A Savage War of Peace cover art

A Savage War of Peace

Algeria 1954-1962

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

A Savage War of Peace

By: Alistair Horne
Narrated by: James Adams
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £22.39

Buy Now for £22.39

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. Africa Europe France Military War Middle East Imperialism Morocco Iran Middle Ages Russia Refugee Soviet Union Latin American Socialism Social justice Self-Determination Crusade
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

"[This] universally acclaimed history...should have been mandatory reading for the civilian and military leaders who opted to invade Iraq." ( Washington Times)
All stars
Most relevant
Easily accessible - I went from knowing almost nothing about the war to wanting to know more and undertake further reading

Highly recommended

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A wonderful book with analysis that stands the test of the 30+ years since it has been written. It may have a few too many details for the casual listener. The narrator is good but he can't really pronounce French or Arabic which is a major handicap in a book on French North Africa

Great analysis

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is a classic. It has stood the test of time and justifiably so. It is a sweeping panorama of the savage war in Algeria. This book will give you an understanding of nationalism and the roots of Islamism in North Africa; the wars of national liberation in mid-20th century; the French Army and - by extension - France herself. The psychology of 'les Paras', invested through blood and suffering, in Algérie française to the enigma of De Gaulle. It is all here. Most telling is the analysis of the corrosive effect of torture on the French Army which inflicted it. The prefaces and introductions are updated and bring this lesson home to more recent experience in Iraq. James Adams has read this book well. This book is essential listening.

Essential military history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Anyone with an interest in modern history will enjoy this account, it gives a classic account of the Algerian war of independence, and keeps it understandable and concise yet full of details

A comprehensive yet accessible overview

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book is a great review of the war, clear and very well written. Unfortunately it is marred by the french prononciation of the reader. It is so bad that it is at time difficult to understand. It is a pity as the reading is otherwise pleasant.

Fantastic book on a gruesome subject

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews