AHMED BEN BELLA

by Robert Merle ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 29, 1967

This is, in more ways than one, a curious book. During the night of June 19, 1965, a few shots disturbed the slumber of residential Algiers, and Ben Bella, independent Algeria's first and so far only elected president, disappeared. Since that coup d'etat, a military government led by Colonel Boumedienne has somehow managed to control if not direct a divided and discouraged young nation. M. Merle's book, translated here from the original French by Camilla Sykes and provided with some historical background in the form of a lengthy introduction by Clare Hollingworth, is a biography cast in the form of an autobiography. Based on some 30 or 40 hours of tape-recorded conversations he had with Ben Bella in the spring of 1964, it is by far the most favorable portrait of the man available in English. The author does not attempt to hide his unmitigated admiration for his subject, whom he compares to another of his heroes: Cuba's Fidel Castro. On the other hand, Merle calls attention to the ""deliberate omissions"" in his text, in connection with internal power struggles, relations with Morocco, the Kabyle revolt--indeed, in every sensitive area where Ben Bella can still hope to accomplish his ends. This can hardly be recommended for objectivity or inclusiveness; but it is worth reading as an antidote to the many attempts to show Ben Bella as nothing more than a Communist tool or a short-sighted, self-seeking, fraud.

Pub Date: May 29, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION