This book starts by covering the birth of Algerian nation (a community connected by a homeland, the Arabic language, and Islam), gives an overview of the country under French colonialism from 1832 to 1962-including the seven-year war for independence, and then tackles the state-building efforts, the elaboration of the socialist economy and its subsequent demise by the early 1990s, the decade-long armed Islamist rebellion, the central role of the military in the political system, and the unfolding efforts at political and economic liberalization and their outcomes.