![A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 (New York Review Books Classics) by [Horne, Alistair]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/511cUXkCqRL._SY346_.jpg)
Allistair Horne has taken no pains in his classic study of the French conflict in Algeria from 1954-62. Horne takes the reader into the thought processes of the civilian leaders in Paris and the French military leaders as well as the various Algerian groups that vied for influence. Both groups often had very different ideas and conceptions of what was best for Algeria and France’s future role in it. Often times, it wasn’t just a two sided conflict between France and Algeria, but rather had three, four, five or even more sides because of the complicated relations between civilian and military leaders in France and moderates and extremists among the rebels.
This work has experienced something of a renaissance given the United States wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Certainly, there are commonalities such as a pride or arrogance born out of great power status or lacking a fundamental understanding of who the adversary is and what they wanted. One could maybe even note a division between civilian and military leadership although the divide in France was much deeper.
Allistar Horne illustrates that when you combine an arrogance about your place in the world with a fundamental misperception of your enemy coupled with numerous divisions on both sides of a conflict, you get a toxic soup that leads to bloodbath and innocent people being shot down in the streets when both sides had opportunities to come to a far more noble solution. Sad, yet important reading for anyone interested in conflict studies.
- File Size: 3785 KB
- Print Length: 624 pages
- Publisher: NYRB Classics (March 1, 2011)
- Publication Date: March 1, 2011
- Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004IK8Q2C
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#306,369 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #7 in History of Algeria
- #139 in North Africa History
- #21 in Algeria History
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