Books

Haile Selassie's War
Shared Sorrows: A Gypsy Family Remembers the Holocaust
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Very British, and very interesting
Vast in scope but satisfying all the same
The Original Ras Tafarian Hero
Great war narrative
Too Bad It's Out Of Print

Haile Selassie's War
Anthony Mockler
Manufacturer: Olive Branch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Ethiopia | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Legacy of Bitterness: Ethiopia and Fascist Italy, 1935-1941
Emperor
My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie I (Volume 1) (My Life and Ethiopia's Progress)
The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935-36 (Men-at-Arms)
A History of Ethiopia Updated Edition

ASIN: 1566564735

Book Description

"Half-man, half-snake" was how the Emperor Haile Selassie was described by one of his most ferocious rivals, the eunuch Balcha, who had commanded the artillery at the battle of Adowa where the first Italian invasion of Ethiopia was bloodily repulsed. Forty years later the old Galla warrior was to die, machine-gun in hand, once again attempting, this time without success to halt the Italian intruders.

Anthony Mocker's immensely readable epic history is divided into three parts. First the scene is set in Ethiopia, still feudal, and in Italy, newly fascist. The second part describes in compelling detail the Italian invasion and the battles in the north: it ends with the invaders in undisputed control of their new Roman Empire and with Haile Selassie living in apparently hopeless exile near Bath.

The final section recounts how, following Italy's entry into World War II, British Somali land was invaded and conquered and fears of a British debacle spread all over East Africa. But then the tide of battle turned. As Mussolini's dreams crumbled into dust and his armies into defeat, the ex-Emperor, supported by the bold but amateurish troops of Orde Wingate's Gideon Force, fought his way step by step back into full control of his Empire, despite all the attempts to stop him by Italians, Ethiopians, and even by his allies the British.

First published in 1984, this revised edition of Anthony Mockler's acclaimed history contains a new foreword by the author. Praised as "a memorable book" by John Keegan in the Sunday Times, Haile Selassie's War remains an epic tale of colonial ambition, warfare, and heroism.

Customer Reviews:

Very British, and very interesting.......2007-01-19

This is probably the only generally available book on both of the wars involving Ethiopia during the 30s and 40s. Haile Selassie was the Emporer or Ethiopia from 1930 until the 60s, and this book recounts first the conquest of the country by Italy in 1936, then the colonialization of the country during its occupation, and finally the liberation of the nation in 1941 by the British. Besides the Emporer himself, the book involves many interesting characters, from Archibald Wavell, Winston Churchill, Orde Wingate, and William Slim, around to Rodolfo Graziani, the Duke of Aosta, and Benito Mussolini. The setting is Ethiopia itself, a vast, mostly trackless country, full of warring tribes, warlords vying for power, and foreigners trying to stay out of danger.

Mockler's interest, for the most part, is recounting the basics of the conflict. He pays special attention to the effect of the changing face of Ethiopian politics on the various personalities in the nation, and of course those outside it but involved in the narrative. Mockler starts the account by telling the story of the Battle of Adowa in the 1890s, where the Italians tried to conquer the country in order to turn it into a colony. Ethiopia was one of two countries who were still not colonies at that time, and Italy coveted it as a colony. The Ethiopians were stronger than other tribes that resisted colonialization, and of course the Italians weren't as well organized as the British or as ruthless as the Belgians. The defeat at Adowa left the Italians jealous and angry, thinking that the Ethiopians had rejected colony status, and of course all Europeans at the time imagined that subject people wanted, or at least should want, to be subjects of a European nation.

One difficulty that I had with the book is pretty much outside the parameters of what the writer can control. The country of Ethiopia and the people have very strange, foreign-sounding names. Of course they don't sound foreign to them, but to an American, they're hard to take in. One city discussed repeatedly in the text is called Debra Markos (sounds like a waitress at a diner in New Jersey to me) and one of the warlords is named Endalketchew. I always wanted to say Gesundheit when I saw his name.

Outside of that, I enjoyed the book a great deal. The author deals with the issues presented by the events intelligently, and the result is a very good book.

Vast in scope but satisfying all the same.......2005-11-22

Haile Selassie's War is a historical account that should satisfy the professional and amateur historian alike. On the whole the author handles a set of material that is highly complex and potentially confusing (such as the intrigues of the Ethiopian nobles) and does a great job in keeping up with them without losing the reader along the way.

Due to the vast subject matter, we get to know everyone and everything a little, but largely superficially. Even in regard to the Emperor himself, we follow his rise to power and intrigues with his often-rebellious nobles and rivals, but we get to know little of this man apart from his political actions. What were the influences of his boyhood and early manhood? What was the impact of his diminutive size in terms of his prestige among other, more warlike nobles. Perhaps these things can no longer be determined. But others might have been answerable, such as who was the Empress and what was her influence? What of his sons, his daughters? We get little back-story and meet most of them whilst he is already an exile in England.

On the whole, though, I can have nothing but admiration for Mockler's treatment of the subject. I found the book immensely readable, despite the odd grammatical "gremlin". Although I am a historian by profession I often find large historical monographs of this ilk very hit and miss; I usually find myself skimming through pages and chapters to pick up the story at a more interesting place. With this one, however, I didn't skip a single paragraph and found it all completely fascinating. I also enjoyed the small doses of dry humour injected by Mockler in places, especially where he allows the personalities of some of the characters involved to shine through a little, like the Italian pilot "Gina's brother", "Lawrence of Ethiopia" Ord Wingate, and of course the indefatigable Wilf Thesiger.

And finally, while there are no blushes spared from either Italian (for its harsh regime), British (for their distinct lack of enthusiasm for the Emperor's cause) or Ethiopian (for their serial treachery and indeed the Emperor's own brand of harsh justice) perspectives, insufficient attention, I believe, is focused on the war crimes of the fascists, in particular the use of mustard gas and large-scale execution of civilians (these are examined only cursorily).

The maps, family trees, chronologies and biographical index were all very useful tools - but what about a few photographs? Certainly a picture or two can assist the reader with fixing images in their minds of the personalities and the landscapes being discussed in the text. It would have enhanced my reading of this book quite a bit. My only other irk with this book was the large number of quotations in French and Italian that the author had not bothered to translate for us. I can get by on my high-school French but it is perhaps a little unreasonable of the author to expect readers to be fluent in several languages, when a simple translation in the footnotes would suffice.

Nonetheless I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of Ethiopia, East Africa, World War II, Fascist Italy or Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) himself.

The Original Ras Tafarian Hero.......2004-09-09

Ras Tafari, last Emperor of Ethiopia, otherwise known as Haile Selassie, lived the last of his days during the 1970s as a weird diplomatic footnote, but in his prime, he was equal to his title "Lion of Judah." Upon ascending to the Ethiopian throne in the mid 1930s - an ancient and fascinating institution, due to the unique Christian heritage of Ethiopia - he was forced to defend his homeland against the Italian invader. Though his troops fought bravely, Selassie was forced temporarily to seek exile in Bath (England), where he languished for about four years. Then, in 1940, the British Army was able to deliver vengeance to the Italians, as they extinguished the entire Italian presence in East Africa, rolling up Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia and returning Selassie to Addis Abbaba. Mockler's account of Haile Selassie's two wars is meticulous and well-written, and includes interesting stories about a number of highly significant players such as Orde Wingate (the T.E. Lawrence of WW2), the Duke of Aosta (and Italian prince who got tangled up in the Abyssinian adventure) and Mussolini.

Great war narrative.......2003-07-07

This is an excellent chronicle of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict and then of the battles in Africa during WWII between Italy and Britain. It is narrated very well and I rarely felt lost or confused. This is a great book and would be a welcome edition to any library.

Too Bad It's Out Of Print.......2002-03-06

This is probably one of the best war histories ever written. Mockler's superb book outlines the causes, actions and consequences of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict from Italy's first (foiled) attempt at conquest in 1896 at Adowa to Haile Selassie's final overthrow in the early 1970s by a military junta.
Mockler was exceedingly fortunate to have interviewed some of the people who appear in his book. Many were old men and several were later reported murdered by the Marxist Dengue that set up shop after throwing Selassie out.
Most of the story focuses on the 1936 war between the two countries when Fascist Italy conquered feudal Ethiopia, the last independent nation in Africa at the time. So often portrayed as barefoot and spear-carrying warriors, Mockler shows us that parts of the Ethiopian Army were fairly well-armed and trained. But it was still underdeveloped and relied heavily on massed attacks that guaranteed being massacred by the mechanized, well-equipped Italians. The book continues through the Italian occupation, the Ethiopian resistance, the declaration of war between Italy and Britain in World War Two, the Emperor's return and Ethiopia's eventual independence. It is rife with intrigue, plots and treachery, as Ethiopian nobles plotted with and against each other to see who would eventually wear the crown. It is an exquisitely crafted piece of work and it is a great great shame that it is no longer in print.

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Chapman-Andrews and the Emporer
Peter Leslie
Manufacturer: Pen and Sword
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Ethiopia | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This is the previously untold story of the remarkable relationship between a young British diplomat and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia from the latter's Coronation in 1930 until his murder in 1975.

Based on Chapman-Andrew's diary, the core of the book describes the extraordinary SOE operation in 1940 to re-instate the Emperor on his throne after being driven out by the invading Italians. Together with the legendary Orde Wingate, Chapman-Andrews accompanied the Emperor through Italian occupied Ethiopia and, after many adventures, the vital mission was accomplished.

Later Chapman-Andrews was a key figure during the Suez Crisis and in Britain's relations with Egypt and Sudan as well as Ethiopia.

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HAILE SELASSIE'S WAR
ANTHONY MOCKLER
Manufacturer: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S8NV5U

Ethiopia at Bay: A Personal Account of the Haile Sellassie Years

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Ethiopia at Bay: A Personal Account of the Haile Sellassie Years
John H. Spencer
Manufacturer: Reference Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Ethiopia | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0917256360

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Haile Selassie's war
Anthony Mockler
Manufacturer: Signal
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H5YQA8

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Air War College research report
Harry A Mann
Manufacturer: Air War College, Air University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00071I8JW

Speech of His Majesty the Emperor of Abyssinia at Geneva

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Speech of His Majesty the Emperor of Abyssinia at Geneva
Haile Selassie
Manufacturer: Abyssinia Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008D1SSW

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