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This is, arguably, the most comprehensive and even-handed biographical account on Emperor Haile Selassie I. The author, Asfa-Wossen Asserate—a prince by birth—is Haile Selassie’s great nephew. And, in writing the emperor's biography, this familial link afforded Asserate an intimate perspective on the emperor’s life.
Although not all the details Asserate provides are based on the author’s first-hand experience, Asserate drew from sources (such as his father and grandfather) who had access to the emperor and his inner circle. He introduces Haile Selassie as a reformer and an autocrat whose personal history—with all of its promises, upheavals and horrors—reflects in many ways the history of the twentieth century itself. Brace yourself for a historical joyride.
I happen to be one of the few people (or maybe there’s more than a few of us) that approaches Kapuscinski’s work with a great degree of cynicism. What is implicitly presented as a well-researched, intimate, and balanced historical account of events is, in my view, nothing more than an entertaining insight into the author’s imaginative mind; where the lines between fact and fiction sometimes blur but, nevertheless, make for a brilliant, well-written piece of literature. It is through this lens that I approached Kapuscinski’s account of the events that led to the toppling of the last Shah of Iran, one of the most infamous of the US client-dictators.
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