"Uncivil War is a study of the intellectuals who confronted the loss of France's most prized overseas possession, colonial Algeria. Tracing the intellectual history of one of the most violent wars of European decolonization, James D. Le Sueur illustrates how such key figures as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Germaine Tillion, Jacques Soustelle, Raymond Aron, Claude Levi-Strauss, Albert Memmi, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun, Jean Amrouche, and Pierre Bourdieu agonized over the "Algerian question". As Le Sueur argues, these and other individuals forged new notions of the nation and nationalism, giving rise to a politics of identity that continues to influence debate around the world. Indeed, the French-Algerian War occupies a seminal place in colonial and contemporary history." "An interdisciplinary work of the first order, Uncivil War combines anthropology, history, critical theory, and postcolonial studies in an intimate look at a pivotal and highly contested movement in modern history."--BOOK JACKET.