Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey [Paperback]

Fergal Keane (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140247602 | ISBN-13: 978-0140247602 | Publication Date: September 1, 1997

When President Habyarimana's jet was shot down in April 1994, Rwanda erupted into a hundred-day orgy of killing - which left up to a million dead. Fergal Keane travelled through the country as the genocide was continuing, and his powerful analysis reveals the terrible truth behind the headlines. 'A tender, angry account...As well as being a scathing indictment - Keane says the genocide inflicted on the Tutsis was planned well in advance by Hutu leaders - this is a graphic view of news-gathering in extremis. It deserves to become a classic' - "Independent".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fergal Keane, an Irish journalist, formerly BBC correspondent in South Africa, was sent in 1994 to cover the war in Rwanda that had left one million Tutsis dead, most of them gruesomely hacked to death by their Hutu neighbors. The power of this account lies in Keane's profound emotional shock at barely imaginable cruelty, and in the personal testimony of the survivors he interviewed. Keane also searches for meaning. Like many familiar with Africa, he rejects the too easy explanation of "tribal hatred," with its assumption that the problem is intractable and internal. He emphasizes instead the economic and class disparities driving a political bloodlust, reminiscent perhaps of revolutionary France. Even though understanding such atrocity seems out of reach, Keane bears eloquent witness to evil. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Winner of Britain's Orwell Prize for best political book of 1995, this searing, impassioned eyewitness account of the genocide of Rwanda's Tutsi minority by Hutu extremists dispels a number of media-sustained myths surrounding the slaughter in 1994 of a million people. BBC reporter and documentary filmmaker Keane saw absolutely no evidence to support the widely held belief that the Tutsis?who once comprised Rwanda's ruling class, abetted by German and Belgian colonialists?are lighter-skinned than Hutus. Contrary to the view that mutual hatred between tribes spontaneously erupted into irrational violence, he demonstrates that the killings were planned well in advance by a clique close to Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana. Bitterly resentful of the prospect of sharing power with the Tutsis, this clique created its own civilian militia and mounted a virulent propaganda campaign scapegoating Tutsis. The principal architects of the genocide found a haven in Zaire and Tanzania. Blaming the U.S., the European Community and the U.N. for failing to halt mass murder, Keane calls on the international community to assist Rwanda's new government, formed after the death of Habyarimana in a plane crash in April 1994.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140247602
• ISBN-13: 978-0140247602
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > History > Africa > Rwanda
  • #51 in Books > History > Africa > Central Africa

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, evocative work, July 25, 2001

By 

A reader in Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey (Paperback)

The Rwandan massacres seemed to barely make the news cycle in the United States, and while our government shamefully refused to take any action to prevent the massacres, many international news organizations placed reporters in jeopardy to uncover the events of that harrowing month. Feargal Keane's book is a very personal and immediate account of what happened in his time reporting on the attempted genocide. While I do agree with other reviewers that his account does not attempt to place the regional tensions into a broader context (like Gourevitch's excellent "We regret to inform you..."), it does more to involve the reader in the stinging reality of what was happening at the very moment of the crisis. His fear is palpable, and as he drives up to each roadblock, his writing conveys the uncertainly of that situation, of the drunk soldiers, of those in the bush trying to avoid them, etc. It is this immediacy that makes the book so valuable in my mind, that it puts you so close to the nightmare as it was happening makes this an unforgettable and immensely distressing read. It is these kinds of images, written or drawn, that might move our leaders to act.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Journalism, February 20, 2003

By 

Matthew P. Arsenault (SW Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey (Paperback)

It is truly a shame that the Western media did not provide greater coverage of the genocide and civil war that nearly destroyed Rwanda in the early 1990's. It seems that the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia etc. completely eclipsed the African tragedy so well captured by Fergal Keane. I like to think that armed with more information, Western Powers would have intervened in order to halt the tribal savagery organized by both the Hutus and Tutsis. In reality, however, Western powers continue to see Africa as a backwards and barbarous continent, more fit for colonization than development.

Keane did a remarkable job of bringing the Rwandan tragedy to light. As a renowned BBC correspondent, Keane has witnessed reprehensible tragedies, disasters, and acts of inhumane conduct that most of us will never (hopefully) ever bear witness to. And although Keane has seen the worst of mankind, in a variety of instances, it seems that what he saw in Rwanda left lasting and troubling memories.

The book is relatively short, only 200 pages, but it certainly leaves its mark on the reader. The graphic descriptions are intense, but Keane's insight into not only the Rwandan situation, but into the minds of those who participated in the horror is startling as well. We certainly need more authors like Keane, who delve into the loathsomeness of man and bring forth the lessons that we all should heed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Evil has reasons that reason does not know, September 1, 1999

By 

michael jennings - See all my reviews

This review is from: Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey (Paperback)

This harrowing account of about two weeks of the 100 days of Rwandan genocide during 1994 is aptly entitled "Season Of Blood." Fergal Keane, correspondent for BBC, records some of the murderous atrocities the Hutu's perpetuated on the Tutsi's. His description of the freshly discovered scene of carnage at Nyarubuye Church as well as the events that led to it is as searing a testament to evil in its malicious state as any on paper. His heart wrenching discussion with Brother's Otto and Henri of St. Paul's about their "catch 22" decision to knowingly leave orphans in harm's way in order to save Otto's life embodies the seeming helplessness of many before such a murderous wave. Keane provides historical context for the genocide and presents his take on the hideous nature of this crime against humanity--"damaged souls"--and thereby avoids an artificial analysis of its causes. Political, tribal or economic evaluations aid in our understanding of the undercurrents of this catastrophe, yet do not do justice to its root cause. Evil has reasons that reason does not know. The twentieth century has witnessed the best and worst of human nature. Fergal Keane has documented an aspect of ourselves that defies simple assessments or critiques comfortably made at an arms distance. In uncovering Rwandan evil he reveals the nature of our heart and our need of redemption.