Be Specific About Books In Favor Of An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
Original Title: | An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography |
ISBN: | 0143038605 (ISBN13: 9780143038603) |
Edition Language: | English |
Setting: | Rwanda |
Paul Rusesabagina
Paperback | Pages: 207 pages Rating: 4.16 | 5929 Users | 503 Reviews
Representaion Toward Books An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
The riveting life story of Paul Rusesabagina - the man whose heroism inspired the film Hotel Rwanda. As his country was being torn apart by violence during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina - the 'Oskar Schindler of Africa' - refused to bow to the madness that surrounded him. Confronting killers with a combination of diplomacy, flattery, and deception, he offered shelter to more than twelve thousand members of the Tutsi clan and Hutu moderates, while homicidal mobs raged outside with machetes. An Ordinary Man explores what the Academy Award-nominated film Hotel Rwanda could not: the inner life of the man who became one of the most prominent public faces of that terrible conflict. Rusesabagina tells for the first time the full story of his life - growing up as the son of a rural farmer, the child of a mixed marriage, his extraordinary career path which led him to become the first Rwandan manager of the Belgian-owned Hotel Milles Collines - all of which contributed to his heroic actions in the face of such horror. He will also bring the reader inside the hotel for those one hundred terrible days depicted in the film, relating the anguish of those who watched as their loved ones were hacked to pieces and the betrayal that he felt as a result of the UN’s refusal to help at this time of crisis. Including never-before-reported details of the Rwandan genocide, An Ordinary Man is sure to become a classic of tolerance literature, joining such books as Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s List, Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, and Elie Wiesel’s Night. Paul Rusesabagina’s autobiography is the story of one man who did not let fear get the better of him—a man who found within himself a vast reserve of courage and bravery, and showed the world how one 'ordinary man' can become a hero.
List Based On Books An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
Title | : | An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography |
Author | : | Paul Rusesabagina |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 207 pages |
Published | : | March 1st 2007 by Penguin Books (first published January 1st 2006) |
Categories | : | Nonfiction. Cultural. Africa. Biography. Autobiography. Memoir. History. Eastern Africa. Rwanda |
Rating Based On Books An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
Ratings: 4.16 From 5929 Users | 503 ReviewsColumn Based On Books An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
Rusesabagina and his co-author, Tim Zoellner, in simple, direct language tell what it is like to be in hell...the genocide in Rwanda. The book makes it clear that history and fear can come together to unleash evil. The government controlled media play a critical role as well here. They also make the point that no human being is simply evil, that each has a soft side. It is that to which Rusesabagina appealed time and time again to save the people in his hotel. The book begins with a wonderfulPaul Rusesabagina may be an ordinary man but he tells an extraordinary story. During the Rwandan genocide, he protected 1,268 people in the luxury hotel he was managing. His assets: a swimming pool full of water; a large supply of alcoholic beverages; a long list of important connections (many of whom owed him personal favors); a secret telephone line that was never cut; training in (and I'm sure a personal talent for) the art of negotiation. The swimming pool was for water rations. The rest was
It's hard to review a true story about something terrible. An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography, though, isn't a book about the Rwandan massacre; it's a book about Paul Rusesabagina's experience of it. His voice, his personality, his clear-sightedness all come through brilliantly in this co-written autobiography.What struck me most about this book was how apt the title is. Under extraordinary circumstances, this ordinary man did the extraordinary. He managed to keep more than 1200 people safe while

I could not put this one down! Rusesabagina does an amazing job at re-telling his role during the Rwandan Genocide. His story is vivid and filled with background knowledge on the country of Rwanda and why it is so hard for Rwanda to escape it's history of war and bloodshed. I found myself folding pages and making notes for how I will use this in class. Definitely want to have the students read excerpts from the book when we study this in class.
A quick read, but not a light one- in fact, after reading this on the train on the way home from work, I had to read something funny because I was so sad. And also angry that for 100 days the rest of the world did nothing to stop it: the US just debated whether or not it was really genocide, and the UN just pulled all of their people out, abandoning thousands to torture and murder. The author is the subject of the film, Hotel Rwanda. His story of his efforts to save his family and as many of his
Paul Rusesabagina has been hailed, outside of Rwanda, as a hero. However, having spoken to Rwandans his story is full of inaccuracies and takes credit for other people's sacrifices. There are so many stories of selfless people during the genocide who did whatever they could to help their countrymen, this is not one of them.
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