Savage War Of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962

The Algerian War lasted from 1954-1962. It brought down 6 French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, returned de Gaulle to power and came close to provoking a war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died i the conflict and many European settlers were driven to exile. Above all the war marked an unholy marriage of revolutionary terror and repressive torture. Half a century has passed and yet the repercussions of the war that resulted in Algeria's independence seem like a dress rehearsal for the struggles that convulsed the Balkans and ravaged the Middle east, struggles in questions of religion, nationalism, imperialism and terrorism. "A Savage War Of Peace" brings this terrible and complicated struggle to life and makes for essential reading.