Full name: The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat

Author: Ryszard Kapuscinski Year: 1978 Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: Non Fiction, History, Travel Culture: Africa Purchase/reserch links: Barns&Noble Amazon Google Books Goodreads LibraryThing ISBNs: 9780679722038 0679722033

After the deposition of Haile Selassie in 1974, which ended the ancient rule of the Abyssinian monarchy, Ryszard Kapuscinski travelled to Ethiopia and sought out surviving courtiers to tell their stories. Here, their eloquent and ironic voices depict the lavish, corrupt world they had known - from the rituals, hierarchies and intrigues at court to the vagaries of a ruler who maintained absolute power over his impoverished people. They describe his inexorable downfall as the Ethiopian military approach, strange omens appear in the sky and courtiers vanish, until only the Emperor and his valet remain in the deserted palace, awaiting their fate. Dramatic and mesmerising, The Emperor is one of the great works of reportage and a haunting epitaph on the last moments of a dying regime. Similar books: Another Day of Life by Ryszard Kapuscinski The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski Chasing the Devil by Tim Butcher Surrender or Starve by Robert D. Kaplan Precolonial Black Africa by Cheikh Anta Diop In Search of King Solomon's Mines by Tahir Shah Into Africa by Martin Dugard Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo In Europe by Geert Mak The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane Cities of Gold by Douglas Preston South with Endurance by Frank Hurley The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester Amsterdam by Russell Shorto Maximum City by Suketu Mehta The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer B. Lee