reader.

The population of African immigrants in the United States has grown rapidly over the past few decades. African Immigrants and the American Experience: Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream by Wanjala S. Nasong’o, Imali J. Abala, and Kefa M. Otiso explores contemporary sub-Saharan African immigrants’ experiences with issues of race, ethnicity, and systemic violence in the United States. Each contributor within this volume dissects how these issues have impacted, and in many cases snuffed out, the immigrants’ quest for the fabled American dream. Divided into three sections, each chapter focuses on these main themes: race and anti-black violence, educational attainment among African immigrants in pursuit of the American dream, and African immigrant’s socioeconomics, health, and well-being. Through research and first-hand accounts, the contributors provide perspectives of what it truly means to be a sub-Saharan African immigrant in the United States.