Haile Selassie, King of Kings, Elect of God, Lion of Judah, His Most Puissant Majesty and Distinguished Highness the Emperor of Ethiopia, reigned from 1930 until he was overthrown by the army in 1974. While the fighting still raged, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Poland's leading foreign correspondent, traveled to Ethiopia to seek out and interview Selassie's servants and closest associates on how the Emperor had ruled and why he fell. This "sensitive, powerful. . .history" (The New York Review of Books) is Kapuscinski's rendition of their accounts—humorous, frightening, sad, groteque—of a man living amidst nearly unimaginable pomp and luxury while his people teetered netween hunger and starvation.
The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com 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.
Review
"[The Emperor] transcends reportage, becoming a nightmare of power... An unforgettable, fiercely comic, and finally compassionate book."
—Salman Rushdie
"Kapuscinski transcends the limitations of journalism and writes with the narrative power of a Conrad or Kipling or Orwell."
—Blake Morrison
"A Stunning exhibit; the interviewed subjects. . .enunciate their memories of the days of Haile Selassie with a magical elegance that. . .achieves poetry and aphorism."
—John Updike, The New Yorker
—Salman Rushdie
"Kapuscinski transcends the limitations of journalism and writes with the narrative power of a Conrad or Kipling or Orwell."
—Blake Morrison
"A Stunning exhibit; the interviewed subjects. . .enunciate their memories of the days of Haile Selassie with a magical elegance that. . .achieves poetry and aphorism."
—John Updike, The New Yorker
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very unique book presenting a seemingly casual investigation of the last days of Haile Selassie's reign in Ethiopia. Note that this is not a history of Ethiopia or Selassie's reign, so prior knowledge on these subjects would be an advantage. Kapuscinski offers clandestine interviews with members of the Emperor's court and ministries, as they watched the slow and rather bizarre downfall of the autocrat. While non-Ethiopians often see Selassie as an enlightened visionary and Moses-like leader of his people, the reality was much different closer to home. Here we find an entrenched demagogue more concerned with preserving his power with little knowledge of the lives of his subjects. He surrounded himself with yes-men with the same self-preserving motives, and like any fading dictator he regularly purged anyone even remotely connected to independent thinkers. In one interview, a member of the court regrets sending his son to college, as the young man became infested with ideas that were not loyal to the Emperor, though they were probably accurate. Kapuscinski's anonymous subjects underhandedly point out their leader's faults while constantly heaping titles on him like "His Enlightened Majesty" or "His Benevolent Highness." This indicates the leader's cult of personality and his employees' pathological fear of losing his favor. We then see the classic fall of an out-of-touch despot, as he was ousted in one of the weirdest revolutions of all time. This unique book seems like lightweight reporting at the surface, but ultimately offers numerous lessons in power and corruption, and Selassie's story offers many parallels for autocrats around the world and throughout history. [~doomsdayer520~]
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
All hail His August Majesty!! That is what Haile Selassie heard from a nation of people that worshipped, but feared the King of Kings. During his most powerful years as Emperor of Ethiopia His Imperial Majesty was the most powerful person in this ancient culture. As Kapuscinski relates through eloquent anecdotes, his power and national approval would soon change.
The book is structured into three chapters, The Throne, It's Coming, It's Coming, and The Collapse. Imperial Palace inhabitants relate stories that describe the feelings and attitudes of those closest to the Emperor. Kapuscinski gives you a sense of what it was like to be in the palace in times of great affluence and abundance. Just when you thought it could not get any better, the feeling of revolution sets in. He describes how the people began to tire of the monarchy, loose respect for power, and grow increasingly hungry. It was captivating to read how the dignitaries tried to hold on to their imperious way of life, while the revolution was taking place outside the palace gates.
This book takes you inside the palace during crucial times of Haile Selassie's reign. You get a sense of what the people were thinking, but did anyone ever know what Haile Selassie was actually thinking?
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
(That's the polish original title.) I think it's worth saying, that in Poland, in the 4th class of high school it's obligatory to read for all the students.'Emperor' was also included in a list of 100 most important non-fictional books of the century ( I don't actually remember the name of the magazine, that prepared the list). It is the most famous book by Ryszard Kapuscinski, famous for the topic he's chosen to write about; for it's beauty and simplicity of style and the massage it carries.Famous for it's huge dose of emotions.Famous for it's beauty.Telling a story of Hajle Sellasje, the emperor of Ethiopia, Kapuscinski shows us the tragedy of Africa, the never-solved problems and curse it has to fight with. He shows us the essence of power, it's danger and instability. "Emperor" is probably the most comprehensive book about authocratic system ever written. We are told the story of the emperor by the people who used to be his servants and clerks. The author has spent years in Africa, South America and Asia, as a war-correspondent.He's seen the downfalls of various governments,uprises and wars.In "Emperor" he shows us his experiences in the simplest and most beautiful way ever.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not in depth but provides nuances not found elsewhere
Fairly short book which relies on personal interviews to tell the story of Haille Selassie's last days. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Jeff
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Emperor Review
Journalism at its best. Kapuscinski captures unique elements and the descriptive writing is excellent. An educative and mind-opening narrative book.
Published 4 days ago by Camilo Morales V
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written history
Written with the style and beauty of a novel, this look at the reign and eventual fall of Haile Selassie is in the form of first-person testimonies from palace officials and... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Jaybee90069
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Eyeopener
An insider's look told through interviews with those who served the emperor. I want to read more books written by this author.
Published 1 month ago by Em Perdue
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Emperor
Kapuscinski does it again! I have only recently discovered this writer and am reading everything of his I can get my hands on. You will too. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Traveller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keeps You On Your Toes
I love this book because you never quite know where the "journalism" is ending and the "story" beginning, as the author reveals increasingly ridiculous and unbelievable facts about... Read more
Published 6 months ago by L.S. Federer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid descriptions of Haile Selassie's Court in the final days
Extremely readable compilation of interviews with a wide variety of staffers working in the waning years of Emperor Selassie's imperial household.
Published 6 months ago by Charles W. Jewett Jr.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hugely Disappointing...
The format of the book itself is wrong ( to me). Instead of being a biography of the Emperor, it is a collection of accounts of his former employees; stake-holders of his... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Prabal Guha Biswas
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ethiopia up Close
This profile of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is fascinating, questionable, riveting, interesting, challenging, and readable. Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. Rhoades
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inside a dysfunctional, sycophantic world
A remarkable glimpse into a world of ritual, flattery and self-delusion that appears exaggerated beyond credulity but at the same time is vaguely familiar to anybody who has been... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Peter Monks
