Published By: Viking Adult
Date of Publication: April 6 2006
Categories: Adult, biography, genocide, humanitarianism, non fiction.
Pages: 207
Summary (from goodreads.com): An Ordinary Man explores what the Academy Award-nominated film Hotel Rwanda could not: the inner life of the man who became one of the most prominent public faces of that terrible conflict. Rusesabagina tells for the first time the full story of his life-growing up as the son of a rural farmer, the child of a mixed marriage, his extraordinary career path which led him to become the first Rwandan manager of the Belgian-owned Hotel Milles Collines-all of which contributed to his heroic actions in the face of such horror. He will also bring the reader inside the hotel for those one hundred terrible days depicted in the film, relating the anguish of those who watched as their loved ones were hacked to pieces and the betrayal that he felt as a result of the UN’s refusal to help at this time of crisis.
Including never-before-reported details of the Rwandan genocide, An Ordinary Man is sure to become a classic of tolerance literature, joining such books as Thomas Keneally’sSchindler’s List, Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, and Elie Wiesel’s Night. Paul Rusesabagina’s autobiography is the story of one man who did not let fear get the better of him-a man who found within himself a vast reserve of courage and bravery, and showed the world how one “ordinary man” can become a hero.
Review: This was definitely a hard book to read, but it’s a book that should be read. Paul Rusesabagina writes about how he survived the Rwandan genocide and was able to protect almost 1300 people hiding in his hotel.
If you’ve seen Hotel Rwanda you know the jist of how things happened. I really enjoyed the details in the book though. There was a lot of history which helped to set up how a genocide could happen. It put things in context. It’s pretty shocking to think that friends and neighbors would kill each other, but with the history of colonialism and racism in Rwanda, it was easier to understand how it could have happened.
It’s amazing to think that Rusesabagina was able to keep 1300 people safe with just money, liquor, and the ability to talk. He never picked up a gun but he was able to fight against the genocide.
It’s shocking to think the international community could have cared less about a nearly a million people. The UN and the western world had more than enough information to stop the killing, but they decided not to. They let people be killed, traumatized, and pushed from their homes to become refugees.
All in all if you’re wanting a great non-fiction read, go with this book. If you’re looking for something else to read about the Rwandan genocide, I would definitely recommend Shake Hands with the Devil by Romeo Dallaire, the head of the UN mission in Rwanda.
Image: goodreads.com
Disclosure: I bought this book.
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