In the Preface, Dallaire explains why he wrote Shake Hands With The Devil. Although other books had already been written about modern Rwandan history and the Rwandan Genocide, Dallaire claims that “none of them seemed to get the story right” (xviii). Still, he refrained from writing a book since he was busy speaking on the subject and testifying against the perpetrators. He was also wrestling with his own mental health disorders resulting from his experiences and dealing with the fact he had become a “convenient scapegoat” in some eyes.

Dallaire’s comrade in Rwanda, Major Brent Beardsley, eventually convinced Dallaire to write the book, arguing, “if I did not put my story on paper, our children and our grandchildren would never really know about our role in and our passage through the Rwandan catastrophe” (xix). Dallaire sees Shake Hands with The Devil as a chance to leave his own eyewitness testimony to the Rwandan Genocide: “What I do have to offer the survivors and Rwanda's future generations is my story as best as I can remember it” (xxi).

In the introduction, Dallaire recounts going on a mission to escort two hundred civilians to safety in territory held by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).