Interpreting Ethiopia: Observations of Five Decades is a collection of scholarly essays that covers Donald N. Levine's fifty years of scholarship on Ethiopian Studies. From "The Conceptions of Time and Space in the Amhara World View" to the "Masculinity and Warriorhood in Ethiopia and Japan", and everything in between, the scope and depth of Levine's essays make this book a must-read for those interested in the past and present of Ethiopia. 

Foreword Donald Levine’s Journey through Ethiopian Civilization by Andrew Decort

Preface by Donald N. Levine

Understanding Ethiopia Today: Some Observations of a Sociologist (1961)

Part I Ethos And Worldview

On the Conceptions of Time and Space in the Amhara World View (1959)

On the History and Culture of Manz (1964)

Legitimacy in Ethiopia (1964)

Ethiopia: Identity, Authority, and Realism (1965)

A Tigrean Legacy: The Kibre Negest as a National Script (1974)

Menilek and Oedipus: Further Reflections on the Ethiopian National Epic (1973)

A Note on Ethiopia’s Distinctive Religious Heritage (2007)

Greater Ethiopia Reconsidered (2014)

PART II Higher Education and Literature

On General Education and the Ethiopian University (1961)

Early Amharic Literature (1961)

Wax-and-gold Poetry (1965)

Is Ethiopia Cutting Off Its Head Again? (1993)

Kwillo amekkirru we-ze-senay atsni’u (2004)

On Cultural Creativity in the Ethiopian Diaspora (2006)

PART III History

The Battle of Adwa as an Historic Event (1996)

Coming to America (1996)

Amhara (2003)

Ethiopians in Israel (2006)

Tigrayawinet (2006)

Two Tales of One City (2006)

Oromo Narratives (2007)

Å um Å ir (2011)

Part IV Politics

On the December 1960 Coup Attempt (1961)

The Military in Ethiopian Politics (1966)

Concerning the Derg: Testimony for US Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs (1976)

On the Eritrean Referendum (1993)

Will the Real Spirit of Adwa Please Stand Up? (1995)

More People More Hunger (2006)

Ethiopia’s Missed Chances: 1960, 1974, 1991, 1998, 2005, and Now (2007)

The Promise of Ethiopia (2008)

Part V Comparative And Global

Ambiguity and Modernity (1985)

Ethiopia and Japan in Comparative Civilizational Perspective (1997)

Masculinity and Warriorhood in Ethiopia and Japan (2002) 

Ethiopia, Japan, and Jamaica: A Century of Globally Linked Modernizations (2005)

Ethiopian Nationhood in a Global Era (2011)

A Revised Analytical Approach to the Evolution of  Ethiopian Society (2012)

"Professor Levine’s essays savor like a fine cup of Ethiopian coffee. It is a blend of the earthy taste of ethnography, the subtle aroma of social theory, and the spices of history!"—Eloi Ficquet, co-editor of Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia: Monarchy, Revolution and the Legacy of Meles Zenawi

"The breadth, depth and commitment of Levine’s work on Ethiopia spanning fifty years has finally been woven together in this unique and inspiring collection that links profound insights across disciplines from anthropology and archaeology through sociology to history, political science and peace-making. Interpreting Ethiopia is required reading for anyone interested in Ethiopian studies."—Alula Pankhurst, co-editor of Moving People: Displacement, Development and the State in Ethiopia and Country Director of Young Lives Ethiopia

"This outstanding collection of work by Donald Levine from 1959 through 2014 demonstrates why he is unquestionably one of the world’s leading scholars on Ethiopia."—David Shinn, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University and the Former United States Ambassador to Ethiopia

Donald N. Levine, is the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Sociology and former dean of the College at the University of Chicago. For nearly half a century he has been devoted to Ethiopia—as a scholar, in university teaching, in providing expert assistance to various government bodies, and in community service on behalf of Ethiopians at home and abroad.

Levine's publications on Ethiopia include dozens of articles, parts of The Flight from Ambiguity: Essays in Social and Cultural Theory (1985), and two books, Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture (1965), now reprinted by Tsehai Publishers and Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society (1974), a second edition of which, with a new preface was published, in 2001. An Amharic translation of this book (Tiliqitu Etyopya) was published in 2001 by the Addis Ababa University Press.