A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962, Alistair Horne
I thought A Savage War of Peace was so interesting. Very well-written as well. The book covers the entirety of the Algerian War, from the roots of the conflict all the way to a modern (i.e. mid-’90s) perspective.
To me, an American, the Algerian War mirrored in many ways the coming Vietnam War (which Horne points out; other points of comparison include South Africa/Rhodesia and Northern Ireland). The French colonial history is way longer, obviously, but in Algeria you see obvious comparison points: an occupying military racking up huge body counts but failing to achieve political objectives; modern technology and tradecraft being used to fuel the occupation; violent interplay and conflict between indigenes and colonizers (literally colons); and above all, the ultimately pointless immiseration of the masses, from the poorest flower-merchants and peddlers to intellectuals, novelists, and doctors.
The Algerian War was one comprised of atrocity after atrocity. Whether it was FLN executions of fellow Algerians, the ratissages (“rat hunts”) that the pieds noirs would carry out against their Muslim neighbors, or French paras torturing and machine-gunning innocent Algerians (both indigenous and French), the conflict really showcased man’s ability to justify almost anything in pursuit of his avowed goals.
It felt like a bit of a slog by the end, but ultimately this book was very rewarding. I really liked the last chapter, which had a where are they now? vibe with all of the surviving personages of the conflict, from the French and Algerian politicians to OAS terrorists. Also, this book made me want to learn French (always very fun to read French terms and speech out loud), and I added a ton of books to my to-read list.