In the spring of 1994, in the short period of 100 days, 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and the Hutus who sympathized with them were slaughtered in what many have called the most efficient killing of any group of people in the 20th century. One Hundred Days of Silence examines the principal questions of what the U.S. knew about the nature of the genocide and how the world's most powerful nation turned a blind eye to the killings. Author, Jared Cohen, reconstructs the history of U.S. decision-making before and during the Rwanda genocide by drawing on declassified documents and the testimonies of American and Rwandan policymakers. This historical account demonstrates that the world's most powerful nations are unlikely to intervene in conflicts that are not of vital interest, and unfortunately, this approach to foreign policy is unlikely to be changed.

One Hundred Days of Silence raises important questions about the responsibilities of the United States and its contradictory approach to humanitarian intervention and foreign policy. It is an engaging and informative book that will appeal to scholars of political science and those interested in the larger issues of human tragedy.