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 A very important book, with one very large problem Nov 10, 2007
Contemporary, English-language literature on the Mengistu period of Ethiopian history is very difficult to find. Even more difficult to find is literature written by native Ethiopians with first-hand knowledge of the events of this period. Fortunately for his readers, Mr. Shifaw provides such first-hand knowledge. Unfortunately, however, what could have been a very powerful and incisive analysis is marred by very basic grammatical errors.
I always try to be charitable to authors whose native language is not English (and certainly Mr. Shifaw's English is much better than my Amharic, or Oromo, Tigrinya, Afar, Somali, etc), but in this case it is impossible to overlook grammatical errors - they are simply too numerous, and of such a basic nature that they often turn what would be very simple sentences into puzzling, or at least distracting, passages.
From the very first page:
"The crown prince promised to modernize and democratize the country over the national radio, the promises that did not last very long."
This is illustrative of the type of error that occurs over and over throughout the book, along with more serious errors that at times strain the reader's ability to comprehend what Mr. Shifaw is actually trying to convey.
I have given this book three stars because I think its theme is very important and its perspective very unique, but I would implore Mr. Shifaw to seek out a qualified native speaker of English to seriously revise the text in order to correct its many grammatical errors. Perhaps then subsequent printings can live up to the promise that this book shows.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Very EXCELLENT BOOK TO READ May 02, 2006
THIS NEW BOOK
"The Diary of Terror, Ethiopia 1974-1991"
provides you with lots of information that you have never heard about the military rule in Ethiopia between 1974 and 1991:
1. It was General Aman Andom who created the military council, later known as the Derg, not Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam.
2. Led by Mengistu Hailemariam, Derg later executed its own creator, General Aman Andom.
3. Mengistu was not only a brutal dictator but also kind who supported poor children to get education in his Harar military base.
4. When he was a young soldier, Mengistu requested to transfer to the Navy. But the Navy recruiter rejected him because Mengistu did not fulfill the criterion set for seaman recruits of those days. He was too short and too dark. Commander Alexander Desta, the grandson of the Emperor and Navy commander did not like seamen of darker complexion. Mengistu executed Alexander in November 1974.
5. Many people think that all Derg members were illiterate privates and corporals, but there were also well-educated officers who held university degrees.
6. There are also people who assume that terror was started by Mengistu and his soldiers. That is wrong. It was, ignited by a civilian party, the EPRP. It is called the White Terror.
7. Another civilian party, Maeson, advised Mengistu to take revenge against the EPRP to wage Red Terror. Mengistu later extended this terror to other political parties and even to innocent people.
8. Mengistu finally liquidated Maeson, the party that created and nurtured him.
9. During the May 1989 coup against Mengistu, his cadres executed Taye Balaker, the Eritrean Police Commissioner who supported the coup, loaded his body on a donkey and took it to his wife as a gift in Asmara.
10. In general, it is about the Red and White Terrors that reduced Ethiopian population by a high percentage. It is about the horror that still haunts millions of people.
MIKE
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