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A Thousand Hills

Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It

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A Thousand Hills

By: Stephen Kinzer
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
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About this listen

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. Like Ishmael Beah's best-selling A Long Way Gone and Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, this book recounts the thrilling and uplifting tale of a man who defied the odds to lift himself and his country out of misery toward a more promising future.

©2008 Stephen Kinzer (P)2008 Tantor
Africa Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Presidents & Heads of State United States World War Latin American Social justice

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Critic reviews

"A fascinating account of the near-miracle unfolding before our very eyes.... A very good read." (Archbishop Desmond Tutu)
All stars
Most relevant
must read for everyone on the planet. even though it may be a bit biased towards kagame

must read

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Insightful story, very different from the story most know. The author tries to balance but still comes out pro Kagame .

Insightful

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Great read. Last couple of chapters begin to drag but still insightful and emotive listen.

Great book..

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I recommend it to anyone who's seeking to be a good leader and to those who want motivations to keep them going

Paul Kigame my new hero

How to reconcile a failed state?

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