Book summary

A history of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which longstanding enmity between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes resulted in the murder of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the extremist Hutu majority. Gourevitch contrasts horrific eyewitness accounts told by Rwandans with the muted responses of the rest of the world. He also assesses Rwanda's prospects for the future and contemplates what lessons humanity can learn from this hellish chapter in history.

Media reviews

"...a major successor to the handful of great correspondents who have risked life and safety to bring dark truths to a world reluctant to know of them. Like the greatest war reporters, he raises the human banner in hell's mouth, the insignia of common sense, of quiet moral authority, of blessed humor. He has the mind of a scholar along with the observative capacity of a good novelist, and he writes like an angel."