In 1930 Evelyn Waugh went out to Abyssinia as special correspondent for "The Times" to cover the coronation of the Emperor Ras Tafari - Haile Selassie I, King of the Kings of Ethiopia. This is Waugh's account, not just of Ethiopia and the coronation, but of his subsequent travels in Aden, Kenya, Zanzibar, the Belgian Congo and South Africa. The countryside, cities, towns and villages are vividly described and just as vividly populated: natives rub shoulders on Waugh's pages with eccentric expatriates; settlers with Arab traders; and dignitaries with Armenian monks. Interspersing his tales are three nightmares which describe the frustrations of travel and the disappointment of returning home.