Charles Johnson won the US National Book Award in 1990 for his novel Middle Passage. A widely published literary critic, philosopher, cartoonist, screen-writer, essayist and lecturer, he is one of twelve African-American authors honoured in an international series of stamps celebrating great writers of the twentieth century. In 1998 he received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship and in 2003 literary scholars founded the Charles Johnson Society at the American Literature Association. He is currently the Pollock Professor of English at the University of Washington.

Drawn from the wisdom of ancient oral tradition, this book contains two main doctrines: teaching the attainment of wisdom, and warning against life's pitfalls, from excessive drink to promiscuity. The text is introduced by Charles Johnson.