From Library Journal
Marcus (history, Michigan State Univ.) has authored several books on Ethiopia, most recently Haile Selassie: The Formative Years 1892-1936 (Univ. of California Pr., 1986). This one, which was eight years in the writing, is his most ambitious because it attempts to cover the entire history of Ethiopia from prehistoric times to the fall of the Mengistu government in 1991, although all but the first 80 pages deal with Ethiopia since its reunification under Menelik in 1889. Marcus views Ethiopian history as a series of cyclical expansions from its component parts to empire and back again; he argues that the idea of the greater Ethiopian nation will always cause the state to reunify despite its current disintegration. Whether or not one agrees with his thesis, this book is such a readable and up-to-date overview of a long and complex history that it is recommended for both academic and large public libraries.
Paul H. Thomas, Hoover Inst. Lib., Stanford, Cal.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Marcus views Ethiopian history as a series of cyclical expansions from its component parts to empire and back again: he argues that the idea of the greater Ethiopian nation will always cause the state to reunify despite its current disintegration. . . . A readable and up-to-date overview of a long and complex history."--Paul H. Thomas, "Library Journal