Overview

Haile Selassie I, the last emperor of Ethiopia, was as brilliant as he was formidable. An early proponent of African unity and independence who claimed to be a descendant of King Solomon, he fought with the Allies against the Axis powers during World War II and was a messianic figure for the Jamaican Rastafarians. But the final years of his empire saw turmoil and revolution, and he was ultimately overthrown and assassinated in a communist coup. Written by Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haile Selassie’s grandnephew, this is the first major biography of this final “king of kings.” Asserate, who spent his childhood and adolescence in Ethiopia before fleeing the revolution of 1974, knew Selassie personally and gained intimate insights into life at the imperial court. Introducing him as a reformer and an autocrat whose personal history—with all of its upheavals, promises, and horrors—reflects in many ways the history of the twentieth century itself, Asserate uses his own experiences and painstaking research in family and public archives to achieve a colorful and even-handed portrait of the emperor.

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9781910376645

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Reviews

Today, after centuries of oppression, a billion Africans are finally winning back the substance of their freedom but it is proving a long, vexed and sometimes violent fight. Asfa-Wossen Asserate s masterful, insider s account of Haile Selassie, the African emperor who led Ethiopia s struggle against colonial fascism only to deny liberty to his people, stands as inspiration and warning to an entire continent. --Alex Perry, author of The Rift: A New Africa Breaks Free

Author Information

Born in Addis Ababa, Asfa-Wossen Asserate is an author and corporate consultant who resides in Frankfurt am Main. Peter Lewisis the translator of such works as Roger Willemsen sThe Ends of the Earth and Jonas Luscher s Barbarian Spring, both also published by Haus Publishing.""

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