Lingering Loyalty to Emperor Among Interviewees

Since most of the book is composed of interviews of people who had worked in the Emperor's Palace, the presentation of the facts is colored by their beliefs and biases. Prevalent throughout the testimonies are references to the Emperor as "His Ineffable Majesty" or "His Indefatigable Majesty" or "His Most Virtuous Majesty." As the news clippings at the end of the book (164) show, Haile Selassie stilled believed he was the Emperor even after he had been officially dethroned. It should not be surprising, then, that his former dignitaries—who became wealthy and comfortable solely by his hand—should still refer to him with his Imperial titles.

The affection shown towards the Emperor runs deeper than mere titles, however. Even in situations which seem totally indefensible, the interviews almost invariably take the Emperor's side. For example, they never criticize the amount of...