Synopsis
Examines the reign and recent fall of Ethiopia's Haile Selassie through eyewitness accounts of former members of the Emperor's circle
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Review
Haile Selassie, His Most Puissant Majesty and Distinguished Highness the Emperor of Ethiopia, enjoyed a 44-year reign until his own army gave him the boot in 1974. In the days following the coup, the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski traveled to Ethiopia and sought out members of the imperial court for interviews.
His composite portrait of Selassie's crumbling imperium is an astonishing, wildly funny creation, beginning with the very first interview. "It was a small dog," recalls an anonymous functionary, "a Japanese breed. His name was Lulu. He was allowed to sleep in the Emperor's great bed. During various ceremonies, he would run away from the Emperor's lap and pee on dignitaries' shoes. The august gentlemen were not allowed to flinch or make the slightest gesture when they felt their feet getting wet. I had to walk among the dignitaries and wipe the urine from their shoes with a satin cloth. This was my job for ten years." (Well, it's a living.)
Elsewhere, the interviewees venture into tragic or grotesque or downright unbelievable terrain. Kapuscinski has shaped their testimonies into an eloquent whole, and while he never alludes to the totalitarian regime that ruled his native Poland during the same period, the analogy is impossible to ignore.
From the Publisher
"[The Emperor] transcends reportage, becoming a nightmare of power... An unforgettable, fiercely comic, and finally compassionate book."--Salman Rushdie
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (English and Polish Edition)
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Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (edition First Edition), 1983
ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (English and Polish Edition)
Published by
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983
ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (English and Polish Edition)
Published by
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983
ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (English and Polish Edition)
Published by
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983
ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat
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ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (English and Polish Edition)
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ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat
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ISBN 10: 0151287716
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The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (English and Polish Edition)
Published by
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983
ISBN 10: 0151287716
ISBN 13: 9780151287710
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Stated First Edition With Bcdef (Flush Left Layout With A Never Present) Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, New York, 1983. Book Condition: Very Good.Light Gray Boards, Black Cloth Spine With Silver Letters. A Bit Of Sunning On Edges Of Top & Bottom Of Boards. Pages Bright White And Tightly Bound. Feels Never Read. Dust Jacket; Fair To Good. Small Crinkle And 1/4" Taped Tears On Top Edge Off Dj Near Spine Side.Dust Jacket Starting To Tan Underneath Edges. Original Price Inside Flap.Jacket Gloss Finish, Jacket Design By Bob Silverman. Translated By William R. Brand And Katarzyna Mrockowska-Brand. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Inside Pages Clean, Bright, And Tightly Bound. Seller Inventory # 8006448