The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat
Written by Ryszard Kapuscinski
Translated from the Polish by William R. Brand & Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand

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, grotesque--of a man living amidst nearly unimaginable pomp and luxury while his people teetered between hunger and starvation.

"A stunning exhibit; the interviewed subjects. . . enunciated their memories of the days of Haile Selassie with a magical elegance that. . . achieves poetry and aphorism."
JOHN UPDIKE, The New Yorkers

RYSZARD KAPUSCINSKI, Poland's most celebrated foreign correspondent, was born in 1932. After graduating with a degree in history from Warsaw University, he was sent to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to report for the Polish news, which began his lifelong fascination with the Third World. During four decades reporting on Asia, Latin America, and Africa, he befriended Che Guevara, Salvador Allende, and Patrice Lumumba. He witnessed twenty-seven coups and revolutions and was sentenced to death four times. His books have been translated into nineteen languages. He died in 2007.

Publishing House: Vintage International, New York 1989
SoftCover book measuring 5.2" x 8"
176 pages
English Language Version

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