The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It brought down six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, returned de Gaulle to power, 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 repressive torture. Nearly a half century has passed since this savagely fought war ended in Algeria's independence, and yet-as Alistair Horne argues in his new preface to his now-classic work of history-its repercussions continue to be felt not only in Algeria and France, but throughout the world. Indeed from today's vantage point the Algerian War looks like a full-dress rehearsal for the sort of amorphous struggle that convulsed the Balkans in the 1990s and that now ravages the Middle East, from Beirut to Baghdad-struggles in which questions of religion, nationalism, imperialism, and terrorism take on a new and increasingly lethal intensity. "A Savage War of Peace" is the definitive history of the Algerian War, a book that brings that terrible and complicated struggle to life with intelligence, assurance, and unflagging momentum. It is essential reading for our own violent times as well as a lasting monument to the historian's art.

Includes maps of: [Algeria, Showing Wilayas Boundaries]; [Algiers].

Illustrations --Map of Algeria -- Map of Algiers -- Preface -- pt. 1. Prelude 1830-1954 -- 1. "A town of no great interest" -- 2. "Ici, c'est la France" -- 3. In the middle of the Ford -- pt. 2. The War 1954-1958 -- 4. All Saint's Day, 1954 -- 5. The sorcerer's cauldron -- 6. The FLN : from Bandung to Soummam -- 7. The second fronts of Guy Mollet -- 8. "Why we must win" -- 9. The battle of Algiers -- 10. Lost round for the FLN -- 11. The world takes notice -- 12. Le dernier quart d'Heure -- pt. 3. The hardest of all victories 1958-1962 -- 13. A kind of resurrection -- 14. "Je vous ai compris" -- 15. The FLN holds its breath -- 16. Neither the Djebel nor the night -- 17. "Aux barricades!" -- 18. "This Prince of ambiguity" -- 19. Revolution in the Revolution -- 20. De Gaulle caught in the draught -- 21. The Generals' putsch -- 22. Overtures for peace -- 23. The suitcase or the coffin -- 24. Exodus -- 25. The page is turned -- Afterword -- Colonel Godard's organogram -- Political and military abbreviations -- Chronology -- Bibliography -- Reference notes -- Glossary -- Index.