For the first time in the United States comes the tragic and profoundly important story of the legendary Canadian general who "watched as the devil...
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Feb 26, 2009
Vanessa
rated it: 
This is such an important book, but a very tough one to get through because it is filled with stuff that will make you want to tear your hair out in frustration, hang your head in shame, and boil your brain in bleach to remove the terrible images seared into it. It is no wonder that General Dallaire is still traumatized after this experience, and he has my admiration for mustering his strength and courage to write it all down, just as he has my admiration for refusing to turn his back on the peo
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Feb 15, 2008
Steve
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An excellent chronological view of the Rwanda genocide as seen by the Canadian general in charge of UN security in the country. Ostensibly this assignment was for him to take a skeletal force of UN troops from a few nations and provide security for the implementation of a peace agreement and the installation of a transitional government. A great keyhole view into the problems of UN peacekeeping. I admire his tenacious adherence to his duty in light of absolute chaos and terror going on around hi
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Nov 14, 2011
Julie
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Dallaire's powerful memoir is important, graphic, and undeniable. It is, however, a tough read because of the disturbing events he describes and the even more disturbing lack of action on behalf of Rwanda's victims. Its historic importance and brutal honesty earns it five stars.
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Jan 21, 2012
Sylvain
rated it:
Those interested in military or African history will find much of interest here, as will those who are interested in the inner (and outer) workings of the U. N. and its peacekeeping missions. Dallaire shows the failure of the UN and Western nations to intervene adequately in the Rwandan genocide. But history is not without its witnesses, and Dallaire and his soldiers provide a record of the nation of Rwanda's descent into hell. This descent includes the gang-rape and murder of children and the u
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(4 people liked it)
Oct 02, 2011
Jean
rated it:
A very raw first person account of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,
as seen by the military commander of the UN peacekeeping mission
in place at the time. Dallaire does not try to over-analyze
everything or conjecture what everybody was thinking or not at the
time. He simply tells of his experience in Rwanda, what he saw,
what he heard, and what he felt.
Dallaire is a French Canadian who grew up in Montréal,
torn between English- and French-speaking factions of youth, trying
to rise through the ranks of a More...
as seen by the military commander of the UN peacekeeping mission
in place at the time. Dallaire does not try to over-analyze
everything or conjecture what everybody was thinking or not at the
time. He simply tells of his experience in Rwanda, what he saw,
what he heard, and what he felt.
Dallaire is a French Canadian who grew up in Montréal,
torn between English- and French-speaking factions of youth, trying
to rise through the ranks of a More...
Mar 10, 2011
uh8myzen
rated it:
This is an absolutely stunning insider's look at the travesty of the Rwanda genocide and the United Nations mission led by General Romeo Dallaire.
The book explores two stories. The first being General Dallaire's personal journey from a strong, confident warrior to the broken, suicidal man he became upon his return to Canada. A man consumed by the guilt and the horror of a genocide that very well could have been prevented had his warnings to the United Nations been heeded and had he More...
The book explores two stories. The first being General Dallaire's personal journey from a strong, confident warrior to the broken, suicidal man he became upon his return to Canada. A man consumed by the guilt and the horror of a genocide that very well could have been prevented had his warnings to the United Nations been heeded and had he More...
Jul 14, 2007
Liesel
rated it:
This book, though heavy in military jargon and very long, was absolutely one of the most stunning books I have ever read. It was gripping, and completely chilling. It is the deeply personal story of Romeo Daillaire, the head of the UN Peacekeeping mission for Rwanda during the genocide/war and how he witnessed, literally, the abandonment of humanity by humanity.
It is worth your time to read this book. I plan to read it again soon.
It is worth your time to read this book. I plan to read it again soon.
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Jul 26, 2011
Sally
rated it: 
This book is really long. I know that some ppl are afraid to read it in case they are left forever traumatized by the gore, but it's not actually that shocking because he doesn't focus on the blood and guts very much, and when he does mention them, i found that they were too hard to imagine to shake me up. Mostly, he described the actual progress of the UNIMIR from his point of view as the military pooh-bah of the mission. I thought the most interesting thing was de-mystifying how a peacekeep
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Feb 05, 2009
Tim
rated it:
General Dallaire recounts the events leading up to the Rwandan genocide from his perspective as a UN commandeer in charge of implementing a little known peace treaty between Rwandan parties - the implementation if it had been carried out could have prevented a deliberate carefully planned attempt by extremists to eradicate a portion of the country's population and come to power.
As carefully spelled out in his narrative, this was not a "spontaneous spasm of horrific violence" More...
As carefully spelled out in his narrative, this was not a "spontaneous spasm of horrific violence" More...
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Mar 28, 2009
Ryan
rated it:
I've never read a book that made me so angry.
The author is Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian who was the force commander of UNAMIR, the UN mission charged with steering Rwanda through the Arusha Accords. In this memoir, Dallaire recalls in detail the day-to-day struggle of UNAMIR to accomplish its mission, from the time he landed in Rwanda in September of 1993, through the 100 day genocide beginning in April, all the way through the conclusion of his tour in August.
For me, the More...
The author is Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian who was the force commander of UNAMIR, the UN mission charged with steering Rwanda through the Arusha Accords. In this memoir, Dallaire recalls in detail the day-to-day struggle of UNAMIR to accomplish its mission, from the time he landed in Rwanda in September of 1993, through the 100 day genocide beginning in April, all the way through the conclusion of his tour in August.
For me, the More...
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 05, 2012
So I became very interested in Rwandan genocide after I read the Novel Night The poor book is weeping for me to write a review on it for my English class. Before we read the book, we had to a presentation on WWII in general and one of the things that struck me the most was that almost everyone was like "We must never allow Holocaust to happen again." And I'm like, "I'm pretty sure that more genocides have occurred since" Well, thanks to one of the most amazing websites on t
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Apr 21, 2010
Viktoriya
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This wasn't an easy book to read. Not only because of its subject matter, but because of the writing style. I think even without the first chapter, where Romeo Dallaire is talking about his childhood and military carreer, you'd know what the book was writen my a military man. This book could have benefited from a better editor.
As far as the context of the book. It was really an eye-opener. I knew a lot about the genocide itself, I read the court documents from the Tribunal, I read s More...
As far as the context of the book. It was really an eye-opener. I knew a lot about the genocide itself, I read the court documents from the Tribunal, I read s More...
Nov 05, 2010
Heather
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This book, written by the UN Commander in Rwanda during the genocide, helps explain how the world looked the other way during the slaughter of nearly a million people in just a few short months. I could not understand how, given that we knew it was happening, we did nothing. This book sheds some light on the politics, the decision makers, and the problems on the ground. The force commander, a Canadian, wanted to do more but all his requests were denied. Though it can be a bit hard to read an
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Jan 16, 2010
Sandy
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Dallaire's book is a powerful call to action that damns the so called civilised world for its failure to act in the face of Rwanda'a genocide. Dallaire and his companions stand out as rare beacons of light amongst those who refused to act to save Rwanda.
It was a heart wrenching book to read, because it becomes clear that the genocide could have been stopped, but none of the so-called great powers cared, because they did not feel that Rwanda was worth saving. As Dallaire quotes the American More...
It was a heart wrenching book to read, because it becomes clear that the genocide could have been stopped, but none of the so-called great powers cared, because they did not feel that Rwanda was worth saving. As Dallaire quotes the American More...
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Oct 02, 2007
Sherry
rated it:
An excellent account of the genocide in Rwanda by the UN Force Commander, Lt. General Romeo Dallaire, in charge of the peacekeeping force. However, at 522 pages I had to take a break in the middle of the book. The intensity and tragedy of the events make it difficult to read straight through. I hope to pick it up again soon.
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May 28, 2009
Charlie
rated it:
Whew. This book was recommended to me by a co-worker, as the work we were both doing at the time centered around international criminal law, with the Rwanda genocide being the impetus for the creation of the ICTR, something of a predecessor to the ICC (which we monitored as part of our work).
It was at times difficult to read, not just because of its gruesome subject matter but also because of the writing style. That being said, if there is another book I'm more glad that I read, More...
It was at times difficult to read, not just because of its gruesome subject matter but also because of the writing style. That being said, if there is another book I'm more glad that I read, More...
Feb 06, 2009
Kirsten
rated it:
In my ongoing interest in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, I read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dalliare, was the French-Canadian placed in charge of the UN team sent to make sure the Arusha peace accords were implemented properly. He was, therefore, the military UN representative in charge when the peace accords broke down and Rwanda dissolved into conflict and experienced first hand the horrors of mass killings.
He does an excellent job of detailing the i More...
He does an excellent job of detailing the i More...
Jul 27, 2011
John
rated it:
This must have been extremely cathartic for Dallaire to write, ably supported by Brent Beardsley, as it reflects his most personal thoughts and recollections of the world's collective failure to act against the atrocities being committed in Rwanda. Smacking of dual standards within the UN - their, and the majority of the focus of the West, at the time was in the Former Yugoslavia - it relates the details of the tragedy of Rwanda and the total disregard for human life amongst the protaganists as
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Jun 06, 2011
William
rated it:
A haunting, powerfully written book by the commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during the genocide. It's difficult to read, because you'll come away from the book angry and disgusted frequently. The disregard of most of the world to what was going on in Africa at the time, the horrors of the genocide, the brutality of what happened... all of these things will horrify you. Dallaire paid a steep price, placed into an impossible position and unable to act. He went to Rwanda a proud s
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Mar 04, 2009
Nathan
rated it: 
One feels compelled to excuse any shortcoming this book might have, in light of General Dallaire's unquestionable heroism in the face of unbelievable horror. On the human level, this book is excellent, both as a warning against the evils of genocide and as a reminder that there are people still dedicated to justice and peace, even at great personal cost. On the literary level, and on the personal level, this book sucked. The flow of events is alternately dizzyingly fast or numbingly slow; the hu
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Oct 14, 2011
Alida
rated it:
We are reading "Baking Cakes in Kigali" in both of my book clubs and I thought I should finally get brave and read this book to understand Rwanda a bit better. It's been on my "to read shelf" (the real one, not the virtual one ;-) ) and so far I've been chicken.
This book was not a graphic as I had feared although some of his descriptions are horrific. It is more of a political book as Dallaire, a true Canadian hero, explains how the UN and "have" natio More...
This book was not a graphic as I had feared although some of his descriptions are horrific. It is more of a political book as Dallaire, a true Canadian hero, explains how the UN and "have" natio More...
Apr 27, 2010
Sanne
rated it:
This is a really good book, especially because Dallaire saw the genocide happening and he couldn't do much because the UN didn't think of Rwanda as a country worth considering sending help to. Especially after some U.S. soldiers got killed in Somalia they were really careful to send troops to Rwanda. In my opinion the world abandoned Rwanda, and I think it would have been different if a genocide was going on in a Western country.
I liked reading the book, but at times it was hard rea More...
I liked reading the book, but at times it was hard rea More...
Nov 05, 2011
Mariel
rated it: 
I feel terrible giving this book two stars because of its subject matter. I wanted to like this book and the reason I wanted to read it is because I am interested in the Rwandan holocaust. The first book I read on the subject, a memoir entitled, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, I thoroughly enjoyed and left me wanting to know more about what happened during that time. A book about this topic that received great reviews is We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
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Oct 20, 2011
Kat
rated it:
This is a fantastic book detailing what happened in Rwanda. It can be tough to get through for many reasons. For one, the subject matter is of course heartbreaking. Some of the book can be a little dry, mainly the beginning. Also there are a lot of military terms and abbreviations to keep track of.
One of my favorite things about this book was learning about what goes into sending UN forces into a country. I never realized how much bureaucracy was involved.
I think it's defin More...
One of my favorite things about this book was learning about what goes into sending UN forces into a country. I never realized how much bureaucracy was involved.
I think it's defin More...
Mar 08, 2010
Danielle
rated it:
This book was not an easy read. Lt. Dallaire was commander of the UN Peacekeeping force and was present for the worst months of the genocide. The UN tied his hands and he was not allowed to do anything except watch as the killing unfolded around him. Lt. General Romeo Dallaire returned from Rwanda with severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. This book reveals, first-hand, in stark and unflinching detail how humanity stood face to face with the devil in Rwanda, and broke a promis
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Dec 26, 2008
.50spiderbite
rated it:
For about a month or so I would read a chapter or so of this book before I worked out so I would be good and angry when I exercised. I gained about 20 pounds that month.
This book is seriously disturbing, far beyond those "it's important to know what happened here" sort of things, it can be very frustrating when at the time of the genocide in Rwanda there were multiple military powers with force projection capability that could have prevented the deaths of hundreds, if not More...
This book is seriously disturbing, far beyond those "it's important to know what happened here" sort of things, it can be very frustrating when at the time of the genocide in Rwanda there were multiple military powers with force projection capability that could have prevented the deaths of hundreds, if not More...
Jan 23, 2011
Cassie
rated it:
Read it.
Even if you aren't familiar with the Rwandan genocide or the events occurring in Africa, you should read this book. The themes don't just have to do with the crisis. Major themes also discuss how one's own guilt, regrets, and personal mindstate can be one's biggest enemy and the failure of large international bodies and humanity.
It's definitely sad and a lot of scenes are very graphic. But there are also very poignant quotes and thoughts and passages that really mad More...
Even if you aren't familiar with the Rwandan genocide or the events occurring in Africa, you should read this book. The themes don't just have to do with the crisis. Major themes also discuss how one's own guilt, regrets, and personal mindstate can be one's biggest enemy and the failure of large international bodies and humanity.
It's definitely sad and a lot of scenes are very graphic. But there are also very poignant quotes and thoughts and passages that really mad More...
Aug 07, 2011
Beverley
rated it:
The story of a genocide and the trauma of the witnesses. “Never again” we see repeated in museums and memorial guest books but we keep letting it happen. Notice “we let” not just “it continues”. It is a conscious decision to ignore the plight of people caught in a civil war...neither their government nor the insurgents care about these people so why should we. We can’t take sides...by our inaction we take sides. If there is vast carbon based mineral resources...then we take sides to liberate a c
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Jul 10, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
As many others have said, this is an important, necessary story that everyone should read. Though I'm not sure this authors account is the one for everyone. There's a recommended reading section in the back that could prove useful, and to those that do decide to read this book make use of the glossary. I found myself taking notes of names and acronyms because when I flipped to the back all I saw was an index (really regret not taking a closer look!).
I would *strongly* suggest reading More...
I would *strongly* suggest reading More...
