The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913 (Study in African Affairs) [Hardcover]

Harold G. Marcus (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (Txt) (June 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198216742
• ISBN-13: 978-0198216742
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,997,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A historical foundation of Ethiopia, November 12, 1998

By 

Michael Gebretsadik ([e-mail]) (San Francisco, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844-1913 (Paperback)

For those with a historical interest in the nations of Africa will find this book entertaining and easy to read. Well researched, informative, and detailed account of the life of King Menelik II of Ethiopia. Menelik was the king responsible for unifying the various tribes within the nation and generally created the border that exists today (or, at least, when Eritrea was still part of Ethiopia). Menelik is also famous for his military genius which helped defeat the Italian army in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa, thus preventing Ethiopia from being colonized by a European nation. Prof. Harold Marcus also goes into great detail on Ethiopia's dealings with the European nations and its neighboring countries during the rule of King Menelik II, but his narrative style makes this book very easy to read. I recommend this book to anyone from high school and up.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Historical Work, March 20, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia, 1844-1913 (Hardcover)

The book "The Life and Times of Menelik II" is superbly written. It gives an overall highly discriptive view of Abyssinian history during the last generations of Ethiopia's empirial dynasty. It is probably the best book that exists about Ethiopia's struggles against European colonialism, specifically the Battle of Adwa. Read this book to discover why Ethiopia was the only country in the early 20th century not yet subjected to European occupation.