3.25 stars

This is a history of Rwanda leading up to, focusing on, and continuing beyond the genocide in 1994.

This wasn't quite what I expected. I was expecting stories from the survivors of the genocide, and there was some of that, but there was also a lot of history and politics, as well. So, for me, some parts were more interesting than others. Overall, it was o.k.

Philip Gourevitch takes one of the most horrifying and terrible events of the late 20th century, and manages to find the elements of hope.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families is a graphic account of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which the Hutu Power government led its citizens to slaughter 800,000 of their Tutsi friends and family in only 100 days, while the international community stood by and watched.

Gourevitch tells both sides of the story- both those accused of participating in the violence, and those who suffered from it. We read about people like Odette Nyiramilimo, a doctor who had several members of her immediate family killed and Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who protected 1,000 or more Tutsis from harm.We also read about the pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, the clergyman who ignored his doomed ministers' pleas to be spared the killings.

What happened in Rwanda was shocking and horrendous and yet there are people who have no idea what happened. This is a painful and difficult book to read, but it must be read so that we can prevent something like this from ever happening again.

An astounding book revealing the outrage in Rwanda in a way no other author has. If you really wanted to know the background, the events and the people that took part, and were (and are) victims of the Rwandan genocide this is THE book for it. Gourevitch is a journalist, and is not afraid to use his considerable investigative skill partnered with his wounded humanity to find the answers we have all asked about Rwanda. He paints a chilling landscape of good, bad, the corrupt and the innocent. In addition he goes beyond what the world knows as the 'end' of the genocide, and reveals the damaging work done by the NGOs (albeit doing their best) in aiding and abetting the worst of the perpetrators. For anyone who has heard some idiot say 'it's just tribal savagery' or any other such dismissive comment about the African tragedy, this is the book to hand to them.

This is an excellently written book about the events leading up to, during and after the massacres in Rwanda. Philip Gourevitch gives a moving first hand account of the complex events in Rwanda, drawing on the memories of those who were there: the survivors and perpetrators of the genocide. His historical and political analysis is very astute and broad in its understanding. Most importantly this book is immensely captivating and readable!