We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda

Rating:
Summary: An amazing account
Review: Some writers get in the way of telling their story but Gourevitch's style flows with his story-and what a story it is. I was enraged, saddened, and yet, uplifted by the real life heros and villains. I have never read a historic account as captivating and emotionally gut wrenching as this. I am still amazed that I never knew the devastation that was occuring in Rwanda - and that it was never widely publicized.

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Summary: This is a candid and vivid portrayal of Rwandan genocide.
Review: This book should be read by absolutely everyone. It is incredible, although horrific.Gourevitch not only recounts the tales of several survivors and lays out the politics behind the genocide, but forces the reader to examine his own values and question the definitions of words such as 'genocide' and 'atrocity' which we have all come to accept without understanding their real implications.

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Summary: A stinging indictment of the international community
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Everyone should know exactly what happened in Rwanda, and this book brings to light how Western governments stood by and watched (even helped) as nearly a million innocent civilians were hacked to death. It sheds at least some light on the question of how/why? It starts out strong, but kind of started to lose me towards the end. Still a good read.

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Summary: You simply must read this book.
Review: An unforgettable journey into the clouds of madness that envelop us all at different times, different places. Gourevitch has done us all a favor. Should be required reading for high school seniors, a class lesson in how and why humans kill, how humans perservere in the face of incalculable odds.

Rating:
Summary: Very Powerful
Review: This book is utterly shocking. The genocide that took place in 1994 was so horrible that it is hard to descirbe. This book is wonderful, it is really hard to read and many times I found myself speechless after reading a few pages. It is very hard to believe. The history leading up to the genocide is almost as shocking as the genocide itself. It is amazing that the country is still around. Everybody should read this book, it really shows what humans are capable of.

Rating:
Summary: Lacks critical thinking
Review: The subject matter is powerful, and the author's self-appointed task, that of drawing our attention to the atrocities committed in Rwanda, is an important one. However, I found that the book lacks critical thinking and does not go beyond the surface on an intellectual level. It is a shame, because the subject matter deserves more serious attention than this emotional, and even glossy, treatment.

Rating:
Summary: great beyond words
Review: I'm pretty much echoing the other reviewers here - the most moving book I've read in years (you'll be moved to tears for the survivors, contempt for France and the Clinton Administration, nervous hope for Rwanda's future). Gourevitch has done the victims, survivors, and the world a great service with this vital "witness" of the clearest and biggest case of genocide since World War II.

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Summary: Crimes and Misdemeanors
Review: All too often, abroad but also at home, people with a stake in promoting and defending inaction equate misdemeanors with crimes. In dissecting the Rwandan conflict, and in telling the story of atrocities committed by Hutu Power against Tutsis and those with a commitment to basic human values, Gourevitch has the intelligence and courage to distinguish between the two.

Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: Gourevitch's book is essential reading for anyone who desires some insight into the genocide that was Rwanda in 1994.

Rating:
Summary: Exellent, comprehensive, informative
Review: This book book provides a very comprehensive background to the genocides in Rwanda. I am not someone who was familiar with the historical and political underpinnings of the killings,, nor of African political history. I now feel that I have the foundation for building a meaningful understanding. I highly recommend this book. It is reivetting and informative. As an Amerian lawyer, it helped me gain an insight into the legal and political underpinings of Rwanda's recent history, and America's complicity and the West's complicity in the genocide.