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An Ordinary Man : An Autobiography | 
 enlarge | Authors: Paul Rusesabagina, Tom Zoellner
Publisher: Amazon Remainders Account
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $4.83
You Save: $19.12 (80%)
New (10) Used (10) from $4.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 16805
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8
ASIN: B000GUJHK8
Publication Date: April 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The remarkable life story of the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda Readers who were moved and horrified by Hotel Rwanda will respond even more intensely to Paul Rusesabaginas unforgettable autobiography. As Rwanda was thrown into chaos during the 1994 genocide, Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, turned the luxurious Hotel Milles Collines into a refuge for more than 1,200 Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees, while fending off their would-be killers with a combination of diplomacy and deception. In An Ordinary Man, he tells the story of his childhood, retraces his accidental path to heroism, revisits the 100 days in which he was the only thing standing between his guests and a hideous death, and recounts his subsequent life as a refugee and activist.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 An Ordinary Man November 17, 2008
Rusesabagina starts his book with a most memorable entry:
"This is a work of nonfiction. All of the people and events described herein are true as I remember them. For legal and ethical reasons, I have given pseudonyms to a handful of private Rwandan citizens. Each time this is done, the change is noted in the text.
My name is Paul Rusesabagina. I am a hotel manager."
With those simple words he solidifies the ultimate strengths and weaknesses of the book.
Overall, An Ordinary Man is an excellent book, written by someone who actually experienced the terrifying happenings of Rwanda. In fact, the author is responsible for saving 1,268 people. However, he maintains that he was just merely doing his job; he was simply a "hotel manager, trained to negotiate contracts and provide shelter for those who need it" (204), nothing more and nothing less. The book is a simple read, but do not think the simplicity of his words undermines their significance. It allows his book to reach a much larger audience, and, in doing so, he is able to call out that the "tools of death [can become] reappropriated. They [can become] tools of life" (204).
In the end, Paul Rusesabagina provides us with shimmering hope, in light of tragedy. He reminds us that ordinary men have the ability to ward off evil. Ordinary men can do what is right, what is decent, and what is just. Ordinary men hold this power. He reminds us that there are good people who stand in the face of evil. There are those who can make a difference, and those are the ones who must act: because there is an evil out there. There is an evil we must all fear every day: the indifference of good men.
An Ordinary Man October 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Like all the other book that I order at this time this book give their perspective on the affect of war. The class inwhich these books are being used is based on the affects of war from different nationallities.
Good , not great September 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Surprisingly everyone else rates this as 5 out of 5.
It is good, but not that good.
Paul's writing style is a little dry at times, and shows his limited education.
It is also a littel disjointed , and doesn't give enough insight into characters that he had known before the genocide, and they could have been expanded with further background.
The book took longer to read than it should have, and did not hold my interest or intensity as others on this subject have.
Nevertheless, it is a great adjunct to understanding the movie "Hotel Rwanda" , from which this film was based.
Still an essential part of everyone's library, but I would probably not read it twice.
Derek
An Ordinary Man July 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This autobiography was written very well. The author was committed to getting the facts out without glorifying himself. Done very well. I appreciated being told about the genocide in Rwanda without all the gore. I understood perfectly what he was describing without seeing it on screen. I learned so much from both his experience and his trials trying to get help from other nations. Great book!
Satisfied March 27, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
My product arrived in time and in very good condition!
would definitely purchase again
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