About this title: The riveting life story of Rusesabagina--the man whose heroism inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda"--is sure to become a classic of tolerance literature. "An Ordinary Man" explores what the film could not: the inner life of the man who became one of the most prominent public faces of that terrible conflict. 8-page photo insert.
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Description: Good. Purchasing this DVD supports the North Central Regional Library. Thriftbooks and NCRL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Library ID found on DVD and case. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First Edition, First Printing.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Press
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. An excellent hardcover copy, seemingly unread and much like new. The binding is solid and square, and the hinges are firm. The book's brown and gold exterior shows virtually no wear. The text is clean and unmarked. The dustjacket is also excellent. -----------------------------------------------------------------The author, who is the son of a Hutu father and a Tutsi mother, was the manager of a luxury hotel in Rwanda during a period of ... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Date Published: 2007-02-27
ISBN-13:9780143038603ISBN:0143038605
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780143038603. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780143038603ISBN:0143038605
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover; First Printing
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: Fine in Fine dust jacket. Hardcover. Viking Adult, 2006. 1st Edition/1st Printing. Fine Book in Fine Dust Jacket. Price Intact. Overall, a clean and tight copy to add to a collection or read and enjoy. Dust Jacket protected with a new archival cover. Bubble wrapped and shipped promptly in a box. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by author. Flat signed by the author on the title page. First printing with 1 in number line. Near fine. Edgewear to dj and remainder mark. Mailed in a box. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 207 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: New in new dust jacket. BRAND NEW. Book and dust jacket in excellent condition. Has remainder mark. (13-4H) Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 207 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Press, New York City, NY
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780670037520ISBN:0670037524
Description: Signed by Author. Hardcover. First Edition. First Printing. 207 pages. As New in As New Dust Jacket. The author's autobiography. One of the greatest biographical accounts of the 20th century. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. As his title suggests, Paul Rusesabagina was just an ordinary man (just as Oscar Schindler was) who faced a horrific situation with extraordinary courage. "For hotel manager Rusesabagina, words are the most ... read more
"I don't know much about the Rwandan genocide. This book puts a very human face on the event through the words of Rusesabina, who was the inspiration for Hotel Rwanda. His story is simply amazing. Though he says humbly throughout the book that he was just "an ordinary man," he was one uniquely placed and able to save people because of the relationships he'd built and negotiation skills he'd learned as a hotel manager. He has several near-escapes that make the book impossible to put down.
He also does a good job explaining the historical context for the genocide and the government and media role in it. He addresses classic means-ends moral dilemmas such as, "Should I continue to bribe and deal with this killer in order to possibly save people's lives?" And he points fingers directly at the U.S. and the U.N. for failing to step in or even take symbolic or diplomatic actions when they knew hundreds of thousands of people were being murdered.
"I couldn't put this down. After watching Don Cheadle's brilliant performance of Paul Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda, I fervently wanted to read Rusesabagina's autobiography. This man has so much integrity; he protected 1,268 Rwandan refugees in the Hotel des Mille Collines during a period in which hundreds of thousands were brutally executed, including Hutu political moderates like him. The book begins examining the possible origins of the ethnic divide between the Tutsi and Hutu. The origin of Rwanda's class system has little to do with appearance. Tutsis are considered to be taller, to have smaller noses, but evidence suggests they share a recent common origin (e.g., they share the language of Kinyarwanda, the same storytelling traditions, and religions). Rusesabagina believes the ethnicities developed from artificial political distinctions. He is actually considered Hutu in spite of his mother's Tutsi heritage due to Rwanda's patriarchal system in which ethnic identity of a child depends on the ethnic identity of the father.
British explorer John Hanning Speke used Bible passages to theorize that the Tutsi were a lost tribe of Christians while the Hutu were the cursed descendants of Noah's son Ham. Before World War I, Germany was the colonizing power of Rwanda. It was then handed over to Belgium, and the Belgians adopted the race theories of Speke. Subsequently, Rwandans received identity cards specifying their ethnic class. Resentment slowly grew from the doctrine of Tutsi superiority and later, Hutu Power ideology emerged as a response. Due to Belgian influence, Rwanda quickly became one of the most Christian nations on the planet. Interestingly, Rusesabagina chose Paul as his baptismal name after the NT character who described himself as "all things to all people." I found this to be the most fitting description of Rusesabagina.
This is a fantastic autobiography, exquisitely written. It illustrates the early manifestation of ethnic division, the subtle tension and irrational fear that develop from this division, the dangers of ethnic-stereotyping propaganda, and the international community's persistent failure to act. The end of the book discusses a phrase popularized in response to the Holocaust: "Never Again." Rusesabagina poignantly asserts that the words Never Again will persist in being one of the most abused phrases in the English language and one of the greatest lies of our time if we continue to neglect such atrocities.
This is one of my favorite passages concerning the genocide in Rwanda:
"It started as a failure of the European colonists who exploited trivial differences for the sake of a divide-and-rule strategy. It was the failure of Africa to get beyond its ethnic divisions and form true coalition governments. It was a failure of Western democracies to step in and avert the catastrophe when abundant evidence was available. It was a failure of the United States for not calling a genocide by its right name. It was the failure of the United Nations to live up to its commitments as a peacemaking body.""
"Paul Rusesabagina was the general manager at the hotel in Rwanda that managed to save the lives of over 1,000 people during the genocide of 1994. This well written, provocative and emotionally captivating book filled me with sadness, and shame yet, the author still conveyed the feeling of hope and spirituality evident throughout the book even in the face of such ugliness. How he managed to endure some 100 days of utter devastation and at the same time save the lives of others is a tale of heroic proportions. He was no ordinary man."
"This is a life changing book to read. It is a portrait of how ordinary people were turned into mass murderers seemingly overnight. It also shines a light of hope in an otherwise bleak story in the actions of Paul Rusesabagina. If you thought that the Holocaust was over and that human beings could never be so cruel again, read this book to change your mind. Contains graphic violence but worth wading through for the message. It may give you nightmares, but you will never forget the haunting story."
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