Preface to the Second Edtion
Since its publication in 1991, A History of Modern Ethiopia (1855- 1974) has had a gratifyingly favourable reception. It has managed to capture a wide ,readership and its impact both inside and outside Ethiopia has (ar. exceeded my expectations. The academic reviews have also been generally encouraging. A recurrent source of disappointment has been, however, the fact that the story stops in 197.4: This new edition, which Brings the narrative to 1991, has been prepared primarily to address that concern.
'Contemporary history' is a treacherous ground and historians generally fear to tread it. In the preface to the first edition of the book,I justified the ,terminal date ,on, the ground that 'the time for .'i!~ dis-, -, passionate and documented historical analysis of those occurrences[i.e. of the period 1974-1991J has not yet arrived'. Those two impediments exist now to a much lesser degree than when the book was first written. Now that Darg rule is over! a requiem of that past has become possible. Although Darg officials are still on trial, the passion of the revolutionary years has subsided considerably. Moreover, in addition to the many secondary works that,has been written'?on~the.,P~ri9d,· we have also seen a size able number of testimonials by~activ~ participants of the period. Chapter 6, whiehis the major innovation of this new edition, has now been made possible because of these developments.
Yet, the chapter can not be anything but a synopsis of that complex period. While the importance of that period certainly merits wider treatment and the wealth of data invites it, I have striven as much as possible to maintain the balance of the whole book. MeT all, the revolutionary period lasted only, seventeen years, a similar action in a narrative that has the span of a century and a half. Revisiting the manuscript has also enabled me to rectify minor errors pointed out by the reviewers as well as to attune certain phrases to the contemporary setting.
I am grateful to my colleagues Shiferaw Bekele and Taddesse Tamrat for reading an earlier draft of the sixth chapter and making suggestions for improvement. My thanks are also due to Douglas Johnson' of James Currey Publishers for the gentle pressure he has been exerting on me to expedite the. writing of the revised edition. As so often, I am indebted to my loyal friend, Denis Gerard, for preparing the photographs. The first edition was criticized by some for not having a decent photograph of Emperor Hayla-Sellase. I have now rectified that omission, which was induced not by any personal
antipathy I' might have had for the sovereign but by a conscious decision not to cloud the fate of the whole book for the sake of one photograph. |
