The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat (Penguin Classics)
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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 Description
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.
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First Sentence
In the evenings I listened to those who had known the Emperor's court. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In the evenings I listened to those who had known the Emperor's court. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Kapuscinsky at his finest! As the world falls apart around Haille Selassie, Kapuscinsky documents his inexorable downfall. But, as always this is not just a documentary. This is colourful, flavoursome, deliciously ironic, bitterly sweet and, whilst inciting despair, drawing symapthy and anger at the same time. If there is one Kapuscinsky to read - make it this one.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading this book - and I loved it.
I was given it as a Christmas gift; having added it to my Amazon wish list !
I first came across Ryszard Kapuscinski after reading "The Shadow of the Sun: My African Life", which I also loved. I like Kapuscinski's reportage style, but I am particularly gripped by his insight.
As for the actual book; I think that the mechanism that Kapuscinski uses for telling the story - vignettes from different individuals - is a great way of telling a story. The reader receives a variety of perspectives, which on their own may not tell the whole story, but collectively form a mossaic which gives far more detail than simple reportage could ever do.
By the end of the book, I felt that I had a pretty good impression of life in the court of Haile Selassie, but I also felt that I had a much clearer understanding of life in the court of any autocratic absolute monarch - such as King Charles I of England or the Kings Louis' of France.
Highly recommended !
I was given it as a Christmas gift; having added it to my Amazon wish list !
I first came across Ryszard Kapuscinski after reading "The Shadow of the Sun: My African Life", which I also loved. I like Kapuscinski's reportage style, but I am particularly gripped by his insight.
As for the actual book; I think that the mechanism that Kapuscinski uses for telling the story - vignettes from different individuals - is a great way of telling a story. The reader receives a variety of perspectives, which on their own may not tell the whole story, but collectively form a mossaic which gives far more detail than simple reportage could ever do.
By the end of the book, I felt that I had a pretty good impression of life in the court of Haile Selassie, but I also felt that I had a much clearer understanding of life in the court of any autocratic absolute monarch - such as King Charles I of England or the Kings Louis' of France.
Highly recommended !
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of a number of amazing works of journalism by Ryszard Kapuscinski, who covered the Third World for the Polish Press Agency until 1981.
In typical Kapuscinski style, in 1974 he went to Ethiopia in the middle of a successful coup attempt to interview servants and associates of the soon-to-be-deposed Emperor Haile Selassie to discover how he ruled and why he was overthrown. The result is a wonderfully composed text that is practically dripping with irony, regret, and even humor.
In typical Kapuscinski style, in 1974 he went to Ethiopia in the middle of a successful coup attempt to interview servants and associates of the soon-to-be-deposed Emperor Haile Selassie to discover how he ruled and why he was overthrown. The result is a wonderfully composed text that is practically dripping with irony, regret, and even humor.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The fall of another world
A fantastic insight into the world of Ethiopa and Haile Selassie, told by secret interviews with those that lived in and dwelt among his surreal court. Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. Hawkins
An Anti-mythos
In essence I agree both with the 5 and 2 star reviewers: this is an elegant, beautiful, wistful, ironic, thoughtful and compassionate book, but is evidently very, very close to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Nicholas Hutton
A shocking account of life at the Ethiopian court before its fall in...
I always knew Haile Selassie was not an enlightened leader, but this ook opened my eyes to just how unbeliavably backward and culturally blind he was. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Carno Polo
Things Fall Apart
The book is brilliant. Such a pity that this Penguin edition falls apart as you read it. Perhaps that would explain why it's so cheap: a classic edition, a cheap edition, a... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Good book
The Emperor
Have not read the book as yet but will soon. Intersting to find out what caused his downfall. Thank you.
Published 14 months ago by Klaus Hilbert
Unlike any other book I have read
After the revolution that overthrew the absolute monarch Haile Selassie in Ethopia a shrewd Polish journalist went to Addis Ababba. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Paul Sloane
"The Prince" in Ethiopia...
Ryszard Kapuscinski has lead a remarkable life, much of it related in his autobiographical work, "Ebene. Read more
Published 16 months ago by John P. Jones III
The Emperor
This is a gift and we have not read the book yet. The delivery service was fine.
We bought the book following a good review on the BBC.
We bought the book following a good review on the BBC.
Published 17 months ago by Terence
Elegant fiction masquerading as reportage
No doubt about the elegance of the prose, but the supposed factual basis of the events it describes is highly suspect. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2009 by A. Stewart
Interesting perspective
Written as a series of reminicences by former flunkies of the royal Sellasi household this book has an imaginative format. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2007 by Sally Wilton
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