This is a pretty good history of the Algerian Insurgency of the late 50's and early 60's in which France became embroiled after her retreat from Vietnam.  The cover says it is relevant to the current war in Iraq although I don't see how as the nature of the two insurgencies is entirely different as is the American methods of waging the war in Iraq.  It is an adequate history of the war and the war itself is one that has not received much in the way of attention from English language scholars.  I think Horne does an outstanding job of intertwining the political, social, and military strands of the conflict together in his narrative.  He highlights the complexities of the war without losing the reader in minutiae.  If anyone is interested in the Algerian War of Independence and relatively unfamiliar with its course this is an excellent book to start.  Horne does an outstanding job of telling the story of a complex war waged by complex factions.