<br><br><p align=justify>Ethiopia has always held a special fascination for travelers going back to antiquity, but until the early part of the twen-tieth century, much of the country was inaccessible to all but the hardiest adventurers. In this exciting book, Paul Henze evokes the last years of what some might call a golden age, the decade before the turmoil that engulfed Ethiopia in 1974. Henze provides a mosaic of Ethiopia's culture as he examines its peoples, languages, and religions. Out of print for almost twenty-five years, this volume documents a period of Ethiopian history that was highly distorted by the communist regime of the 1970s and 1980s. This second edition has a new introduction and includes new images reflecting on Ethiopia's recent past and capturing the traditions and peoples of this ancient land.<br><br>Paul B. Henze has traveled extensively throughout Ethiopia and has written hundreds of articles and several books on Ethiopian history, politics, and culture. A veteran member of the U.S. Foreign Service, he was first secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia during the period covered by this book. Henze is a life member of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and during his frequent visits to Ethiopia he continues his research.