An Ordinary Man: The True Story Behind Hotel Rwanda

Paul shares with us the horrors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide from his perspective as the hotel manager of one of the top hotels in Rwanda. His words are honest, thought provoking and hardhitting. There are no nicieties in this story- horrendous things happened whilst the world stood by. Paul talks honestly about what he did and how he did it - he makes no claims to be anyone special but his words show him to be much more than 'an ordinary man'. What he shares with you here you will never forget and thats how it should be - we all have responsibilities for the world will live in and one of those is to be informed - this book certainly does that. Much of what Paul says comes from his heart and speaks of hard realities for him personally, for Rwanda and for the world at large.I very much admired Paul - his actions during the genocide, how he has since responded and dealt with the after affects and his writings here. We must sit up and take notice of what he says regarding genocide, they will be powerful words if received and acted upon!

A wonderful account of what happened in the face of such mass murder. This 'ordinary man' is a true hero. His study of what happened during, before and after the genocide is so informative and his humanity comes across in the story. A privilege to read this book.

This true story brings to life the unimaginable torture the Rwandans endured during the genocide of the early nineties. Not completely like the movie, so read this to learn about the reality of what happened.

Paul Rusesabagina starts his moving account of that bloody spring in 1994 with a brief overview of Rwandese history, the impact of colonialism, and the dynamic of the hutu-tutsi coexistence which has been typical of the Rwandese social fabric. His account is genuine and insightful, and really helps bring context to the terrible events of those 100 days in 1994. It is all too easy to dismiss this tragedy as pure ethnic rivalry and anger of a few african tribes. This book clarifies how the events escalated and how the power of words and propaganda propelled a situation into unimaginable human cruelty and horror. "An Ordinary Man" is probably the most insightful of all books I've read on the Rwandese genocide. It underlines the danger of misunderstanding this conflict and its context, since this tragedy can recur, in Rwanda or elsewhere, if lessons aren't learned. A genuine, beautifully written and humbling account of all the worst and the best mankind is capable of.

I would recommend this book to anybody for whom the Rwandan genocide provokes feelings of revulsion and above all a fear that here we were dealing with the expression of a Darwinian trait common to all humanity and which awaits only the right circumstances in order to obliterate our better natures and turn us in to the vilest murderers. But also to anybody who thinks that they are sufficiently strong to resist as well as anybody who still believes the nazi holocaust put followers of one particular religion in a different category to the rest of us. The author's conclusions are both enlightening and, to a surprising degree, offer comfort.

Gave an amazing insight into a genocide which I knew little about. It is always humbling to read about someone who puts their own lives in danger for others. A sad but enjoyable read about a very difficult subject.

... but a journey. Touching, human, and thought-provoking. He takes Rwanda not as one case but as a case we can and should all learn from. It got me asking myself about killings that we accept as legal: as necessary "work" in our society. From conception till natural death, in sorrow and in joy; he is living testimony that every moment of every life IS infinitely worthy.

This book is an extraordinary man's account of the 1994 horror, an easy read of dreadful history in the so-called modern era.

The book should be read by everyone right now. Much needed for these times.Must read

An important human story which is well narrated

Paul nos emociona ao mesclar o relato de sua luta pela sobrevivência e sobre a história de sua vida e a da formação do seu país.

"The cousin of brutality is a terrifying normalcy."-- "An Ordinary Man", P. 121Have you ever really looked at the word "extraordinary"? If you encountered the word for the first time without a dictionary handy, you could be forgiven for thinking it means what it appears to mean: extra ordinary; more ordinary than average; excessively normal, plain, unremarkable. But, of course, we know it actually means beyond ordinary, something amazing. Also, the word itself holds no value judgment. Something can be extraordinarily beautiful or extraordinarily ugly. A person can commit acts which are extraordinarily good or extraordinarily evil. The inherent tensions in the word make it an apt description of Paul Rusesabagina. He was more than an ordinary man; he was extra ordinary. Or, rather, he was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things. Likewise, the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide were, by and large, ordinary men who did extraordinarily evil things.The first thing that struck me about the book was the tone. Rusesabagina writes in a gentle, humorous and self-deprecating tone that nonetheless conveys great wisdom and authority. It is much like being gathered at the feet of an African elder listening to the wisdom he passes on through stories and parables. In fact, early on Rusesabagina gives us a few of his father's favorite parables which, on the surface don't seem to relate to anything. But he then weaves those parables throughout out the story to show that ancient wisdom still applies to modern man.This tone conveys a great deal about the nature and character of Rwanda as a country and about Rusesabagina himself. Clearly Rwanda is a part of Rusesabagina and Rusesabagina a part of Rwanda. The gentle tone, especially the mild humor, also make it possible to face the horrific story that Rusesabagina unfolds in the pages of this beautiful, terrible book. Just when the tragedy seems too overwhelming to bear, Rusesabagina slips in a bit of humor that almost seems inappropriate, yet terribly necessary, like when your favorite uncle tells a slightly naughty joke at your beloved grandmother's funeral, and you know it's time to come up for a little fresh air.Rusesabagina is also a masterful storyteller. He weaves in the trajectory of his own life with the trajectory of Rwanda as a country, elucidating his own role in the story without making the story all about him. As Rwanda developed from a rural agricultural economy to more of an urban market economy, Rusesabagina himself was gradually climbing his career ladder, having left his intended vocation as a pastor when he suspected that he would be relegated to some forgotten rural backwater. Wanting to be in the city, he stumbled into Hotel Milles Collines, an icon since his early youth, and discovered not only a flair for the hospitality industry, but also his true calling.Throughout the book, Rusesabagina repeats, "I am a hotel manager" almost like a mantra. It goes to the very core of his identity, almost as if he could be nothing else (although we also see why the clergy appealed to him initially). It's also why the humility he displays throughout the book is not just false modesty. Despite the heroism of his acts in the spring of 1994, Rusesabagina is not a hero. He is a hotel manager. He did the only thing he could do. It's just that the things he did as a hotel manager were heroic things.The very skills that made Rusesabagina such a good hotel manager are the very skills that allowed him and 1,267 others, to survive the Rwandan genocide. He says himself that he talks to and negotiated with the army, militia, police and world leaders in the same way he would negotiate a food contract or order a supply of bed linens. His work for the hotel put him in contact with people from all walks of life, but especially world business and political leaders. Many of such people were honorable and decent, many were quite unsavory, and most were somewhere in between. But in each case, "dienst ist dienst, und schnapps ist schnapps" (work is work and booze is booze). Rusesabagina developed a remarkable ability to separate his personal feelings and interact with each person in the context required by his job. He was even able to socialize with people he found deeply repulsive. Such socializing ended up saving his life.Rusesabagina repeatedly addresses the moral quagmire of dealing with "evil" people. He has often been criticized for remaining friendly with the architects and enforcers of the genocide. But he was able (and willing) to do so because he believed that there were always "hard" and "soft" sides to all people. Only by remaining in open contact with people could he find - and use to his advantage - the "soft" sides often hidden deep within people, signaled by as little as a refusal to look him in the eyes or the willingness to accept a drink. Sometimes openings were found by appealing to morality or friendship, more often through flattery and appealing to ego. Once the opening was found, it could be expanded to provide even the smallest concession, and thousands of such concessions allowed the 1,268 refugees at the Milles Collines to live another day, and then another. In other words, keep your friends close, your enemies closer.All in all it adds up to the extraordinary story of an ordinary man who achieved a level of comfort in his own skin few of us ever achieve. His natural talents and interests, a whole lot of persistence, and a bit of luck combined to land Rusesabagina in the life he seemed born to, which gave him a sort of security that couldn't be taken from him, even as his life and family were threatened. Because he was so secure in himself, he gave others space to accept their own insecurities, which made him a force to be reckoned with.This book is deeply felt by a man who both loves and despairs for his country. He consistently recognizes the ordinary humanity of even those neighbors and former friends who carried dripping machetes, yet he never wants to see them again. He traces how small physical differences were exploited by the colonial masters, developed into a national hierarchy and identity, and then exploded by the forces of discrimination, oppression and hateful propaganda. He also recognizes what it would take to under the years of damage, but despairs because he sees a potential new cycle starting all over again. Ah, Rwanda, why? he asks plaintively again and again.Rusesabagina's story is, in one sense, a fundamentally Rwandan story told by a fundamentally Rwandan man. But on the other hand, it echoes stories throughout the world, which only seem to grow more and more common: the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Khmer Rhouge, Bosnia, Sudan, Iraq. The specifics of each situation vary widely, but the underlying separation, propaganda, dehumanization, oppression and ultimate slaughter remain the same. Even here, even today there are those who prefer to demonize and scapegoat the alien "other" and fan the flames of fear and hatred, rather than come together and do the difficult work of negotiating out to live in the world together. Ah, America, why?Ah, world, why?

Un libro magnífico, como la película pero contado por el protagonista real de lo que sucedió. Una verdadera tragedia contada en primera persona