Publication : Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black PanthersElaine Mokhtefi

07août2018

Elaine Mokhtefi's new book,  Algiers, Third World Capital. Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers is published by Verso and will be released on August 7.

256 pages, ISBN 9781788730006

Following the Algerian war for independence and the defeat of France in 1962, Algiers became the liberation capital of the Third World. Elaine Mokhtefi, a young American woman immersed in the struggle and working with leaders of the Algerian Revolution, found a home here. A journalist and translator, she lived among guerrillas, revolutionaries, exiles, and visionaries, witnessing historical political formations and present at the filming of The Battle of Algiers. 

Mokhtefi crossed paths with some of the era’s brightest stars: Frantz Fanon, Stokely Carmichael, Timothy Leary, Ahmed Ben Bella, Jomo Kenyatta, and Eldridge Cleaver. She was instrumental in the establishment of the International Section of the Black Panther Party in Algiers and close at hand as the group became involved in intrigue, murder, and international hijackings. She traveled with the Panthers and organized Cleaver’s clandestine departure for France. Algiers, Third World Capital is an unforgettable story of an era of passion and promise.

More information

Book's site in Verso 

Alex Crowly's article in Publishers Weekly 

Kader Bakou's article in Le soir d'Algérie