Comments on: What to read about Ethiopia?

By: Noemi

Noemi — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:00:58 +0000

Prof. Philip Le Bel at Montclair State University, who was recently on Fulbright teaching economics in Addis Ababa, has the following recommendations:
“I also commend you to a current events post source known as East Africa Forum that is issued by a good friend of mine, Shlomo Bachrach. Shlomo’s postings are not edited and contain links to articles about Ethiopia from most major news sources. “

By: Alice

Alice — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:20:32 +0000

If you fancy a diversion from the written medium, the film ‘Teza’ comes highly recommended
http://www.tezathemovie.com/

Also NPR have a feature coming up on Ethiopia – not sure exactly when it will be aired, but I think it will be fairly soon.

By: Amani

Amani — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:59:23 +0000

‘There is No Me Without You’ by Melissa Fay Greene is an excellent recent book.

Description via Amazon:
Not unlike the AIDS pandemic itself, the odyssey of Haregewoin Teferra, who took in AIDS orphans, began in small stages and grew to irrevocably transform her life from that of “a nice neighborhood lady” to a figure of fame, infamy and ultimate restoration. In telling her story, journalist Greene who had adopted two Ethiopian children before meeting Teferra, juggles political history, medical reportage and personal memoir. While succinctly interspersing a history of Ethiopia, lucidly tracing the history of AIDS from its early manifestation as “slim disease” in the late 1970s to its appearance as a bizarrely aggressive [form] of Kaposi’s sarcoma in the early 1980s, and following the complex path of medication (a super highway in the West, a trail in Africa), Greene rescues Teferra from undeserved oblivion as well as rescuing her from undeserved obloquy (false accusations of child selling).

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:36:23 +0000

For the academic angle you may want to browse the Journal of Northeast African Studies or the International Journal of Ethiopian studies. Leo Arriola has a nice article on the role of ethnicity and economic conditions in recent elections in at least one of those.

I might have a couple other ideas depending on what you guys plan on doing.

By: Chris Blattman

Chris Blattman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:02:33 +0000

Oh. I think you’re right about the Isegewa book. Embarrassing…

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:25:49 +0000

Sweetness in the Belly was a great fictional intro for me.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:28:39 +0000

Surrender or Starve by Robert Kaplan has been making its way through the Ghana RAs. It’s an enlightening journalistic account of the famine in the 80s with a decidedly conservative, even right-wing tilt. Not what you expect to hear from a guy was buddies with Marxist Eritrean rebels.

By: GeoGeek

GeoGeek — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:06:09 +0000

Randomize Marx? Oh man, hurry up with that one…. I would *love* to read that.

By: Owen Barder

Owen Barder — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:50:42 +0000

Chris Where to start? The Emperor is essential reading. Here is a list that should keep you going for a bit: The Emperor by Ryszard KapuÅ›ciÅ„ski. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb Waugh in Abyssinia by Evelyn Waugh The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock (bonkers but interesting) Notes from the Hyena's Belly by Nega Mezlekia A Year In The Death of Africa by Peter Gill Looking forward to seeing you Owen

By: Oliver

Oliver — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:18:05 +0000

Surely Owen Barder has something for you? He lives and works in Ethiopia after all.