National resources

Lavishly illustrated with the author's own colour photographs, these letters from a young British university lecturer in Algeria paint a vivid picture of the former French colony ten years after its war of independence. Having defeated France, Algeria had unrivalled prestige among developing nations. In October 1973, just after the author arrived, Algeria challenged the world by persuading other Arab oil-producers to initiate an oil embargo which shook the foundations of the international economy and whose impact is still felt today. The author's introduction sets the historical context.The letters have been edited into themes so that they present a story. They give lively glimpses of day-to-day living in the spectacular cliff-top city of Constantine, university life and cultural events, amusing insights into the mysterious ways of the bureaucracy and the surprisingly difficult struggle to get paid, a trip to the heart of the Algerian oilfield in the desert, visits to Roman antiquities. There are also hints of the tensions between secular ideals and religious fundamentalism which would lead Algeria into civil war in the 1990s. The letters provide a view of a fascinating country emerging into freedom at a time of optimism in the aftermath of independence, when everything seemed possible.