A History of Ethiopia by Harold G. Marcus

From the Publisher

In this eminently readable, concise history of Ethiopia, Harold Marcus surveys the evolution of the oldest African nation from prehistory to the present. For the updated edition, Marcus has written a new preface, two new chapters, and an epilogue, detailing the development and implications of Ethiopia as a Federal state and the war with Eritrea.

Christopher Clapham

That a country with Ethiopia's historical record should have been so neglected is astonishing, and Harold Marcus is to be congratulated on taking up the challenge...this is a valuable contribution to Ethiopian historiography, which provides a useful and much-needed overview of current knowledge.

Gebru Tareke

With remarkable precision and a sensible balance, Marcus has described the multiple and often contradictory and intersecting forces that have molded Ethiopia's rugged history. In his ambitious attempt to give a comprehensive account, he has paid considerable attention to broader social, economic, and cultural developments... Marcus has given us a concise yet complete overview of Ethiopia's history.

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.

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Table of Contents