Customer Reviews

The Emperor's Clothes: A Personal Viewpoint of Politics and Administration in the Imperial Ethiopian Government, 1941-1974 (African Series)

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A moving personal account of politics and administration of Emperor Haile Selassie's government by an Ethiopian that was "there" during key defining times. This book may be difficult to swallow for people that blindly worship Emperor Haile Selassie the legend as the author demonstrates his respect and love for Ethiopia and it's traditions including the monarchy as an institution, but not necessarily the monarch who did not live up to the author's expectation of someone holding this high position.

One of the themes of this book is that the erosion of the value and respect for the great Ethiopian tradition in lieu of foreign traditions, contributed the downfall of Imperial Ethiopia. The author backs this up with numerous tangible examples, but chooses as the basis for the title of the book one symbolic example of how the emperor who was once represented in Ethiopian traditional clothes was later decked out in a British military uniform at a wax museum. The title is quite fitting as the book also focuses on the people surrounding the emperor - an interesting analogy with Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor 's New clothes" for those familiar with this book.

I made the terrible mistake of buying this book. The author writes as if he were more worthy of ruling Ethiopia than His Imperial Majesty his self. Throughout this book the author makes it a point to insult His Majesty who he personally benefited from. He questions His Majesty choice of clothes hence his title which I find sad but amusing. Its the worst literature I've ever read about Ithiopia. I which judement upon this careless Ethiopian.

As a foreigner living in Ethiopia, I could understand many things I have been wondering about just after reading this book. Ethiopian culture, the way people behave in government institutions and the feeling Ethiopians have about their past and about politics were big issues in which I couldn't see any sense. Now, after reading Ato Gaitachew's book Ethiopia's development or rather non-development seems to be a really logical consequence of its history.
I also had the pleasure to meet the author personally and I am hoping that he might write a second volume.
I strongly recommend this book to everybody who is interested in Ethiopia.

There have been few books on Ethiopia written by insiders; prominent members; ministers in various Ethiopian regimes. So this book is a valuable resource for those who wish to gain a better understanding of Ethiopian society and politics. It's an honest and detailed account, giving the reader plenty of material to interpret and with which to form hypotheses about Ethiopian society.

I agree with the reviewer Andrea Arslan, it's a must read for those interested in Ethiopia.

I found the Emperor's Clothes to be very insightful, well-written and controversial book. Particularly, I like how the events are laid out in a very concise and logical manner. I appreciate the authors direct and no-nonsense approach; I hope the Emperor's Clothes will serve the current and future officials (in Ethiopia) as a reference material. I recommend this book for any Ethiopian government official as a must read book.