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Editorial Review:
"Hutus kill Tutsis, then Tutsis kill Hutus--if that's really all there is to it, then no wonder we can't be bothered with it," Philip Gourevitch writes, imagining the response of somebody in a country far from the ethnic strife and mass killings of Rwanda. But the situation is not so simple, and in this complex and wrenching book, he explains why the Rwandan genocide should not be written off as just another tribal dispute.
The "stories" in this book's subtitle are both the author's, as he repeatedly visits this tiny country in an attempt to make sense of what has happened, and those of the people he interviews. These include a Tutsi doctor who has seen much of her family killed over decades of Tutsi oppression, a Schindleresque hotel manager who hid hundreds of refugees from certain death, and a Rwandan bishop who has been accused of supporting the slaughter of Tutsi schoolchildren, and can only answer these charges by saying, "What could I do?" Gourevitch, a staff writer for the New Yorker, describes Rwanda's history with remarkable clarity and documents the experience of tragedy with a sober grace. The reader will ask along with the author: Why does this happen? And why don't we bother to stop it? --Maria Dolan, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
The best book to start understanding Rwanda with This is undoubtedly the best book to read in order to understand the events of and leading to the genocide in 1994. Well written, and well researched this is a book that lays bare the people and events.
Gourevitch expertly weaves macro-politics, Rwandese culture and society and personal testimonies in a way that covers every aspect of this tragic period.
It does leave the reader with a clear viewpoint - something that many call biased writing. However, he comes to and leads readers to the only... more info
Must read This is an awesome book. Written by an American journalist in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide this is an excellently written book which tells the real stories of people caught up in the fighting, along with an overview of the historical background plus a political expose of the shameful actions of the West in promoting and exacerbating the situation. i cannot recommend this highly enough. I actually couldn't put it down.
A true story In this well researched and beautifully written book about the genocide in Rwanda, Philip Gourevitch did a brilliant job not only in telling us about the genocide, but also in making us understand the intricate history of the land that made the genocide possible and the aftermath of the genocide. The book moved me from the opening to the last pages. What I particularly liked about this work by Gourevitch is the fact that it is easy for a non-African or non-Rwandan mind that has no knowledge of Rwanda to... more info
The Shaming of the West This book is extremely powerful. I came to it after a personal recomendation and after seeing the equally powerful Hotel Rwanda. Although not ignorant of the genocide in central Africa, it had nestled in the back of my mind, along with other disasters, atrocities and tragedies across the 15 years I have been a sentient observer of these things.
I think it is vital that people understand what happened in Rwanda. I think it is important that people realise the capacity of man to bring devestation and... more info
