Beginning as a small, seemingly insignificant rebellion in 1954, the Algerian struggle for independence assumed such proportions that it strangled France’s foreign policy, threatened her international relations, poisoned the political atmosphere, and toppled one government after another.

In this book, first published in 1963, a specialist on French affairs assesses the impact on France of the Algerian problem, the various attempts to solve that problem, and the implications of the solution finally found. It is a study of conflict, a careful consideration of the interaction between internal politics and a peculiarly difficult external problem – and, most of all, an objective and lucid presentation of the essential elements of a tragic episode in French history.