A Thousand Hills: Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It

A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed ItMan Who Dreamed ItThousand HillsThe bestselling author of All the Shah’s Men profiles one of the most successful revolutionaries of the modern era, telling the dramatic story of how he seized power in Rwanda and led this shattered country’s astonishing recovery.

Paul Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee. He and a group of comrades, determined to force their way back home after a generation of exile, designed one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine war. Then, after taking power, they amazed the world by stabilizing and reviving their devastated country. Now, as President Kagame, he’s obsessed with a single outlandish dream: to make Rwanda the first middle-income country in Africa, and to do it in the space of a single generation. A Thousand Hills tells Kagame’s tumultuous life story, including his early fascination with Che Guevara and James Bond, his years as an intelligence agent, his training in Cuba and the United States, the dazzlingly original way he built his secret rebel army, his bloody rebellion, and his outsized ambitions for Rwanda. It is the adventure-filled tale of a visionary who won a war, stopped a genocide, and then set out to turn his country into the star of Africa.

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“Kinzer addresses all the criticisms in detail, albeit within an overarching portrayal of Kagame as a pretty good guy with a convincing vision for a successful Africa.”
Washington Post, August 2008 (link)
“On a continent that is known for poor leadership, there is little doubt that Kagame stands among the very best–by any standard. But thankfully, despite his clear admiration, Kinzer does not ignore Paul Kagame’s authoritarian streak, which has worried human rights organizations in recent years.”African Update, July 2008 (link)
“I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Africa, small wars, reconciliation, and development. Kinzer’s prose is easy to read and entertaining. His narrative is insightful. The Paul Kagame I knew came to life when I read this book.”
Small Wars Journal, July 2008 (link)

2 Responses

  1. Jim Massey
    Jim Massey at | | Reply

    Wow! That is an impressive set of books you have authored. I look forward to your interview tonight by John B. Wells.

  2. adrian hayes
    adrian hayes at | | Reply

    I have just read it.

    Dervla Murphy also wrote a book about Rwanda : Visiting Rwanda!

    Stephen Kinzer and Dervla Murphy both make the point quite well, that the 800000-1 million killed, mostly Tutsi, in a hundred day period, were done with Military aid donated by Francois Mitterand. Without French intervention, the death toal would have been a lot less.

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