First published in 1971, Destroy This Temple was noted as "the first full-scale exposition of Black Power thought in a British context." Egbuna penned this compilation of essays while jailed in London on charges of plotting to kill police officers. In doing so he provided a personal narrative on "...racial attitudes amongst both White and Black people in Britain; his involvement with the Black Panther movement; his visit to America and the profound effect on him of meetings with Elijah Muhammad founder of the Black Muslims, a New Mexican Indian chief, and a Harlem prostitute; (and) his reactions to the Biafran War." Destroy This Temple was well received by radicals on both sides of the Atlantic as a seldom heard first-person narrative of a Black British activist. In the United States, the book served to contrast and complement the much more noted Black Power movement.
The Black Classic Press edition of Destroy This Temple was championed to publication by the late author's son, Obi Egbuna Jr., who has provided a new introduction for this edition, highlighting his father's life and his literary legacy.