Customer Reviews

Challenging De Gaulle: The O.A.S and the Counter-Revolution in Algeria, 1954-1962

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Takes you right inside this ruthless counter-revolutionary urban guerrilla organisation. The author has done considerable painstaking research meeting and interviewing surviving former members of the organisation. It describes in great anecdotal detail the people on the ground, the foot soldiers, amd their leaders - the real OAS. Some excellent tales of their various operations, the persona who were the OAS, their characters, conflicting personalities and fall-outs and the reasons why they took this course of action. You feel you can really understand the motivation and their sense of grievance and betrayal by France, particularly that of General de Gaulle. However, the publishers need to take a good hard look at the text - it contains many general spelling/typing mistakes and also some key names in the historical drama are misspelt- unforgiveable.

From the Praeger Book News:
"Challenging De Gaulle tells the story of the Algerian counter revolution from the viewpoint of the ordinary foot soldier in the O.A.S. In a series of interviews with former OAS participants, and using many unpublished documents and personal diaries, Harrison examines the motives of these defenders of French Algeria. "were thy criminals, sociopaths, or honorable men more sensitive to their country's fate than were many of their contemporaries?"

The book begins with a historical view of French colonization of Algeria, outlining the roots of the counterrevolution. Further chapters discuss the three abortive efforts to grant native Algerians their independence. The OAS emerged in the wake of these defeats. 192 pages, indexed, a few maps and photos.

For modern readers, the comparisons with the current 'war on terror' are inescapable.