This is a stirring account of a young Sudanese Lost Boy who came to the states as a refugee. I won't say much else except that once you begin, you will not stop reading for at least 5 chapters.

Follow the link below to read the first chapter on Amazon.

I strongly recommend you read this book to truly understand the events that fueled and surrounded the 1994 massacre of upwards of 800,000 human beings in 90 days. His storytelling style draws you in and engages completely, with all of the events extremely well documented.
Winner:
-National Book Critics Circle Award for Non-Fiction
-George K Polk Award for Foreign Reporting
-The Los Angeles Times Book Prize
-The Overseas Press Club Cornelius Ryan Best Book Award
-The PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction
-Helen Bernstein Book Award

This is a very moving film about the 90 days of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It recreates the overwhelming chaos, fear and hopelessness, and ultimately, the heartbreaking choices that had to be made to save your family or yourself. Neighbor against neighbor, cousin against cousin, man or wife. Compelling and realistically portrayed.

I read this book on my first flight to Rwanda, a 26-hour trip cut wonderfully short by some of the books on this list. The African context was set for the rest of my journey by this book; without reading it, I would not have had nearly the understanding of the culture, people and land in such a short period of time. I applaud any work that helps to build understanding and tolerance as this does, and this author's skillful writing, after four decades of reporting on the continent, makes the story come alive.

When we were in Kigali, we stopped briefly at a travel center to pick up a map. When I got back in the truck, Laura said nonchalantly that this was the Hotel Rwanda. Situated on a hill, surrounded by offices and roads, it is depicted differently in the film, where it looks much more rural. This film really portrays the brutality and speed in which the Genocide was carried out, and the unselfish actions of the hotel manager to save 1,200 lives of his countrymen. The real-life Hotel Rwanda manager, Paul Ruseasabagina, and his wife, Tatiana, have since received numerous humanitarian awards, and the film, which was nominated for three Academy Awards, did win the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award, along with numerous others around the world.

The autobiography of a young fashion designer, Rosamond Carr, who moved to Rwanda in the 1940s, uncertain of how long she would stay. She fell in love with the people, and Rwanda became her home. Sean and Laura Clauson both had the pleasure of knowing her, and Laura produced a documentary about her life, which Sean worked on. You can view it here. She ended up turning her plantation, which she ran for 40 years, into an orphanage for the children of the genocide in 1994. She recently passed away in 2006.