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396 ratings, 4.27 average rating, 86 reviews
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Paperback, 592 pages
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0679311726
(isbn13: 9780679311720)
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On the tenth anniversary of the date that UN peacekeepers landed in Rwanda, Random House Canada is proud to publish the unforgettable first-hand accou...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 693)
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...more
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recommends it for:
left leaning bleeding hearts
I find it interesting that in almost all accounts of the genocide in Rwanda everyone is judged and found guilty---except the Rwandans themselves.Why is it the rest of the world's fault? Why is it MY fault when tribal hatreds boil into mass-murder in Africa? And don't hand me that crap about "colonialism". How about some personal responsibilty on the part of the murderers? These accounts all seem to subconsciously say everything in Africa is somehow the White Man's fault,as if White De...more
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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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Read in January, 2007
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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Read in October, 2008
This was a donation to the library which I just had to read as soon as I saw it. Dallaire was in charge of the peace-keeping mission to Rwanda when nearly 800,000 were killed in a few months. I loved the movie Hotel Rwanda and this gives me a chance to explore the Rwandan genocide further.
He tells about the title of his book in the intro - "After one of my many presentations following my return from Rwanda,a Canadian Forces padre asked me how, after all I had seen and experie...more
He tells about the title of his book in the intro - "After one of my many presentations following my return from Rwanda,a Canadian Forces padre asked me how, after all I had seen and experie...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone interested in the failings of the UN and the global community
This book was amazing.
1. It was amazing b/c it shows, in black and white, just how self absorbed developed countries are. That the global community allows this stuff to happen is amazing. That we (developed nations) can get so excited about, and focus such ridiculous attention to, and be bombarded by, the latest media coverage about Brittany Spears's latest public fumble - why do we care more about a disturbed/troubled "star" than we do developing African countries and their p...more
1. It was amazing b/c it shows, in black and white, just how self absorbed developed countries are. That the global community allows this stuff to happen is amazing. That we (developed nations) can get so excited about, and focus such ridiculous attention to, and be bombarded by, the latest media coverage about Brittany Spears's latest public fumble - why do we care more about a disturbed/troubled "star" than we do developing African countries and their p...more
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Read in May, 2008
Genocide is depressing. One of the few things more depressing than genocide, however, is apathy, like that exhibited by the world governments during the genocide of Rwanda.
Reading Dallaire's memoir, I was tempted to blame the U.S., France, the U.N., et al., for their lack of response to his constant prescient warnings about the situation. However, Dallaire's message is clear and correct. Rather than pointing fingers, we need to come together as an international community to prevent this f...more
Reading Dallaire's memoir, I was tempted to blame the U.S., France, the U.N., et al., for their lack of response to his constant prescient warnings about the situation. However, Dallaire's message is clear and correct. Rather than pointing fingers, we need to come together as an international community to prevent this f...more
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I have started several reviews for this book and I am simply at a loss for words for how to describe my feelings about it. I was profoundly affected by Dallaire's experience. His story changed my perception of the world, of government, and of myself. Dallaire feels he failed in his mission, he was undercut and thwarted on all sides. He could have walked away, turned his back on Rwanda the way the rest of the world did. He knew he couldn't succeed in preventing the genocide, from ending the ...more
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Read in June, 2008
I am not really sure where to begin with my review of this book. In reading it I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions ranging from anger, disappointment, and optimism. Dallaire forces the reader to examine the differences between deciding to take action and actually following through. While he points out the difficulties that the UN faces in taking action I think he leaves individuals with the idea that things can be reformed and changed but it starts with people having to take responsibilit...more
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Read in June, 2008
The content is easily worth 5 stars. The removal of one star is due to the horrific scenes (although finally a book that doesn't glorify the bloody and give us much more a visual picture than needed) and the impossible number of people and groups to follow. The account of the Rwandan Genocide is frustrating. It is page after page of how every nation failed to react accordingly and care enough to save millions of people from mutilation and death. One paragraph explains that a member of the US...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
humanitarians, human rights, all of mankind!
This was without a doubt the best book I've read so far. It drew me in all the way and I was sad to finish it. Despite that, it was also the hardest book I've read so far simply because I could not continue all at once. I was brought to tears at so many points and made sick to my stomach at others.
This book meant a lot more to me than any other because I encountered the brutal effects of the genocide more than a decade later when I was in Burundi, having gotten to know orphaned children who ...more
This book meant a lot more to me than any other because I encountered the brutal effects of the genocide more than a decade later when I was in Burundi, having gotten to know orphaned children who ...more
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Read in May, 2008
I found this book difficult to follow but it was well worth the effort.
The story is written by a Canadian Lt. General Romeo Dallaire during the Rwandian genocides in 1994. Dallaire went to Rwanda under the UN banner truly believing that the UN was going to make a difference in lives of the Rwandian people and bring peace and stability to this region. Instead, Hutu extremists slaughtered over 800,000 Rwandians with the majority being Tutsi.
Dallaire does a good job in going beyond the &q...more
The story is written by a Canadian Lt. General Romeo Dallaire during the Rwandian genocides in 1994. Dallaire went to Rwanda under the UN banner truly believing that the UN was going to make a difference in lives of the Rwandian people and bring peace and stability to this region. Instead, Hutu extremists slaughtered over 800,000 Rwandians with the majority being Tutsi.
Dallaire does a good job in going beyond the &q...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
peacekeepers, international affairs/law/human rights students
Extremely heartbreaking, yet you come out of it feeling more optimistic than ever.
I read Dallaire's book for a class on International Intervention. I already made an analytical book report for my professor on it. Thus, here, putting aside the aspiring peacekeeper self for a while and switching back to a mode of being the common reader, I would only highlight my personal impression.
What's most striking about it is that it's full of memorable characters and episodes that are not necessari...more
I read Dallaire's book for a class on International Intervention. I already made an analytical book report for my professor on it. Thus, here, putting aside the aspiring peacekeeper self for a while and switching back to a mode of being the common reader, I would only highlight my personal impression.
What's most striking about it is that it's full of memorable characters and episodes that are not necessari...more
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Interesting look at the horrors of the genocide in Rwanda from the head of the UN peacekeeping unit. The complexity of international politics and how difficult it is to put into place force to stop such widespread murder.
Unfortunately he used the last third of the book to blame everyone for everything. If the US didn't provide humanitarian aid early on, it provided too much later on. He hated the Belgians who had ten of their men murdered for pulling out as well as the French for withdrawing. H...more
Unfortunately he used the last third of the book to blame everyone for everything. If the US didn't provide humanitarian aid early on, it provided too much later on. He hated the Belgians who had ten of their men murdered for pulling out as well as the French for withdrawing. H...more
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Read in July, 2007
This is a beast of a book, but definitely worth the read! Mr. Dallaire was the force commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR) before and during the 1994 genocide. This book reads as his confessional, almost an attempt to purge himself of the terrible things he endured during this time. It explains his role and that of the international community to the build-up of ethnic tension in Rwanda. It describes his heartbreaking lack of power and control when the genocid...more
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Read in September, 2006
Dallaire offers a firsthand account of the Rwandan genocide as no one else can. Commander of the handful of UN troops for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda, the author provides a well-structured and detailed analysis of the growing unrest that exploded into genocide after the assassination of the Rwandan president in early April, 1994, and the international community's failure to act to prevent the bloodshed that left over 800,000 dead. Heartbreaking and angering, this book is well...more
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Read in January, 2005
I took a course with Mahmood Mamdani at Columbia (see his book on the Rwandan genocide in my lists- When Victims Become Killers) and then read this book by the officer in charge of the UN forces in Rwanda at the time of the genocide. Not long after, I had the privilege of seeing Dallaire interviewed by the awesome Samantha Power (see her book on genocide in my lists-- A Problem From Hell) at the New School. Dallaire's honesty, thoughfulness, humanity, and determination are an inspiration.
Th...more
Th...more
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If you saw "Hotel Rwanda" and somehow didn't find it disturbing enough, here's the book for you. It's infuriating to learn how these catastrophes are allowed to occur, even more so when you notice that they seem to be happening somewhere in the world at any given time. I read this because I felt an obligation to do so, and I'm glad I did. But I was pretty cranky (even more so than usual) during the read. Fair warning: You'll be pulling out your chequebook for a war relief agency b...more
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Read in March, 2008
The story of Rwanda is quite interesting and shocking, to say the least. However, one practically needs to be in the army/military in order to understand the jargon and acronyms in this book. I like when people write about their life experiences. It is a great way to make people aware of world issues. Aside from the many confusing acronyms and such, I enjoyed reading this book. There is a glossary in the back of the book, but it takes time to use it in addition to an already very long book.
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