We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families

I just finished the masterfully written journalistic book, "We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families" by Philip Gourevitch. The book details the horrors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1996 along with the surrounding issues and implications that it had.

What makes this book so good is the approach with which Gourevitch handles the terrible atrocity of genocide. He manages to find and illustrate order in what appears to be a chaotic event and a nationwide descent into madness. He does this by asking questions of everyone, following up on leads, and then getting out of the way.

Of course he has opinions about the event, it wouldn't be an analysis if he didn't. But Philip Gourevitch makes his case by simply laying out the facts and exposing the reader to the many voices and stories of post-genocidal Rwanda. Every assertion that Gourevitch makes, such as criticism of the U.N's criminally inefficient response, is such a natural result of the evidence that he presents that you really do not feel he is making a statement, only reiterating that which is already present. Gourevitch doesn't pull any punches when he describes the brutality and the sickening ugliness of the genocide, but he treats the victims with dignity and not as a gory spectacle for international media consumption.

The book leaves you sickened and angry about the United Nations. It demonstrates how easily relief organizations can be misused and even turned into criminal fronts themselves. It conclusively makes the case for responsible journalists and charities to bring these issues to the forefront.