A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It, by Stephen Kinzer (HC, 2008, $4.50)
Paul Kagame is the current president of Rwanda. Some things are known about him. He was trained both by Cuba, and the US Army. His rebel army stopped a genocide. Rwanda is now a safe place to live, and its GDP has tripled. Kagame admits to being authoritarian. It is known that his country has severe human rights issues. What is not known is whether he had anything to do with the 1994 downing of the plane carrying Rwanda's president, or whether he is guilty of war crimes for deaths and looting during his 1996 invasion of the Congo.
He has powerful friends, like Bill Clinton and Bill Gates. This book's author considers him to be a great man. Says Kinzer, "Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee, shaped one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine warfare, and then emerged as a visionary leader with radical ideas about how poor countries can climb out of their misery. Whether his experiment can succeed is a question that has begun to fascinate people across Africa and beyond."
Personally, I don't know what to make of it all. Time will tell if Rwanda's success continues. Time may also reveal if Kagame has a dark side. Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/23. (L-Af)
