Shake Hands with the Devil
AuthorRoméo Dallaire
PublisherRandom House Canada
Publication date
September 2003
Publication placeCanada
ISBN978-0-679-31171-3 (0-679-31171-8) / 978-0-679-31172-0 (0-679-31172-6)
OCLC50022773
LC ClassDT450.435 .D35 2003

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda is a book by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire of the Canadian Forces, with help from Major Brent Beardsley. It was first published by Random House Canada in September 2003.

Romeo Dallaire signing Shake Hands with the Devil

The book chronicles Dallaire's tour as Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in 1993-1994, during which he witnessed the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

The book won the 2003 Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing, and 2004 Governor General's Award for nonfiction.

The edition published in French is entitled J'ai serré la main du diable: La faillite de l'humanité au Rwanda.

The documentary film Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire (2004) and a 2007 dramatic feature film are inspired by and in part based on the book. Dallaire was consulted in the making of both films.


Awards Preceded byParis 1919: Six Months That Changed the World Governor General's Award for English language non-fiction recipient 2004 Succeeded byThe Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed