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A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 (New York Review Books Classics) Kindle Edition

by Alistair Horne (Author)

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The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It brought down six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, returned de Gaulle to power, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict and as many European settlers were driven into exile. Above all, the war was marked by an unholy marriage of revolutionary terror and repressive torture.

Nearly a half century has passed since this savagely fought war ended in Algeria’s independence, and yet—as Alistair Horne argues in his new preface to his now-classic work of history—its repercussions continue to be felt not only in Algeria and France, but throughout the world. Indeed from today’s vantage point the Algerian War looks like a full-dress rehearsal for the sort of amorphous struggle that convulsed the Balkans in the 1990s and that now ravages the Middle East, from Beirut to Baghdad—struggles in which questions of religion, nationalism, imperialism, and terrorism take on a new and increasingly lethal intensity.

A Savage War of Peace is the definitive history of the Algerian War, a book that brings that terrible and complicated struggle to life with intelligence, assurance, and unflagging momentum. It is essential reading for our own violent times as well as a lasting monument to the historian’s art.

Length: 624 pages

Word Wise: Enabled

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Product Details

File Size: 3693 KB
Print Length: 624 pages
Publisher: NYRB Classics; Main edition (March 1, 2011)
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B004IK8Q2C
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Not Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,757 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #2 in Books > History > Africa > Algeria
- #7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Africa > North Africa
- #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Europe > France

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Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		71%
4 star		21%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		0%

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Top Customer Reviews

Incomparable Masterpiece

By T. Graczewski VINE VOICE on May 27, 2004

Format: Hardcover

Alistair Horne's "A Savage War of Peace" -- a narrative of the Algerian death struggle with France in the 1950s and early 1960s -- is history at its finest. Clearly written, passionate and authoritative, this book is a shining example that objective and powerful history can be written on "current events" (the book was first published barely a decade after the French pulled out of Algeria).

As the US-led coalition in Iraq struggles to impose order, comparisons with France's ultimately unsuccessful attempt at holding on to Algeria in the face of Islamic insurgents have become fashionable. Such analogies, however, should be used cautiously. There are a number of salient differences in the two cases. None looms larger than the relatively large and vocal pied noir community in Algeria that Paris had to contend with, first politically and then militarily. In some Algerian cities in the 1950s, such as Constantine, a majority of the residents were of European extraction (although not necessarily French). These pied noirs had roots in Algeria for generations and had a powerful lobby in Paris. A simple political withdrawal from Algeria in 1955 was thus (in my opinion) a political impossibility. The ugly war that erupted was, in the end, tragically unavoidable.

Horne would certainly disagree with this assessment. Myopic intransigence by the French and pied noir leaders is a leitmotif of the narrative. Yet, the author just as consistently praises the FLN leadership for laying out their aims at the 1956 Soumman Conferences and never wavering from them. Algerian inflexibility, it seems, was a virtue; for the French/pied noir community it was a sin.Read more ›

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War and no peace

By A Customer on August 2, 2000

Format: Paperback

At the outset Alistair Horne bemoans the complexities and difficulties involved in writing recent history, where many of the main players are still alive and active. Ironically, he is the one who falls into that trap - for the only faults to this otherwise excellent rendition is the occaisonal of-the-cuff cryptic reference by the author to some event that happened at the time. He obviously assumes that everybody would share his joke. But these are few and tiny details. Over all this is an excellent text. Horne admirably makes up for the lack of documentation on the Algerian side of the war and manages, somehow, dispite that massive misbalance in printed references between France and Algeria, to present a text which presents both sides with equal scholarly depth.
More than a million people died in the Algerian war, yet it is poorly remembered today. Books like this are needed.

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The author at his best.

By Rusty Greenland on February 15, 2000

Format: Hardcover

I've read most of this author's works. His trilogy--The Fall of Paris, The Price of Glory, To Lose a Battle---is excellent, but the author reaches his pinnacle in "Savage War". He shows a masterful understanding of politics, strategy, tactics, and national feeling. I have met men who served under Salan, Massu, and Challe, and the portrayals of these leaders by the author harmonize with what I've been told. The subject may seem remote in time and in interest, but the author has written a gripping story, and also gets "down and dirty" into the details. This is a rewarding book for anyone with an interest in military as well as political history.

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Peering Into the Cesspit

By Amazon Customer on August 9, 2007

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

One of the things that perplexed and, frankly, disgusted me, throughout this book was the posturing of many key figures on the French side about "honour" and "grandeur". In pursuit of their honour, many of these people behaved in the most disgraceful and dishonourable manner.

They preened themselves on their honour and spoke volubly about "restoring the glory of France", but when the going got difficult, they mostly resigned their positions or simply abandoned their responsibilities - often to return later to repeat the whole disreputable process - or intrigue among themselves.

Perhaps a psychologist could shed more light on this cesspit of misplaced values than an historian.

But what of the other side - the Algerian independence movement? The alphabet soup of factions (FLN, CRUA, MTLD, UDMA etc etc) was liberally peopled by thugs, assassins, torturers and thieves. They squabbled among themselves, intrigued for office, occasionally betrayed each other, and terrorised their own people - all in the cause of Algerian independence.

Even after independence, members of the ruling clique continued to wage war upon each other and upon the Algerian people. The struggle continues to this day.

Ordinary Algerians on both sides were the victims of the war - as is ever the case. At its end, within months, almost all the "pied noir" population had fled the country in one of the great mass migrations of the post war era. Muslims who had worked and fought for the French and who were unable (or chose not) to flee were mercilessly hunted down.

I finished the book with a sense of disgust, of having been soiled by the mostly contemptible people shaping events on both sides.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

and it can be useful if we in the West do so

ISIS and AL-Qaeda have clearly studied this book, and it can be useful if we in the West do so, too. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Aramis Thomas

Awesome

An exhaustingly researched and detailed history of a dreadful period in the history of France, Algeria, civilization, Islamic radicalism, and virtually every other controversy now... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mallow

A book from a good historian writer. Sometimes has the British tendency to pick on the French while forgetting that the Brits were just as bad, or sometimes worse, colonists. Read more

Published 5 months ago by john R.

I think it is the best of the 3

A Savage War of Peace is Horne's third volume in his history of French Army in the 20th century. I think it is the best of the 3. Read more

Published 6 months ago by John Buford

Great history for this little known region

I wanted to understand the whole France- Algeria history, since it still rankles today. This was a masterpiece of historical authorship, in my opinion, of this very complex story... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Shrike

Lessons stuck all the way to Afghanistan...

This is one of the best Audiobooks I have ever listened to. The history narrated well and told as a story that grabs you, but in a way that gives you an excellent understanding of... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Frank

definitive account of the Algerian war.

definitive account of the Algerian war. Horne is a superstar when it comes to writing about France, and this is his finest work

Published 9 months ago by Honest Jean

Five Stars

Excellent book! Excellent! A must read for all needing a perspective on counterinsurgency.

Published 11 months ago by Tweeter00801

Not being a speaker of the French language I found this annoying.

A thoroughly researched and well written chronicle of the French - Algerian conflict. I would have given it 5 stars but for the French phrases without translation sprinkled... Read more

Published 11 months ago by R. Stout

One of my favorite history books that I have yet read

One of my favorite history books that I have yet read. Alistair Horne does a wonderful job at taking his reader through the Algerian struggle for independence in the 1950s and 60s. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Dylith

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