A Savage War of Peace

Algeria 1954-1962

De: Alistair Horne

Narrado por: 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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

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.

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.

Very engaging account

I liked this book. The author did a great job of describing events without getting bogged down in details. Unbiased and engaging. I'm not a Francophone. But I must admit they have great architecture and cuisine.....And Authors. "The street without joy" Algerian version.

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.

Detailed timeline of the crisis.

The book mainly focuses on the political maneuvering , less about battlefield situations. very interesting and detailed information about the individuals involved.

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.

excellent

Very interesting story, writing in a balanced way. Very well read.