Paulos Milkias, PhD, is associate editor of Horn of Africa journal and has taught humanities and political science at Marianopolis College, Westmount, Canada, and at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, for over two decades.

Invaluable for persons about to take up temporary or longer-term residence in the country, and indeed for citizens looking for an introduction to areas with which they may not be familiar. . . . Milkias is to be congratulated on this achievement. . . . [He] exhibits admirable diligence in contributing to the body of important reference works such as Ethiopia, which continue to earn the admiration and gratitude of many students and scholars.

• About the Author,Preface,Acknowledgments,1 Geography,Ethiopia as the Roof of Africa,Ethiopia's Geophysical Mosaic,Geology,Ethiopia as a Water Tower,Temperature,Vegetation and Land Use,Rainfall,Population Distribution and Density,Drought-Prone Zones,Rural Food Shortage and Famine,2 History,Ethiopia: The Mystical Land of Antiquity,Ethiopia: The Cradle of Humankind,Oldest Hominid Habitat—Afar, Ethiopia,Ethiopia as the Cradle of Human Civilization,Ethiopian History: Semitist versus Africanist Paradigm,Ethiopia and the Egyptian Pharaohs,The Cushitic Kingdom of Damot,The Rise of Axum,Axum at the Twilight,The Restoration of the Solomonian Dynasty,The Era of the Princes,The Reign of Emperor Tewodros, 1855–1868,The Reign of Emperor Yohannes IV,Emperor Menelik and Ethiopia's Historic Victory at the Battle of Adwa,Lij Iyasu and the Vacant Throne,The Haile Selassie Period I: Ras Safari's Regency and Emperorship, 1916–1936,Fascist Invasion and the Ethiopian Resistance,The Haile Selassie Period II: 1941–1974,The Status of the Emperor in the Constitution,Japanization and Ethiopia's New Political Structure,The Nature of the Political System after 1941,The Revised Constitution against a Backdrop of a Modernizing Feudalism,The Abortive Coup D'état of 1960,The Ethiopian Revolution of 1974,The Derg Regime,Mengistu's Ascent,Radical Civilian Parties: White and Red Terror,Guerrilla Challenge,Land to the Tiller and Mass Organizations,Ethiopian Workers' Party and Marxist Political Structure,Clout of Political Cadres,The Rise of the EPLF and TPLF,The End of the Derg and the Beginning of a New Era,3 Government and Politics,Rise of the Ruling EPRDF,The Governing Team,Ethnic Federalism,Constitution and the Federal Structure,Democratization and Contemporary Ethiopian Politics,The 2005 and 2010 Elections,Regional Governments,Autonomous Urban Administrative Regions,Political Parties,Ethiopian Foreign Policy,Ethiopia and Somalia,Eritrea and Ethiopia: From War to War,4 Economy,Economic Overview,Historical Background of the Ethiopian Economy,A Sectoral Look at the Ethiopian Economy,Agriculture,Mining,Industry,Tourism,Labor,Finance,Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Report on the Economy,5 Society,Religion and Thought,Pre-Monotheistic Ethiopia,Ethiopia and the Greek Connection,Ethiopia and the Judaic Connection,The Beta-Israel,Christianity as the Official Religion of the Ethiopian Realm,Ethiopian Orthodox as the Protector of South Arabian Christians,Tewahedo Christianity during the Zagwe Dynasty,The Episode of Prester John,Ethiopian Christianity and the Solomonian Dynasty,The Ethiopian Orthodox Sects,Autocephaly,Catholicism in Ethiopia,Protestantism,Ecumenism,Ethiopia's Place in the Division between Eastern and Western Churches Today,Islam in Ethiopia,The Rise of Powerful Regional Muslim States,Ahmed Gragn's Conquests,Zara Yaqob and Ethiopian Philosophy in Hatata,Social Classes and Ethnicity,Feudal Power Structure,Class Structure under Feudalism,The Traditional Political Elite,Social Class and Reform,Haile Selassie and the Western-Educated Elite,The New Social Class that Emerged under Haile Selassie's Modernizing Feudalism,A Class in Embryo,Adirbays,Quiescent Rebel,Die-Hard Revolutionaries,The New Class (Post-1991),Ethnicity and Language,Southern Peoples and Nationalities,Observable Realities about Ethnicity in Ethiopia,Women and Marriage,Organization of Ethiopian Women,Education,Traditional Education,Western Education from 1905 to the End of the Derg Era,Preprimary and Primary Education,Academic Secondary Schools,Higher Education,Educational Research,Educational Administration and Finance,Nonformal Education,Western Education since the EPRDF Assent to Power in 1991,6 Culture,Language,Language Policy,Ethiopic Alphabet,Meeting People,Family,Hospitality and Food,Clothing,Time,Tours,Useful Phrases,Everyday Useful Words,Numbers,Days of the Week,Festivals,Words and Phrases in Tigrigna,Words and Phrases in the Oromo Language,Days of the Week in Afaan Oromo,Numbers in Afaan Oromo,Etiquette,Greetings,General Rules of Ethiopian Etiquette,Business Etiquette in Ethiopia,Literature,Historical Literature,Ge'ez Literature (Religious),Amharic Literature (Secular),Art, Architecture, and Craft,Ethiopian Crosses and Other Paraphernalia,Crowns of Ethiopian Emperors—Axum,Music,Food,Teff-Injera,Berbere,Neter Qebé,Doro Wat,Zilzil Alecha,Veggie Recipes,Coffee Ceremony,Sports and Leisure,Camping in Ethiopia: A Truly Great Outdoors,Greater Kudu,Conventional Sporting,Soccer in Ethiopia,Track and Field,Other Sports,Popular Culture,Pop Music,Dance,Theater,Film,7 Contemporary Issues,Democratization,Ethnicity and Ethnic Federalism,Religious Conflict,Human Rights,Civil War,Terrorism,Drought and Food Security,Population Explosion and Family Planning,Gender Issues and Female Circumcision,Sex Work,HIV/AIDS,Trafficking,Health,Water,Prison and Detention Center Conditions,Capital Punishment,Urban Sprawl and Street Children,Adoption,Glossary,Facts and Figures,Holiday Chart,Country-Related Organizations,Annotated Bibliography of Ethiopia,Thematic Index,Index,