Book Description
The Dramatic History of Iraq in One Concise Volume
The destinies of Iraq and America will be tightly intertwined into the foreseeable future due to the U.S. incursion into this complex, perplexing desert nation -- the latest in a long history of violent outside interventions. A country sitting atop the world's largest supply of crude oil, Iraq will continue to play an essential role in global economics and in Middle Eastern politics for many decades to come. Therefore, it is more important than ever for Westerners to have a clear understanding of the volatile, enigmatic "Land of Two Rivers" -- its turbulent past and its looming possibilities. In this acutely penetrating and endlessly fascinating study, acknowledged Middle East authority William R. Polk presents a comprehensive history of the tumultuous events that shaped modern Iraq, while offering well-reasoned judgments on what we can expect there in the years to come.
Download Description
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Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future says
William R. Polk, former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Iraq sits on the world's largest supply of oil, and with the world's energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle East.
Polk's concise, authoritative overview of Iraq's history shows how the pattern of outside intervention was established first by the Ottoman Turks and the Persian Safavids and later by England, Russia, and Germany. After World War I came British rule, followed by a brief and uneasy period of independence that sparked Iraqi nationalism, leading Saddam Husain to power with American military and financial aid and covert CIA involvement. The Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait was followed by the Gulf War, the sanctions period, and the Bush administration's decision to invade. Finally, there is the American occupation and the challenges, opportunities, and options that Iraqis and Americans face now and in the future.
"
Customer Reviews:
A Short, Concise, and Comprehensive Overview.......2007-08-19
This book is a good read for the average person wishing to brush up on the history of Iraq, and to understand why it is the U.S. occupying force has faced such difficulty (we should have learned from the British colonial occupation!). Written by an expert on Middle-Eastern affairs and a scholar of Arabic, it is both a concise history of Iraq from ancient times and a compelling criticism of the current U.S. occupation. Although Polk belittles the post-invasion presence of Al-Qaeda, and comes up short in terms of a comprehensive "solution" to the problem there (who currently doesn't?), this book is a recommended read for the introductory reader, written by a man of distinguished credentials. The primary weakness of the book is a lack of comprehensive footnoting and referencing, which would fully make transparent the author's sources. (Those supportive of the war will look in vain for any supporting reasons for the war in Iraq.)
Book of reality.......2007-08-08
This book is a must-to-read for all American policy makers who are dealing with Iraq issue. As an Iraqi who lived in the "Revolutionary Iraq" period, as the author names it, I agree with most of what he said. However, I disagree with the idea mentioned in the book that Americans did not know that Iraq will invade Kuwait. Being less arrogant & reading a bit about the history of Iraq will definitely spare the Americans many lives. Till now, it is not too late to do so.
A polemic.......2007-07-23
With this title on a 213 page book you can't legitimately expect something on the order of Gibbon's Rise and Fall, but this book is stunningly superficial and a bad polemic.
A good polemic shares the virtue of other scholarly works and avoids first person commentary. This author just can't resist citing himself as a source and refering the reader to his website. A good polemic at least attempts to engage or acknowledge the best of other points of view or weak points in its argument. This is the kind of book that sternly notes the refusal of French and Chinese governments to support the sanctions regime -- without mentioning that the objectivity of both governments' assessment of sanctions was deeply undercut by the fact that they both had sweetheart deals with Saddam to develop Iraq's oil as soon as sanctions were lifted. It casts the US and British as boogeymen without adequately acknowledging Saddam's responsibility for miserable and unstable leadership of a wealthy country with energetic people. I tired of plowing through Polk's opinionated, often self-congratulatory prose for the occasional nugget of useful information.
Finally, I don't agree that this book is respectful of the sweep of Iraqi history. Iraq occupies the Tigris and Euphrates basin, the "cradle of civilization". By giving an ethnic frame to the presentation of ancient wonders like the hanging gardens of Babylon, the culture that produced the Gilgamesh epic, the world's first written writing (a recipe for beer), and the period of the first 4 Islamic caliphs the author can mislead the Western reader into thinking that Iraqi's share his understanding of their past. Based on my own experience of Iraqis and in Islamic countries Iraqis would not recognize or appreciate an ethnic slant on their ancient past and Muslims universally respect the 4 caliphs who immediately followed the Prophet Mohammed. We can't get that from this book and that's basic to respect for the Iraqi past.
If you want a book that recites the arguments against US and British policy from the 1980s onward this book does a good job of presenting them--without offering any sense of a viable alternative that would have worked with Saddam. If you're looking for a book that will overcome the limitations of both the neo-conservative and Arabist worldviews and give a balanced presentation of Iraq's rich history and resources and how its people can go forward to enjoy them in peace, skip this book.
A Primer For Understanding History of Iraq.......2007-05-12
This book provides the reader with valuable information on the history & development of Iraq as well as the region surrounding Iraq.
A required a "read' for all.
Well-written introduction to Iraqi history.......2007-03-03
A sympathetically written book about a region surprisingly rich in history. Having been familiar with Iraq during a pivotal period in its history, the author also brings his perspective to recent events there.
Book Description
In the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, nearly two million citizens in Turkey and Greece were expelled from homelands. The Lausanne treaty resulted in the deportation of Orthodox Christians from Turkey to Greece and of Muslims from Greece to Turkey. The transfer was hailed as a solution to the problem of minorities who could not coexist. Both governments saw the exchange as a chance to create societies of a single culture. The opinions and feelings of those uprooted from their native soil were never solicited.
In an evocative book, Bruce Clark draws on new archival research in Turkey and Greece as well as interviews with surviving participants to examine this unprecedented exercise in ethnic engineering. He examines how the exchange was negotiated and how people on both sides came to terms with new lands and identities.
Politically, the population exchange achieved its planners' goals, but the enormous human suffering left shattered legacies. It colored relations between Turkey and Greece, and has been invoked as a solution by advocates of ethnic separation from the Balkans to South Asia to the Middle East. This thoughtful book is a timely reminder of the effects of grand policy on ordinary people and of the difficulties for modern nations in contested regions where people still identify strongly with their ethnic or religious community.
Customer Reviews:
Tragically disappointing!.......2007-09-09
This book has been a true disappointment!
The author places the death toll of Armenians as at least 600,000 [page 9] and at most 800,000, the death toll of Greeks at 300,000 and fails to acknowledge the plight of the Assyrian Christians completely but states that 2.5 million Turks were killed in what was a "mutual slaughter" [page 13]. Revisionist propaganda that closely follows the denialist works of Justin McCarthy and Standford Shaw.
This book attempts to play down and minimize the sheer magnitude of the 1914-1923 Genocide of the Ottoman Christians as nothing more than a romanticized hardship where the Anatolian Christians suffered a plight tragically equal to that of their fellow Turkish co-citizens. The author achieves this by avoiding a crucial five year period and its events, namely 1914-1919.
Let it be known that the Turkish army did not enter Smyrna on the 19th of September as the author claims but on the 9th of September [page 24]. This book is riddled with historical errors but perhaps this is not too surprising since the author lacks the credentials of a historian.
AVOID!
A Sad Solution to unresolvable religious conflicts.......2007-05-10
The sadness of this book is personal. I had a mother who was evicted from her part of the world in Western Greece into Anatolia, and I know she was twice a stranger in her new homeland. Her birthplace erased from the maps, she wanted to go see it again. Never did.
I don't like to read depressing books about insolvable problems in the Middle East, but this one is very timely. The only solution in Iraq will be just such a separation of the factions into several independent areas. So the more things change, the more religious hatreds cause pain and loss to true believers.
The book I've been waiting for the last twenty years!.......2007-03-26
My maternal grandparents were Orthodox Christians from Cappadocia. As a child I was told I was Greek; they were Greek, yet they spoke mostly Turkish. I noticed the other Greeks I met in the community were different than my grandparents. When I got to high school, after having lived in Greece for a year, I began asking questions of my grandmother, who told me many details of their Christian lives in a small town outside of Kayseri,then of the march out of Cappadocia, the ship to Greece that ran out of food as they had nowhere to put the refugees, finally debarking and being housed on the floor of a church until the parishioners got angry. She told me they were lucky; her father got a job as a teacher in orphange, as he was educated, a teacher certified by the patriarchate and so ended up on Evia at an American run orphanage. My grandfather and great uncle had escaped with false visas more than ten years earlier. I never fully understood why, based on my reading, the accounts of my grandfather and his brother having to escape at age 14. Now I do. Now I understand why the accounts that I've read from different regions of Anatolia are so different. I appreciated the author's methodology to get to every ethnic and regional group, and all the political parties that put their two cents in and influenced all these people who didn't want to go anywhere.
I have read all the history books and personal accounts I could find but all were clearly heavily biased and didn't reflect all of my grandparents' accounts. My grandparents never spoke ill of the Turkish people, only the Turkish soldiers. I wondered why my grandmother constantly referenced clothing, music, food, or anything to being Turkish-like. I wondered how they came to be called Greeks when my grandfather's written family history shows them having lived in the same valley for at least three hundred years. His ancestors were Persian; my grandmother's were from one of the -stahn countries, southeast of the Caspian Sea. Their family photos looked Mongolian, not Greek.
I once asked my grandmother how she could leave her home, her parents and siblings in Greece to marry a man she'd never met in the United States. (She never saw her parents again and didn't see her siblings for forty five years.)Her answers were forever etched in my mind.
First: She didn't like the Greek "boys" and where they were living wasn't "home." The man she was to marry was from her own village, and although she didn't know him other than to have seen him at church he was their kind.
Second was a lesson for my own marriage and a theme discussed in the book when refugee Christians moved into Muslim homes and shared their homes until the Muslims were deported. "Any two people can live together forever and be happy, if they both work at it." It seems that any two peoples can live together forever and be happy, if there are no politicians involved.
Microhistory with Macroimplications.......2007-03-23
A masterful book that illuminates a little-known bit of history, the mutually-agreed forced exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey in the early 1920's. Even those who think they "know" this subject matter are likely to learn something from Clark's careful exploration of how the human tragedy played out differently in each area, sometimes even for different groups of people within the same area. His review of the diplomatic and political machinations leading to the exchange is equally revealing, demonstrating that both the Greek and Turkish governments eagerly pursued the exchange agreement as the best outcome. Clark's last chapter makes some interesting observations on how Turkey's nationalist concept of itself will mesh (or not) with its EU aspirations. Finally, Clark's work gains authority by remaining even-handed throughout.
The only weakness of the book is Clark's argument that the Greek-Turkish exchange was so inhumane that it neither could, nor should, serve as a model for any future resolution of mixed populations. To me, that's unconvincing -- the suffering described here pales by comparison with some of the violence that has been visited on populations that were not exchanged. Still, it's unlikely to be repeated, because the appropriate conditions (two willing governments) are unlikely to recur.
A Story Unfamiliar for Many.......2007-01-29
This book discusses the population exchange between Greece and Turkey that took place in th early 1920's. Many individuals think that all of Greece was liberated in the early 1820's and do not realize that the northern area remained as part of the Ottoman Empire. Once Mustafa Kemal called Ataturk succeeded in his goal to create one unified Turkey after the Balkan Wars and World War I, he sought to have only Turks in Turkey and the Greeks wanted only Greeks in Greece. The European Great Powers of World War I were not able to prevent the concept of one ethnic identity within one national boundary. So Greek speaking Turks in Greece and Turkish speaking Greeks in Turkey were mutually expelled. People were forced from the homes where they had forged bonds over generations and had shared a common language. When each group arrived to the destination purportedly "correct" for them, they were stangers who could not speak the language of their new homeland. The spiritual pathos and psychological suffering was horrific. The author of this book treats the topic with fair and even handed research and he presents a history that few today know. It is a superb retelling of a time receding in memory and Clark has provided a fine accounting for those who went through the repatriation.
Customer Reviews:
A Simply Wonderful Book.......2007-06-01
Congratulations on this book Mr James. and the research which went into it. The data on the Byerleys of that era is rather obscure, and the horse has always been referred to as an Arabian rather than the Turk it was. Thank you for clearing up many of these questions, and reading about the Colonel (I share his name and lived near Goldsborough in my youth when talk of the Turk was frequent)was a great thrill. I understand that the Byerley line died out with his children, but thats another story.....
Did you love Hildalgo?.......2007-05-07
Then you will enjoy this book. The epic adventure of a horse, Black Beauty style. Well researched and written in a captivating manner, the author weaves and interesting story out of threads of truth. Ofcourse, I love Thoroughbreds!
The Byerley Turk: The incredible story of the world's first thoroughbred.......2007-01-17
This was one of the best horse stories I have read in a long time. I couldn't put it down. I thought that Jeremy James did a wonderful job of writing and interpreting the history of this horse and the people that were connected to him. I happen to love horses but I think that this book would appeal to almost anyone. I'm sure that I will read it again.
I was disappointed........2006-12-28
The horse is known to history as a foundation sire. I expected much more emphasis on his contributions to thoroughbred history (there are are no notes on who he sired, how fast they ran, what they won, or when his significance was noted, etc).
There is a lot of dialogue, so to me this is not a true "nonfiction" work. It is an historical novel, well researched it seems, but it is not true nonfiction.
High Impact, Action, Emotion..........2006-06-20
"The Byerley Turk: The Incredible Story of the World's First Thoroughbred", is a fantastic story, masterfully told. It is a story of a horse, from his auspicious birth while in the care of his Turkish groom, to his peaceful death while in the care of the wealthy Englishman, Robert Byerley. It is most compelling, and contains a graphic intensity that the author Jeremy James, who has knowledge and experience with horses, weaves into his story.
Jeremy James has the ability to take you inside the landscape, and into the hearts of horses and of men. In fact, the way that this story is told, gives insight into an era that is long gone. Buildings, scenery, attire, relationships, protocol, and events are lavishly described. It gives insight to vastly different cultures in conflict, and yet the element of the human heart, and the heart of the horse are amplified throughout. The author has an uncanny ability to involve the reader, so that the passions, horrors, joys and sorrows, are deeply felt.
This is a story of trust, loyalty, and supreme athleticism, during a time of war and upheaval. There are heroic deeds performed as a matter of fact, and in retrospect, deeds with a seemingly supernatural aura... deeds which connected the events with their destiny. There are elements of beauty amongst the serious gore. Fear and friendship, supreme intellect, slavery, survival, suffering and opportunity are juxtaposed inexorably into the landscape spanning from the Ottoman Empire, to Ireland.
The stallion and his groom inspire awe and change, where ever they go. The relationships that they offer are of such a deep and profound nature, that, whether they are at home, or in a foreign land, at times it seems that they are from a different world altogether.
There are emotionally charged sequences of courage and sacrifice made in the name of love, not war. This story illustrates the power of deep relationships, the power of `home', and the transformative power of understanding.
It is not a story for the faint-hearted. The senses are floridly described in scenes of death, stress and suffering. Partings are painful. Love is not a petty emotion. Devotion is not a fleeting fulfillment of convenience. It is a book of extremes. Extreme beauty and style...extreme dedication, extreme danger, and the fantastic power of a strong-willed and defiant stallion, and the tender moments he creates when the touch of a whisker brings about peace and comfort...
It is the story of how Robert Byerley came to be in possession of the Turkish horse known as the Byerley Turk. Well researched and well presented, it is a wonderful use of the novel in depicting a time in history. It successfully captivates the imagination, and allows the reader to understand the importance of the horse in World History.
Congratulations to Jeremy James.
Customer Reviews:
Informative and intelligent.......2006-05-20
Yes, I did read this book and enjoyed it purely from a historical standpoint. No, I did not bring any preconceived notions of which side is right in the genocide argument. I don't really care. In reading the comments by others (do read them for a laugh), one reviewer was correct when he/she pointed out that most who write reviews on this subject matter likely haven't read it to begin with. I agree that the world is quite a different place from 90 years ago. The question that people should ask one another is: Are we going to learn from this or repeat the same mistakes? Read this book, and I would suggest "The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide". Both are well-written and free of the diarrheal propaganda that flows on the subject and prevents intelligent analysis/discussion. Again, view some of the other reviews and you'll get the idea. The Armenian Diaspora attempts to label anything that goes against their viewpoints as "denialist", and to prevent any analysis that might destabilize their position. I have gotten rather sick of trying to find unbiased books on this topic, but I would agree with another reviewer in suggesting that they move on and get a life. As a final point, the Ottoman Empire (or even Ottoman Turkey) is NOT present-day Turkey, and has not been so since 1923 when the country was founded. I think that it is always good to look at a current map and know what was what and what is what now when reading history. Happy reading.
The most prominent Armenian Genocide denier in the world.......2006-05-07
Mr. Justin McCarthy is probably the most prominent denier of the Armenian Genocide. It is no secret that he officially works as an adviser to the turkish government and therefor entirely reflects the turkish denialist position in his works on the Armenian Genocide.
Due to the fact that the denialist position of the turkish government today is nearly entirely based on McCarthy's works, he has become the most important figure in Turkey's denial campaign. He can therefor be considered the 'David Irving' of Turkish revisionism.
This book is definitely a perfect example of historical revisionism and Genocide denial. It can only be recommended to readers who are interested in Turkey's denial-campagin and want to take a closer look at the denier's argumentation.
For everyone who wants to get acquainted with the facts of the Armenian Genocide, there are plenty of reliable books on this issue written by various prominent european and american historians.
Great study.......2005-08-27
This book is a great study. I was having difficulties to find information about masacres comitted on Muslim communities of Ottoman Empire.
I noticed that in many countries, Armenian propaganda and lobbying associations made this kind of study impossible, by threatening editors.
Thanks God, freedom of seech is still garanteed in USA.
In France, Turks are totaly censored... :(
Much needed historical work.......2005-07-20
This book fills the gaps in the important area of recent world history and does long overdue justice to the millions of victims of the brutal conflicts that happened in 19-20th centuries. The book is well documented, all facts are based on valid archives and respectable sources. The author conducted extremely fair and detailed research and objectively covered the events.
Not scholarly, but excellent example of paid propaganda.......2005-05-07
(...)
Serious scholars did not "ingore" this book. Yes it is a footnote used only to illustrate the polution of academia with paid propaganda, but it is a footnote nonetheless!
Justin McCarthy's name now joins Fred Leuchter, David Irving, Robert Faurisson, Arthur Butz, Bradley Smith, Ditlieb Felderer and others in the denial industry.
So even with inane pretence at scholarship McCarthy has managed note: He joins various deniers of mass murder, ethnic cleansing, etc on a very unfortunate list.
A reader would be much better of consulting the immense bibliography at the US Holocaust museum which lays bare the lies McCaarthy and his ilk spout.
Book Description
Arabs and Young Turks provides a detailed study of Arab politics in the late Ottoman Empire as viewed from the imperial capital in Istanbul. In an analytical narrative of the Young Turk period (1908-1918) historian Hasan Kayali discusses Arab concerns on the one hand and the policies of the Ottoman government toward the Arabs on the other. Kayali's novel use of documents from the Ottoman archives, as well as Arabic sources and Western and Central European documents, enables him to reassess conventional wisdom on this complex subject and to present an original appraisal of proto-nationalist ideologies as the longest-living Middle Eastern dynasty headed for collapse. He demonstrates the persistence and resilience of the supranational ideology of Islamism which overshadowed Arab and Turkish ethnic nationalism in this crucial transition period. Kayali's study reaches back to the nineteenth century and highlights both continuity and change in Arab-Turkish relations from the reign of Abdulhamid II to the constitutional period ushered in by the revolution of 1908.
Arabs and Young Turks is essential for an understanding of contemporary issues such as Islamist politics and the continuing crises of nationalism in the Middle East.
Customer Reviews:
Late Ottoman Attempts at Survival.......2003-07-27
This book boils down to an examination of the aims of the Committe for Union and Progress after the end of the reign of Abdülhamid and the second constitutional experiment--all of which embody the last ditch efforts to revive the moribund sick man of Europe. As the title connotes, this is done with a particular emphasis on how the CUP/Young Turks viewed the Arab provinces; therefore, issues surrounding the turkification (better: centralization) of the late Ottoman empire and its relation vis a vis nascent Arabism and fading Ottomanism.
Kayali forms his work as a counterargument against the view that would describe the reforms of the Young Turks as motivated by the desire for the aggrandizement of Turkish ethnicity and language--prefering, rather, to see the actions of the CUP as an attempt to centralize and consolidate Ottoman authority, albeit by employing the Turkish language and emphasizing Ottoman interests over local ones to do so.
A note on the inclusion of "Islamism" in the title: the author throughout uses the term Islamism in what would appear to be a anachronistic fashion, being that it is rather tenuous to speak of Islamism at all until after the Second World War. Kayali plays fast and loose the term "Islamism" as meaning any gov't project that takes recourse to Islamic rhetoric. It's inclusion and usage in the book appears, then, to be a gimmick. Anyone looking for insights into Islamism, being mass populist political movements based on religious soiidarity, would do better to look elsewhere.
Great Book.......1999-06-18
It's really hard to find books about this subject. If you are really interested, i recommend you to read this book. (not: kitabýn türkçesi tarih vakfý yayýnlarýndan çok daha ucuza temin edilebilir.)
Customer Reviews:
Likely to be good.......2006-02-02
I have not yet received this item from Amazon so have a little bit of difficulty knowing what it is lke, but I expect it will be good.
Outstanding History!.......1998-06-12
I was fortunate enought to read this book while taking a class taught by the author, Dr. Peter Sugar, at the Unversity of Washington in 1983. This is not light reading, but will be engrossing to those to whom History is a passion. I would also recommend any of Dr. Sugar's books regarding the History of Eastern Europe and the Balkan States (Dr. Sugar is a Bosnian, raised in Hungary who came to the United States at about the time of WWII, as I recall) as the author's insights and clarity are superb!!
Book Description
The narrative of Cyprus' recent history has created numerous attitudes and prejudices which run deep but which have never before been explored on a human level. Now for the first time Yiannis Papadakis, firmly planted in the Greek Cypriot world, sets out to discover "The Other"-- the much maligned Turks. Papadakis delves into the two communities, locked in their mutually contemptuous embrace, to explore their common humanity and to understand what has divided them.
Customer Reviews:
+The deepest book I ever read about Turkish-Greek relations.......2007-04-24
Just genious. Combines personnal style with scientific authority. Deconstructs all nationalistic, religious mythologies and shows that beyond all identities (muslim, christian,greek,turkish) are real human beings, with real lives and real sufferings.
One of the most important contributions to the construction of peace in Cyprus and between Turkey and Greece.
The most engaging book I've read on the Cyprus situation........2006-02-27
I've read quite deeply on the Cyprus affair, and this book really drew me in. Though it does go into some of the history and politics of the situation, it is not a dry account written in an academic tone. The author, a Greek Cypriot, forces himself to listen to the perspectives of Turkish Cypriots and Mainland Turks, and he finds himself in a dead zone of identities as he is slowly distrusted by his own Greek Cypriot community, at least by those who identify more with their "Greekness" than their "Cypriotness." There are lots of first-hand accounts of conversations with nationalists from both sides, and people in both communities who see themselves first and foremost as Cypriot.
The author tries really hard to be objective, and given the scope of the Cyprus problem, does a good job. I read this while also looking over Hannay's book on Cyprus, "The Search for a Solution," and I found the book by Papadakis to be much more exciting. He is now at the University of Cyprus.
Customer Reviews:
Appalling.......2007-07-04
Andrew Mango is an excellent scholar and his biography of Ataturk is probably the best available so I was prepared to really like this book. The writing and style are as good as ever, but it is so stubbornly backward looking it might well have been written in Ataturk's time; the title should be "The Turks Yesterday". Mango hasn't so much ignored as dismissed all contemporary scholarship on Turkey, the middle-east, and minority studies, and has become a (well spoken) mouthpiece for Turkish nationalism. He does not quite deny the Armenian genocide as apologize for those who do and downplay the its importance. He also has the gall to blame the victims, a tactic he returns to in his attack on the Kurds. His attitude towards them is overtly racist and condescending and their national and cultural aspirations he dismisses out of hand. The Kurds are a quarter of the Turkish population and growing, but Mango essentially tells them to sit down and shut up. He accuses the Kurds of being terrorists and bandits while neatly avoiding the horrifying human rights record towards them and their culture. If you'd like to read an eloquent version of the Turkish governments opinions, this is the book for you. I would suggest that you consider another book if you want a realistic consideration of minority issues, or an independant perspective on modern Turkey. Two stars for at least being a well written sack of lies, propaganda and racism.
The Turks Today.......2007-02-04
Dr. Mango has correctly portrayed the present day Turkey and the Turks in this wonderful book. The book is easy read and hughly recommended
Analysis of Internal Politcs Good- Foreign Policy Presentation Smells of Turkish Government Propaganda.......2006-09-04
Andrew Mango's "The Turks Today" was an interesting read with many details. The first section of the book brought the reader up to date from the end of Ataturk's life to the present day. The second half of the book discussed different issues of modern day Turkey such as economics or the cities of Ankara and Istanbul. Mango's analysis and musings about internal Turkish politics was very interesting.
The book loses two stars on the fact that Mango seems to be pushing Turkish propaganda regarding Turkey's foreign policy. This is not hard to understand when he thanks the Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information for arranging his trip through provincial Turkey, the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board, as well as the Turkish Embassy in London and multiple Turkish universities and think-tanks.
In talking about the Armenian genocide in the early 20th Century Mango says, "Many had fled when their armies were defeated and the foreign armies on which they had relied had departed. Others perished." pg. 22. (Perished seems to be an understantement regarding the death of more than 1 million people.) He consistently tries to excuse or explain the killings although to his credit he does acknowledge a pro-Armenian source as a book for further information. He also states that the Armenian issue is not one for politicians but for historians- which makes one wonder why he does not address it more fully.
His presentation of the Cyprus issue makes one wonder why almost every country in the world is against Turkey on the issue. Absolutely no explanation is given for the world's criticism. When talking about Turkish farmers who were brought to Turkish Cyprus to farm the land (and change the demographics) Mango nonchalantly says there is no way to tell how many came and it is now irrelevant.
Mango's treatment of the Kurdish issue is also very anti-Kurd. While not suggesting he should embrace Kurdish nationalism calling Kurdish culture "backwards" seems a little harsh and less than diplomatic. It is no surprise that the Turkish Government arranged his trip to the Kurdish areas.
Overall Mango knows Turkey very well. If you want a good understanding of the Turkish Republic's modern history and politics this is a good book. If you are interested in Turkish Foreign Policy from only a Turkish perspective with absolutely no criticism or presentation of alternative viewpoints this is also a decent book. Unfortunately Mango is so sympathetic to the Turkish Government's views that it seems that he is merely a mouthpiece for Turkish propaganda.
Buy Today.......2006-07-05
The sequel to Mango's renowned biography "Ataturk", it tracks the development of the Turkish Republic into the 21st Century. A good read and excellent reference, I keep it on my desk (when not loaned to friends) and is in the top five of books I recommend on the subject (the first three being "Ataturk", "The Turks Today" and "Turkey: The Challenge of a New Role", all authored by Andrew Mango). Of interest to anyone concerned about the future of Ataturk's legacy, is the section titled "Further Reading", pages 275-279. If you respect the works of this author (and I do) then accept his guidance on what books/authors to read next.
-Joe Kennedy
W.W.A.D
"What Would Ataturk Do?"
Blaming the victims.......2006-06-08
Andrew Mango is a well-known denier of the Armenian Genocide and this book is unfortunately predictable both in the facts it highlights or suppresses and in its conclusions. He glorifies the Ottoman past of the country and (at best) denies without any evidence documented instances of suppression of non-Turkish ethnicities. The most disturbing feature of the author's approach is the indifference to human suffering he exhibits throughout the book. For example, deniers of the Armenian genocide typically make sure to stress what a terrible tragedy the death of so many thousands of people was, even though they deny the characterization 'genocide'. Not A. Mango. He barely mentions the events of 1915, but he spends pages and pages condemning "Armenian Terrorists", Armenian conspiracies etc. Any qualities of the book are unfortunately dwarfed by such exhibits of callousness and blaming of the victims.
Book Description
Justin McCarthy's introductory survey traces the whole history of the Ottoman Turks from their obscure beginnings in central Asia, through the establishment and rise of the Ottoman Empire to its collapse after World War One under the pressures of nationalism. Vividly illustrated with many maps, this introductory overview is designed for non-specialists but is written with great authority and with access to original sources. It fills an important gap for an authoritative but accessible account of the rise of one of the world's great civilizations.
Customer Reviews:
Did he just remember it all?.......2007-05-20
A valuable and informative introductory textbook to be sure, but it is absurd that Professor McCarthy fails to provide any suggested readings, or even more shocking...a bibliography! He does cite when he uses a chart or document from another source, but I was incredulous to find no bibliography. No doubt McCarthy's students would receive a failing grade for such an egregious omission. That said, McCarthy's book provides a superb introduction to the complexities of Ottoman history, presented in an engaging and accessible manner.
Great book to understand Ottoman history and more.......2006-06-18
I think this is a great book to learn about the Ottoman history and also will help to understand the entire region's history - Anatolia, Balkans, Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the caucasus region.
The Ottoman Turks : An Introductory History to 1923.......2006-05-05
An excellent book. Based on meticilous research that included the Turkish archieves besides the regular twisted European archieves based on Greek and Armenian lies and European religious prejuidices. It is very well written and easy to read. Professor Mc Carthy outdid himself again.
scholarly.......1998-07-24
This book provides a fabulous overview of the Ottoman Empire. I especially appreciate McCarthy's attention to matters that are often not discussed in history books (at least in a serious way), such as family life and daily life. I feel that sometimes McCarthy takes an overly pro-Turkish stance on controversial issues, but this book really is valuable.
an excellent introduction.......1998-06-06
This is probably the best overall history of the Ottomans around. A thorough researcher and lucid writer, McCarthy focuses on family life and health and disease in the Ottoman Empire as well as the diplomatic, military and political history of the empire. This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of Turkey, the eastern Mediterranean, or Caucuses.
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- Vampire : The Masquerade (Revised Edition)
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- A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900
- A History of the Habsburg Empire, 1526-1918
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A History of Iraq
Night Draws Near : Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism, and Guerrilla War, from the American Revolution to Iraq
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