Wolves in the city; the death of French Algeria
Henissart, PaulC.L.Sulzberger, Chief Foreign Correspondent,TheNewYork Times.
Thetimeisonlya few yearsago—but seemsagespast. TheplaceisFrenchAlgeria, torn apart by avicious,endlesswar, familiarin its horroranditsdivisiveeffectstoallwho havelivedthrough ourownVietnaminvolvement. Thesubject: therising ofthep/ec/s noirs andlarge partsoftheFrenchArmyina last-ditch effort tothwart the inevitable independenceofAlgeria—amovement that cost countlesslivesand threatened the veryexistenceoftheFrenchRepublic. Paul Henissart'sWolvesintiieCityis thefirstcomprehensive andobjective accountoftheriseandfallofthe notorious OAS(Organisationarmeesecrete),a dramaofassassination,misplacedloyalty,fanaticism,plastiquage andblood. Like suchnonfiction classicsasIsParisBurning? andTheLongestDay,Wolvesinthe City takes thereaderstepbystep, characterbycharacter,day by day through theeventsofthat time.Itis filled with captivatingifoftenterrifyingpersonalities: menlikeRoger Degueldre, headof the barbaricOASDeltacommandos;Jean-JacquesSusini, the fascist-intellectual powerbrokeroftheOAS;andofcourse, thefamousadversary generals, Raoul Salan,chief ofthe secret army,and Charles deGaulle,monarchofFrench politicallife,amanalmost destroyed by the violenceofdecolonizing Algeriainhis ownmysteriousfashion. ... PaulHenissarthaslived formorethan twenty yearsinFranceandTunisia,and hastraveled extensivelyinNorthAfrica andtheMiddleEast.Acorrespondent anda radioandtelevisionwriter,henow makeshishome