Understanding Ethiopia is a detailed description of Ethiopia's geological story and enables non-specialist readers to share the author's thrill at gaining a deeper insight into the processes which produced, and continue to shape, this amazing country. Ethiopia's spectacular landscapes, ranging from mountains over 4500m high to salt plains 150m below sea level, are a reflection of the geological processes that formed the country. Indeed, its history and the historical sites, for which it is renowned, are largely determined by geology. Readers learn why and how Ethiopia's geology is both unique and dynamic, as here the earth's crust is in the process of breaking apart.

Frances Williams taught Geology at Addis Ababa University from 1969 to 1976. During that time she travelled throughout Ethiopia, exploring its geology with her students, mapping volcanoes, and investigating the effects of earthquakes. Now relocated to Australia she visits Ethiopia frequently, and has authored and co-authored a number of guidebooks and brochures on localities of geological interest.