Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Ships directly from Amazon. Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Ships directly from Amazon. See less

FREE delivery January 6 - 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery January 5 - 10

Arrives after Christmas. Need a gift sooner? Send an Amazon Gift Card instantly by email or text message.

$$12.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by ZBK Books and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (96) from $6.19 & FREE Shipping

Great book about the Rwanda genocideEva Klein

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Roméo Dallaire

Follow

Shake Hands with the Devil Paperback – Illustrated, December 21, 2004

by Roméo Dallaire (Author), Samantha Power (Foreword)

4.6 1,076 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$12.99","priceAmount":12.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"bVj%2BRnoYw5Ex3DTSN7pX%2BkNJF4Gnjfp%2Fs0dBVZyJah4C0YHSNeU5200XvmT3G5h1VR5qbeuLBFsenBIVrTXNMn1fBlPlPBNNIGyispKpJKdit%2FuHkzOQu%2FY9h17HkODY2uUdKVenzc4%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.36","priceAmount":8.36,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"36","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"bVj%2BRnoYw5Ex3DTSN7pX%2BkNJF4Gnjfp%2FRdlK5EGkZpZw%2BiSioIyM1HYav8GZ6ye3ONVBxcu42NpsblaOaESmZHiKW4jCqIBdAGE6iCwpX3NEy3aoX1fWbh5kGIuOYiCWy2RqceEPT37osiuZhcq0iXR96bbRGsND3ZpLuL7Qc53fvuovDjx5nLdminVh7tu6","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

For the first time in the United States comes the tragic and profoundly important story of the legendary Canadian general who "watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect."

When Romeo Dallaire was called on to serve as force commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda, he believed that his assignment was to help two warring parties achieve the peace they both wanted. Instead, he was exposed to the most barbarous and chaotic display of civil war and genocide in the past decade, observing in just one hundred days the killings of more than eight hundred thousand Rwandans. With only a few troops, his own ingenuity and courage to direct his efforts, Dallaire rescued thousands, but his call for more support from the world body fell on deaf ears. In Shake Hands with the Devil, General Dallaire recreates the awful history the world community chose to ignore. He also chronicles his own progression from confident Cold Warrior to devastated UN commander, and finally to retired general struggling painfully, and publicly, to overcome posttraumatic stress disorder -- the highest-ranking officer ever to share such experiences with readers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As former head of the late 1993 U.N. peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, Canadian general Dallaire's initial proposal called for 5,000 soldiers to permit orderly elections and the return of the refugees. Nothing like this number was supplied, and the result was an outright attempt at genocide against the Tutsis that nearly succeeded, with 800,000 dead over three months. The failure of the U.N.'s wealthier members to act as the tragedy unfolded obliged the author to leave military service to recover from PTSD (as well as the near breakdown of his family). While much of the account is a thickly described I-went-here, I went-there, I-met-X, I-said-this, one learns much more about the author's emotional states when making decisions than in a conventional military history, making this an important document of service—one that has been awarded Canada's Governor General's Award. And his descriptions of Rwanda's unraveling are disturbing, to say the least ("I then noticed large piles of blue-black bodies heaped on the creek banks"). Dallaire's argument that Rwanda-like situations are fires that can be put out with a small force if caught early enough will certainly draw debate, but the book documents in horrifying detail what happens when no serious effort is made.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* On June 27, 1993, Dallaire--a career man in the Canadian military--was informed that he might be asked to lead a UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, to which he replied excitedly, "Rwanda, that's somewhere in Africa, isn't it?" Fourteen months later, he would return from his service there a nearly broken man, having failed to prevent the unfathomable massacre of 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus, which took place over a mere 100 days. From meticulous diary entries he wrote during his service there, Dallaire pieces together the inside story of what went wrong. He puts unsparing blame on the circular failure of the UN: lack of support from member countries, especially the U.S and the Security Council, which led to lack of respect for the UN, which then led to lack of support from member countries. He blames the warring sides, especially extremist Hutus, for planning the genocide during peace talks, knowing the UN would not have the courage to enforce the peace: "They knew us better than we knew ourselves." And he blames himself for his political naivete and his inability to convince the UN of the gravity of the situation, which has now spread to neighboring Congo. For those who would understand the inexorable but entirely preventable unfolding of the Rwandan holocaust, this account, told from the eye of the storm, is indispensable. Alan Moores
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo; Illustrated edition (December 21, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786715103
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786715107
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.48 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #102,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Central Africa History
- #36 in African Politics
- #54 in Human Rights (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,076 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Roméo Dallaire

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

1,076 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the detailed account of General Dallaire's personal experience in Rwanda. The book is described as real, honest, and brutally honest about the genocide. Readers praise the author's courage and stalwart leadership. However, opinions differ on the writing style - some find it well-written and humble, while others consider it almost unreadable due to all the horrible details. There are mixed feelings about the emotional content - some find it heartbreaking and devastating, while others describe it as brilliant and disturbing.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

Detail Readability Authenticity Courage Writing style Emotional content Look

52 customers mention "Detail"40 positive12 negative

Customers find the book provides an interesting and engrossing account of General Dallaire's personal experience in Rwanda. They describe it as a gripping description of the events of modern history. The account is accurate and well-documented, providing a balanced insight into how the United Nations works. Readers appreciate the searing summary of why the genocide occurred.

"...including the soldiers killed under his command, details his negotiations to stop the genocide and his actions during the genocide to bring an end..." Read more

"...This was/is an amazing book that goes into substantial detail of how and why this horrific incident happened...." Read more

"...one of the most atrocious events in modern history; it details the experiences of one man and his attempt at trying to make a noble cause work...." Read more

"...A well balanced fascinating insight into how the UN works (or probably most accurately doesn't work)...." Read more

50 customers mention "Readability"50 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They describe it as a gripping presentation of what happened on Rwanda. The story unfolds as seen through Romeo Dallaire's eyes, making it an amazing read. While some readers find it hard to read, they say it's worth it.

"...The book moves quickly because it reads like a daily journal...." Read more

"...I enjoyed this book immensely and also came away better understanding the sense of abandonment that so many developing countries feel from Western..." Read more

"...Dallaire is clear, consise and to the point. He also apparently knows what he wants to say, and doesn't skirt the issue...." Read more

"...Dallaire impresses me as a consummate professional who was placed in command of a mission that never had a chance of success...." Read more

7 customers mention "Authenticity"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's authenticity. They find it gritty, true, and convincing in its description of the genocide. The author is described as passionate, objective, and forthright about the event.

"...For more gritty, real, and ground level reading in this vein, read "We Would Like t Inform You That Tomorrow We Will All be Killed with Our Families..." Read more

"...It gives a very real and brutal look at not only the genocid but the workings of international politics and the incompetence of the UN." Read more

"I love this book. It's brutally honest and forthcoming about the genocide in Rwanda in '94, the events leading up to it and the fallout afterwards...." Read more

"A very well written book about an unbelievable and tragic event. The cruelty of man is something unreal...." Read more

5 customers mention "Courage"5 positive0 negative

Customers praise the author's courage. They describe him as a hero and humanitarian.

"...a wonderful inside look at the Rwandan Genocide by a by all accounts stalwart and competent commander. I just wonder if he made a mistake on the form." Read more

"...This is not a poor me story but one of incredible courage with the acceptance of his own role...." Read more

"...This work is definitely a courageous piece of writing and it clearly took its toll on the authors. A must read." Read more

"...Mr. Dallaire is a very brave and humble writer and I can't tell you how much I appreciate his insights...." Read more

30 customers mention "Writing style"20 positive10 negative

Customers have different views on the writing style. Some find it well-written, honest, and easy to read. They appreciate the author's honesty and the adequately spaced words. However, others feel the book is difficult to read due to its graphic details and boring content.

"...index and a glossary of terms and names, although Dallaire's easy-to-read style reminds readers of who he is meeting and working with, so there is..." Read more

"...As a positive, the book is well written in a certain respect. Dallaire is clear, consise and to the point...." Read more

"...In summary, an extremely well written and detailed account of one of the great tragedies of our time...." Read more

"...While this book does have its moments where it is difficult to continue reading while withholding the urge to cry, this is something I hope..." Read more

22 customers mention "Emotional content"11 positive11 negative

Customers have different reactions to the book's emotional content. Some find it heartbreaking and disturbing, describing it as one of the most compelling and sad books they've read. Others describe it as depressing and grim, mentioning it's about a failure of humanity.

"I felt like this was one of the more devastating and compelling books I've read in a long time...." Read more

"...Although it can be very disturbing and depressing given the nature of the genocide, there are moments of manic highs, too...." Read more

"A book that makes you stop and think about humanity, good and evil, international cowardice and why we say "never again" but continue to see..." Read more

"...is a story that is not easy to read as it is very uncomfortable and confronting but is well written...." Read more

9 customers mention "Look"6 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the book's appearance. Some find it provides an inside look at Rwanda and paints a true picture from the U.N. perspective throughout the build up. Others find it graphic and awful, with terrible images and stories of the genocide. Overall, opinions are mixed, but overall it's a good book overall.

"...It gives the reader a wonderful inside look at the Rwandan Genocide by a by all accounts stalwart and competent commander...." Read more

"...The book presents awful images and stories of the genocide and the people whom the UN also abandoned...." Read more

"...It is also a good inside look at how the UN fails the world because of unbelievable ineptness...." Read more

"...It paints a true picture from the U.N. perspective throughout the build up, conduct , and aftermath of the genocide." Read more

Reviews with images

See all photos

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

M.B.
Well-written, easy to follow first-hand account
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
In 1994, between April 7 and July 15, nearly one million innocent people were killed in the Rwandan Genocide. Subsequent wars in the region killed more than five million people. The genocide was planned years in advice, perpetrated by racist nationalists bent on removing Tutsis from the planet. In "Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda," Roméo Dallaire convinces readers that these tragedies were easily preventable, but dithering politicians and bureaucrats all over the world watched in disinterest.

The book is compelling. Having read extensively for academic and personal reasons about the genocide, I knew many of the details listed below, so Dallaire's book had been sitting on my shelf unread for almost 15 years. I wish I had read it sooner because it is Dallaire and his military subordinates - not international aide groups or politicians - who were the international witnesses to these crimes.

The book moves quickly because it reads like a daily journal. Although it can be very disturbing and depressing given the nature of the genocide, there are moments of manic highs, too. It is emotional and frustrating because readers will be able to quickly identify with Dallaire's heart. He is effuse in praising his his-working aides and does not hold back at offering his personal assessments of the people who impede his work.

Dallaire's book, dedicated to victims, including the soldiers killed under his command, details his negotiations to stop the genocide and his actions during the genocide to bring an end to it. Assigned to Rwanda as part of a United Nations team in the summer of 1993 in order to help implement a peace agreement between the standing government and an incoming rebel army, he saw firsthand that a humanitarian crisis was coming. His documented pleas for help from New York, Paris, Nairobi, Geneva, Washington DC, and London in the first part of the book were willfully ignored as he and his small team of military observers shuttled around the country trying to avert the disaster. He was denied requests for funding for communications equipment, rations for his soldiers, office space, and even simple soccer balls to replace the banana-leaf balls used in refugee camps.

Extremist politicians on the government side began openly looking for a way to instigate the attack that led to the genocide. Their wish was granted when their moderate president's plane went down, probably from their own missile. Even after this catalyst, Dallaire's team's cries for help continued to be ignored. The bulk of "Shake Hands with the Devil" documents the daily routine of these brave observers who were abandoned by the UN and their supporting states. The book presents awful images and stories of the genocide and the people whom the UN also abandoned.

Dallaire asked for only 5,000 troops in order to save the country, but he was denied time and time again as bureaucrats and politicians in cities around the world took weekends off and justified his cries by telling him that the UN doesn't work quickly. That time was dizzying, destructive, and counter-productive when the French finally arrived to establish camps that protected runaway génocidaires, those responsible for openly slaughtering Tutsis in churches, orphanages, hamlets, and checkpoints in cities. By that time, nearly a million people had been cut down with machetes. The génocidaires rearmed themselves in the international refugee camps, leading to the subsequent Congo Wars.

In the last, shortest section of the book, Dallaire offers suggestions for improving how governments respond to humanitarian crises outside their borders. His suggestions are reasonable. In the case of Rwanda, simple support for implementing the peace agreement would have been enough. Unfortunately, as we have seen time and again, from Sudan to Myanmar to Wester China, the international community, including national capitals, relief organizations, and the UN, refuse to use the needed fiscal and physical muscle in order to save lives.

"Shake Hands with the Devil" has an extensive index and a glossary of terms and names, although Dallaire's easy-to-read style reminds readers of who he is meeting and working with, so there is little reason to consult it.

Read more

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
RobH
A great read about a Human Catastrophe
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2013
Verified Purchase
My interest in the Rwandan Genocide was heightened when in 2012 I was sent to Rwanda in a partnership for Africa program with the US Air Force and stayed the Collins (Hotel from the Movie Hotel Rwanda). When I was there I went to the Genocide Museum and Memorial and was both fascinated and appalled that this happened. Since I didn't have much knowledge of the incident, I was in 12th grade when it happened, I decided to read this book as it was highly rated. I'm very glad I did.

This was/is an amazing book that goes into substantial detail of how and why this horrific incident happened. As is the case with most nonfiction books there is a bit of history on the author and where they came from, etc. This is kept fairly short in this book and is also relevant to the story and interesting. When Dillaire starts the story of what happened in Rwanda you can tell its not going to end well and he does not hide the bitterness and pain that his 1 yr experience in living hell left him with. Be forewarned this book is very graphic and pulls no punches. The detail in which the actual genocide is detailed and how some of the acts were perpetrated is not for the faint of heart, no pictures are needed and thankfully not included. To be honest there were a few times that some of the details in this book kept me up at night and brought a sense how we "civilized" Nations could have just sat back and 800,000 people be slaughter in 100 days. The detail in this book is not written simply to shock the reader, but rather to inform you (the reader) of the brutality and complete hatred that was so prevalent during this event. This book also does a phenomenal job of also describing the excruciating effects on the UN Peacekeepers and Dillaire that witnessing so much death and destruction had on them. I walked away from reading this book mad that the UN and the "leader" nations of the world didn't give a damn about Rwanda and as is continually demonstrated the African continent. If you decide to buy this book, and I highly recommend that you do, you will understand why I made that last statement. I enjoyed this book immensely and also came away better understanding the sense of abandonment that so many developing countries feel from Western culture and nations, and the continual issues that past colonialism in Africa is still causing today.

Read more

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Walter Benstead
Courageous Quebecois Canadian Hero
Reviewed in Canada on July 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
Outstanding courage in dreadful circumstances where the UN Bureaucracy cared not

Read more
Report
Jerry Witkowicz
A mut read for everyone
Reviewed in Canada on June 25, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a book which explains the genocide in Rwanda and also illustrates the inability of the international community mainly the UN to step up to its responsibility. The sad part is that what happened in Rwanda 28 years ago is happening in Ukraine. The world has not learned the critical lesson of human values. This is very sad. General Romeo Dallaire was sent by UN on a suicide mission without the basic support. Today UN seems to be as irrelevant as it was in 1994.

Read more
Report
Michael Olasope
Buy it. Read it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
One of the most well written books I’ve read. It details both how the genocide began, and how the international community failed to respond effectively. I finished it in 4 days because I couldn’t put it down.

Read more
Report
América
Brutal, desgarrador.
Reviewed in Spain on April 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
Si alguna vez oíste hablar del genocidio de Ruanda y quieres saber más, este es tu libro.

Pero ojo, no es un libro cómodo de leer y te va a revolver las tripas. No te aconsejo que lo leas antes de irte a la cama (tuve pesadillas algunas noches).

El libro es brutal, desgarrador. Como solo lo puede ser el relato del horror vivido desde dentro y desde la impotencia de ver como el mal existe y gana la partida en tu propia cara.

Entiendo que el autor haya querido quitarse la vida en más de una ocasión y que viva bajo el yugo del Estrés Post Traumático aún hoy en día. Si alguien con su rango y su formación puede acabar al borde de la locura, no quiero ni imaginar por lo que debe pasar un simple soldado arrancado de su granja en Ohio a los 18 años para luchar en guerras aún peores...

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
derhecht
Interessante Sichtweise
Reviewed in Germany on September 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Ich war selbst mal in Ruanda (lange nach dem Genozid) und habe verschiedenste Bücher, Dokumentationen und Filme dazu gelesen / angesehen. Dabei kommt die UN Schutztruppe sowie auch die internationalen Verbände sehr schlecht bei weg. General Dallaire wird wahlweise zögernd, wahlweise hilflos dargestellt, kommt meist aber nur als Randfigur vor.
Dieses Buch ist literarisch kein Klassiker, aber erscheint sehr ehrlich und mit militärisch akkuratem Anspruch. Man erkennt den Aufwand, den er und seine Kollegen betrieben haben, das Buch zu erstellen und wirklich darzustellen, was sie rekonstruieren konnten, mit Hinweis auf Referenzen und Daten. Das Buch hält einen fest eben durch diese Genauigkeit. Dabei spürt man dennoch den Schmerz und die Wut und die Fassungslosigkeit in sich aufsteigen, die der General und andere Beteiligte gefühlt haben müssen.
Es ist Wahnsinn, dass diese Mission von Beginn an zum scheitern verurteilt war. Dass Engagement von einzelnen westlichen Ländern entgegen den UN Truppen gewirkt hat. Dass international nie reagiert wurde. Und das alles natürlich im Rahmen eines unvorstellbaren Hasses, für den ich in der Rezension keine Worte finden kann.
In einem Chaos ohne gleichen stellt die Armee, speziell ihr Anführer, eine Kraft der Ordnung dar. Es ist in Soldaten eingetrichtert, sich nach Schemen zu verhalten und damit Struktur in chaotische Situationen zu bringen und Herr der Lage zu bleiben. Am Ende bleibt die Figur des Generals ein Symbol des Versagens von allen rationalen Logiken.

Es ist schlimm, dass solche Ausbrüche unter Menschen immer und immer wieder passieren. Und es ist selten und unglaublich wertvoll, wenn Zeugen ihre Erlebnisse aufschreiben können. Mit Namen, Daten und belegbaren Fakten. Vielen Dank, General Dallaire.

Read more
Report
Translate review to English

See more reviews

Amazon Prime Free Trial

Return this item for free

Return this item for free

Image Unavailable

Follow the author