Algeria 1962
A People's History
Malika RAHAL(Author)
Verso Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 24. November 2026
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-1-83674-197-8 (ISBN)
Description
Algeria 1962: A People's History offers a gripping portrait of one of the twentieth-century's most dramatic turning points-the birth of independent Algeria. Malika Rahal immerses us in the tumultuous year when, after more than a century of French settler rule and eight years of war, Algerians claimed their freedom. The result is a history alive with the voices, emotions and experiences of those who lived it.
In March 1962, the Evian Accords recognised Algeria's independence. Yet the months that followed were far from peaceful. Colonialist dead-enders launched a scorched-earth campaign of terrorist violence, nationalist factions fought for supremacy, and returning refugees and released prisoners reshaped the social landscape. At the same time, millions poured into the streets in unprecedented celebration, reclaiming public space and imagining new futures.
Rahal's history traces how independence was lived and remembered through rumour and ritual, joy and grief, the redistribution of land and the reopening of mosques, episodes that continue to resonate in today's Algeria. Sweeping yet intimate, Algeria 1962 redefines how we think about decolonisation, revealing it as both rupture and reinvention, a story written not only by victors but by an entire people.
In March 1962, the Evian Accords recognised Algeria's independence. Yet the months that followed were far from peaceful. Colonialist dead-enders launched a scorched-earth campaign of terrorist violence, nationalist factions fought for supremacy, and returning refugees and released prisoners reshaped the social landscape. At the same time, millions poured into the streets in unprecedented celebration, reclaiming public space and imagining new futures.
Rahal's history traces how independence was lived and remembered through rumour and ritual, joy and grief, the redistribution of land and the reopening of mosques, episodes that continue to resonate in today's Algeria. Sweeping yet intimate, Algeria 1962 redefines how we think about decolonisation, revealing it as both rupture and reinvention, a story written not only by victors but by an entire people.
Reviews / Votes
a fresh, balanced and precisely documented portrait -- Andre Loez * Le Monde * a source of inspiration for historians everywhere -- Todd Shepard * En attendant Nadeau * A major contribution -- Benjamin Badier * Nonfiction.fr * a remarkable book, one that has already established itself as a landmark -- James McDougall * Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Mediterranee *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Weight
567 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83674-197-8 (9781836741978)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Malika Rahal is a historian and director of the Institut d'histoire du temps present in Paris. Born in Nebraska, she is of Franco-Algerian-American ancestry and perfectly bilingual in French and English. She specializes in the history of contemporary North Africa as well as colonization and decolonization. In addition to numerous academic articles and chapters in edited volumes, she has given many interviews French and Anglophone media outlets and written extensively for popular press outlets such as The Nation.
Content
Introduction
The Hallmark of the Revolution
Part I - Violence
Chapter One
Stolen Blood
Chapter Two
The French in Algeria, And Their Anxieties
Chapter Three
Times Boiling Over
Chapter Four
Revenge
Chapter Five
The Event: Oran, 1962
Chapter Six
The Messalists' Defeat
Part II - Bodies
Chapter Seven
Living Together
Chapter Eight
The Prisoners' Return
Chapter Nine
Demobilisation
Chapter Ten
The Collective Body
Chapter Eleven
The Disappeared
Chapter Twelve
Celebrating
Part III - Spaces
Chapter Thirteen
Recovery
Chapter Fourteen
Segregation
Chapter Fifteen
A Spatial Reversal
Chapter Sixteen
The Repatriation of Refugees
Chapter Seventeen
The Camp
Chapter Eighteen
The Farm
Part IV - Time
Chapter Nineteen
The Wait
Chapter Twenty
The Coming of the Algerian Republic
Chapter Twenty-One
1962-1830
Chapter Twenty-Two
The invention of the past
Conclusion
The Revolutionary Dimension of 1962
Testimonies and primary sources
Index
The Hallmark of the Revolution
Part I - Violence
Chapter One
Stolen Blood
Chapter Two
The French in Algeria, And Their Anxieties
Chapter Three
Times Boiling Over
Chapter Four
Revenge
Chapter Five
The Event: Oran, 1962
Chapter Six
The Messalists' Defeat
Part II - Bodies
Chapter Seven
Living Together
Chapter Eight
The Prisoners' Return
Chapter Nine
Demobilisation
Chapter Ten
The Collective Body
Chapter Eleven
The Disappeared
Chapter Twelve
Celebrating
Part III - Spaces
Chapter Thirteen
Recovery
Chapter Fourteen
Segregation
Chapter Fifteen
A Spatial Reversal
Chapter Sixteen
The Repatriation of Refugees
Chapter Seventeen
The Camp
Chapter Eighteen
The Farm
Part IV - Time
Chapter Nineteen
The Wait
Chapter Twenty
The Coming of the Algerian Republic
Chapter Twenty-One
1962-1830
Chapter Twenty-Two
The invention of the past
Conclusion
The Revolutionary Dimension of 1962
Testimonies and primary sources
Index