Dispensing gold coins and handing out $200 tips, Emperor Haile Selassie was enjoying himself in imperial fashion on a state visit to Brazil when a ham radio operator in Addis Ababa flashed the bad news. "Calling everybody, calling everybody! Ethiopia is in a critical state following a coup d'état." Glumly, the Emperor lunched in his Sāo Paulo hotel room on lobster thermidor, stared out the window and pondered the unkindest cut of all. The revolt had apparently been led by his own son and heir, Crown Prince Asfa Wassan, 44. By that night the Lion of Judah was back...
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