- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Zed Books Ltd; Reprinted edition edition (1 Sep 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 185649831X
- ISBN-13: 978-1856498319
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
516,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #39 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > Eastern > Rwanda
- #62 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > 20th Century
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"The best overall account of the background to the genocide, and the failure to prevent it. ...I provided the author with information and consulted on some of the chapters; the investigative work is hers and hers alone. She discovered so much that we did not know, and her book remains one of the best sources available" - Maj Gen Romeo Dallaire, Canadian Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda
Product Description
Rwanda, 1994: around one million people die in a deliberately orchestrated campaign of murder. For five years, Linda Melvern has worked on the story of this great crime, and this book of investigate journalism is the result. It demonstrates how the great powers ignored clear signs of the coming catastrophe, refused to recognise the genocide when it began, and ignored obligations under international law, specifically the genocide convention. Secret documents leaked from within the UN Security Council prove that the circumstances of the genocide were suppressed or ignored. The author gained access to documents in Rwanda's capital, Kigali, that include the precise details of how international funding was used to pay for the huge quantities of machetes, hoes, razors, and axes which were imported, stockpiled and distributed throughout the country before the genocide began. Not only did the major world powers fail to stop the slide towards genocide, they helped make it possible. The book also contains a detailed account of how the genocide unfolded and tells the stories of two vital eyewitnesses, Major-General Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian Force Commander of the UN peacekeepers, and Philippe Gaillard, the Swiss Chief Delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the only agency to stay behind in Rwanda when the genocide began.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Rwanda genocide is one of those news stories you think you know, and maybe think you are entitled to forget. Think again. Linda Melvern retells the story of the brutal happenings, of course, but she does much more: she sets out, ruthlessly, the responsibility of all those who felt free to judge and moralise about what happened in Rwanda, what they did not do and, even worse,what they did. Any time you hear a politician, a "statesman" preaching ethics in foreign policy, or denouncing what others do or don't do, remember this shocking and most carefully researched study of how international diplomacy really operates -- how little we've learned to move beyond particular, national interests and understand what is at risk -- and the children who die as a result.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Probably, the story of Rwandan genocide is the most shocking international scandal of the post World War II era. The book is a brilliant reconstruction of that time, written with amazing clarity and based on well established facts.
In three months of 1994 about one million people was killed in organised genocide. The killing rate was five times faster than that achieved by the Nazis during WWII holocaust. But on the contrary to the Nazis, the Rwandan genocide happened in the full light of the international media, with the full knowledge of the UN Security Council and the Western governments.
Linda Melvern describes and documents in detail the role of the West in the genocide.
The story is so bad that almost all of the publishers in the UK refused to publish this book with comments like "the story is really too awful" or "I cannot see people forking out money to read about such an unspeakable subject..."
In three months of 1994 about one million people was killed in organised genocide. The killing rate was five times faster than that achieved by the Nazis during WWII holocaust. But on the contrary to the Nazis, the Rwandan genocide happened in the full light of the international media, with the full knowledge of the UN Security Council and the Western governments.
Linda Melvern describes and documents in detail the role of the West in the genocide.
The story is so bad that almost all of the publishers in the UK refused to publish this book with comments like "the story is really too awful" or "I cannot see people forking out money to read about such an unspeakable subject..."
Do you think you can fork out some money for the truth? I think this book is certainly worth any money.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a 14 year old, and, having not started school when this genocide occured, I was intrigued. I got this book from the library having heard a radio report about the 10th anniversary of the atrocity.
I read the book and was astounded, and, at the same time, appauled. The titanic failings of the west are uncovered in this easy to read, yet potent and serious book. A MUST READ!
Don't not buy it if you have visions of graphic depictions of massacre scenes, this fantastic piece of investigative journalism goes into more depth about the failings of western political structures, not into gore.
Buy it, read it, think about it.
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