Product Description

Building upon and updating its twin themes, this revised edition of "Turkey: a Modern History" focuses on Turkey's continuing incorporation into the capitalist world and the modernization of state and society. It begins with the forging of closer links with Europe after the French Revolution and the changing face of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Zurcher argues that Turkey's history, between 1908 and 1950, should be seen as a unity, and offers a strongly revisionist interpretation of Turkey's founding father, Kemal Ataturk. In his account of the period since 1950, Zurcher focuses on: the growth of mass politics; the three military coups; the thorny issue of Turkey's human rights record; integration into the global economy; the alliance with the West and and relations with the European community; Turkey's ambivalent relations with the Middle East; the increasingly explosive Kurdish questions; the economic crisis of 1994; and the continuing political instability and growth of Islam.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #273354 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 424 pages

Review
"Although first published in 1993, Professor Zurcher's account of Turkey's development from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire to a candidate for EU membership still offers one of the best accounts of how Turkey became the political animal it is today." -Simon Taylor, European Voice "Zurcher... writes in a fluent and easily accessible style, and with admriably broad scope and full command of this immensely complex subject." -Frank Tachau, University of Illinois, Chicago "...provides the historical perspective essential for an understanding of these issues- it could not have come at a more opportune time." -Andrew Mango, Times Literary Supplement "This is an excellent textbook... Any reader, teacher or student or not, can profit from it." -Roderic H. Davison, George Washington University "Turkey: A Modern History can be recommended with confidence to anybody who wishes to gain a general perspective on where the study of modern Turkish history at this time. Zurcher is more than successful in synthesizing the growing body of findings and arguments into a coherent whole. This will also make a very good textbook in upper-level courses on the modern Middle East. Finally... Zurcher's study also represents the definitive statement about the crucial continuities between Imperial and Republican history. As such, it makes an important contribution to the field of Turkish studies." -Resat Kasaba, University of Washington

About the Author
Erik J. ZA rcher is Professor of Turkish Studies at the University of Leiden.

Customer Reviews

Best book on the period. period.
If you are studying this topic, I admire your bravery. This is the one book you can rely on heavily because it unbiased.

It is quite detailed on the period, well-researched, and unlike other texts on the period, especially the Ataturk Revolution, it provides an analysis which takes in lots of important views which are not often reflected by mainstream sources.

This book gave me the best understanding of the founding of Turkey - I was studying the 1923-38 period at the time- and is good for essays because of the amount of evidence he uses.

There is no unnecessary flair, just opinions based upon important facts.

At times I think it can be heavily focused, whereas a slightly broader view may have been beneficial, but still the content is pretty much unsurpassed by any other text I have found.