This book is about the rise of a military dictatorship that overthrew an African kingdom that ruled the country for centuries. Emperor Haile Sellassie claimed to be King of Kings, the lion of the tribe of Judea, crumbled before both his peoples who hated and who worshipped him.
The military that overthrew the emperor did not have the wisdom to give leadership that the people had expected. To learn how to lead the people, the military council that was called Transition Military Council or Derg embraced the intellectuals who returned home from Europe and North America. The educated Ethiopians advised the military leaders how to deal with former officials and what kind of policy they need to setup. Taking this advice, the Derg allowed several political parties to form. As soon as this was done, the educated Ethiopians advised the military to step down by giving power to the political parties. But the military refused to do this.
In the power struggle between the educated class and the military, the military turned to the muzzle of the gun while the intellectuals turned to the people to get mass support. But mass support did not help against the gun.
In the meantime, the struggle between the military and organized political parties encouraged ethnic conflict for secession, which already existed in several regions. They included TPLS of Eritrea, OLF of the Oromo, TPLF of Tigray, and others. In the struggle between these forces between 1974 and 1991, millions of people lost their lives. This book is about how this happened in Ethiopia.