Shake Hands with the Devil

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
by Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire with Major Brent Beardsley

Romeo Dallaire's eyewitness account of the horrific events that happened in Rwanda stands in stark contrast to my lighter Christmas reading (The Da Vinci Code, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason).

I barely remember the Rwandan genocides from the news back in 1994 - and until recently, knew only enough about Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire to recognize his name and that he was a Canadian. However, my experience watching Hotel Rwanda at last year's Toronto International Film Festival and a missed opportunity to see Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire (a documentary about Dallaire's return to Rwanda 10 years later) have piqued my curiosity about Dallaire and his efforts in Rwanda.

I know the 522 pages will be worth it as I got choked up just reading the preface and I've missed my subway stop twice in the last two weeks! I'll post a full review of Shake Hands with the Devil when I'm done but I can recommend it already.