Bless Ethiopia [Hardcover]

Kazuyoshi Nomachi (Photographer), Richard Pankhurst (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Large Format Photo | Publication Date: November 1, 1998

Photographer Kazuyoshi Nomachi captures the unique mosaic of Ethiopia as it was meant to be experienced, from stories on faces of an ancient people to the daily chores of survival and tribal rituals.'

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kazuyoshi Nomachi was born in Milhara, Kochi Prefecture in 1946. He graduated from Kochi Prefectural Technical High School and went on to study photography under Takashi Kijima, before becoming freelance in 1971. Known for his exhaustive research and field work, Nomachi has published his photographs in Japanese magazines and internationally. Among numerous prizes he has won are the Annual Award from the Photographic Society of Japan in 1990 and 1997 and more recently the Kodansha Culture Award (1apan). Since 1994 his work has been devoted to covering the Arabian Peninsula, notably Mecca arid Medina. His other books include Sahara, The Nile, and Mecca and Medina.

The son of the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, who championed the cause of Ethiopia during Mussolini's 1935-36 fascist invasion, Professor Richard Pankhurst has devoted his entire life to the study and popularization of Ethiopian history and culture. Born 1927 in Hampstead, England, he earned a B.Sc. (Economics) and Ph.D. from London School of Economics, University of London. He began teaching in Ethiopia in 1956, at the University College of Addis Ababa and joined Haile Sellassie I University (later Addis Ababa University) in 1960. Pankhurst became director of the University's Institute of Ethiopian Studies in 1963, and ten years later was awarded the Haile Sellassie I Prize for Ethiopian Studies. He is currently Research Professor at the Institute. Married with two children, Professor Pankhurst has traveled widely throughout the country. He is the author of over two dozen monographs and several hundred articles on Ethiopia. He was also involved in the successful campaign for the return to Ethiopia of the Aksum obelisk looted by Mussolini in 1937.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Odyssey Pubns (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 962217518X
• ISBN-13: 978-9622175181
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 10.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Tribute to a Marvelous Land, January 16, 2001

By 

Joseph Musael (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bless Ethiopia (Hardcover)

Richard Pankhurst is probably the leading expert in the world today on the subject of Ethiopian studies and Ethiopian history. I find him to be very objective and truthfull. I have read many of his works and they surpass any other's in this field, in historical accuracy, depth of study and insight.

For years I have been studying and reading every book on Ethiopia I could get my hands on. I have interviewed quite a few of the elders of the Ethiopian Jews that live in Israel. I have been researching Ethiopian history and gathering material for a book I myself am writing on the subject. I have even traveled extensively in Ethiopia gathering information for my research.

I can honestly say that nobody has helped me like Richard Pankhurst. He has made the study of Ethiopia his life's work and has done so with magnificent zeal.

Local Ethiopian historians such as Bilay Gidday have written a distorted account of Ethiopian history. They are, basically, blindfolded with national pride, corrupting the truth in order to draw a picture portraying Ethiopia as the source of human culture and cradle of both Christianity and Judaism and the Ethiopians as the chosen people.

Richard Pankhurst has successfully managed to fish out the true historical facts from Ethiopia's vast ocean of fantastic myths, legends and folk-tales. For this, he will forever be favoured by scholars of Ethiopian studies all over the world.

I salute him for yet another inspiring piece of work and wish him many more years of such productivity.

Joseph Musael, Jerusalem, ISRAEL.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richard Pankhurst, December 10, 2005

By 

Evelina - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bless Ethiopia (Hardcover)

I have not read this book, but I cannot agree with the idea expressed by other reviewers that he was a racist or that he was unaware of the richness of Ethiopian culture. He has written extensively about the country, appreciates it, and also points out faults and mistakes, which is appropriate. Richard Pankhurst was the last person to portray Ethiopians or anyone as uncivilized, backward, etc. But the truth has to be acknowledged that there are differences between cultures and that in many ways a country like Ethiopia is not as "advanced" as other countries that provide a better life for their peoples.

28 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bless Ethiopia is an injustice to the Ethiopian people., July 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bless Ethiopia (Hardcover)

Bless Ethiopia is an injustice to the rich cultural heritage of the Ethiopian people. The author overlooks this country's vast antiquities and its modern day universities,museums, and other institutions. This book continues the western media tradition of portraying Ethiopia as a desolate and depraved country when in fact it is one of many middle eastern countries which gave us civilization. It is particularly troubling that the author chose to include photographs of certain individuals with social unacceptable behavior for the purpose of stereotyping the whole country of Ethiopia. Certainly, all societies have miscreants but is that representative of the whole country? The rich history of Ethiopia is documented in the Old Testament of the bible. Surely, if the author of this book was familiar with the numerous historical sites of Ethiopia and its modern day development, he would have included it in this book. This book was less than complimentary to the Ethiopian people and a distorted image of this great country.