A Savage War of Peace

Algeria 1954-1962

By: Alistair Horne

Narrated by: James Adams

The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, 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 state torture.

At the time, this brutal, intractable conflict seemed like a French affair. But from the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one: a full-dress rehearsal for the amorphous struggle that convulsed the Balkans in the 1990s and that now ravages the Middle East, struggles in which religion, nationalism, imperialism, and terrorism assume unparalleled degrees of intensity.

©1977 Alistair Horne (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[This] universally acclaimed history...should have been mandatory reading for the civilian and military leaders who opted to invade Iraq." ( Washington Times)

A North African Blood Bath

The seven and a half year war of Algerian Independence from France was full of abuse, torture and murder on the sides of the Algerians wishing freedom from their French Colonial masters , the French Military, the OAS and FLN with a great deal of civilian collateral damage. Thousands would die over the course of the war, which divided Frenchmen and Algerians. It was a war that lead to multiple attempts on the life of Charles De Gaulle, the French President. It is a war that lead to the dissolving of the IV Republique and the beginning of the V Republique in France. Alistair Horne's exacting study and detail of the war lets you get to know all of the main players from both sides of the war. It's a book that explains a lot of the nature of France's relations with North Africa and the Arab world, and Algeria's current role in the World, as well. It's quite a book, but worth your time.

Well Done

Well researched, written, and narrated. Interesting book about a conflict I knew close to nothing about.

Excellent

Where does A Savage War of Peace rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I highly recommend this book. It is one of the best history books I have listened to.

Excellent book and reading is top notch

Would highly recommend. The book is well written and in my view very balanced but the reading is done with a rich deep voice and real passion. Would highly recommend

Enthralling

Insightful and, it appears, deeply informed. I thought Horne’s analysis insightful and evenhanded. The narration was excellent.

A good history we should remember

Loved it! More people should read this book. I hope that they do it soon.

Outstanding

This is an excellent book. A good overview of the Algerian war, well written, with a superb narration, that makes listening to it a very good and entertaining experience. The book does not limit itself to a narration of the most relevant aspects of the Algerian war, but it also provides a sensible analysis of such events, its causes and consequences and the relevant actors.
I bought this book after having listened to another of Alistair Horne's audiobooks, also narrated by James Adams. I can only recommend both. These books are history at its best, coupled with a narration that makes the book all the more interesting.

A part of history everyone should know, and the narrator is great

The Algerian War for independence and the effects it had on France are two extremely valuable stories to be aware of. I am glad I stumbled across this book. Anyone interested in the fundamental issues of 20th and frankly 21st century Western Powers should read this book.

Incredibly thorough with insightful analysis

A rage gem of a book on nationalist revolution in the Mediterranean / near east region. Thoroughly researched, unbiased, with great analysis that is pertinent to today's conflicts.

Paras, Barricades, the FLN and Algiers...epic.

Alister Horne, who specializes in the history of France, is easily one of the greatest historians of our era.

The Savage War of Peace is an amazing work on a subject of much importance.

I knew only basic facts about the war in Algeria before listening, and it's downright shocking how much the conflict for "Algerie Francaise" shaped the history of France. It might be the defining event of French history post WWII, even more so than the often written about Indochina War or the formation of the EU.

Horne's work is extremely detailed, and gripping. This is the best book I have listened to on audible.com. I'm buying the book in print form and have already bought other works by Horne on amazon.com.

It's a shame that Audible doesn't have other great works by Horne on here.