Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey [Paperback]

Hugh Pope (Author), Nicole Pope (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 6, 2011

In this work, the authors offer a picture of 20th-century Turkey and its formative past: the strengths and weaknesses of the Ottomans, the Armenian tragedy, the Kurdish struggle, and the controversial legacy of the brilliant but autocratic founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. They also examine the new leaders such as the late Turgut Ozal and Tansu Ciller, who broke taboos, ushered in new freedoms and led their formerly introverted country onto the international stage. Lastly, they explain how the new Islamist-led government constitutes not a revolution but perhaps a fresh synthesis with the past.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Turkey, write journalists Nicole and Hugh Pope in this well-made narrative history, is a land that defies easy categorization, a melange of elements "European, Western, Eastern, Islamic, fascistic, anarchic" that has always been something of an enigma to outsiders. After decades of stagnation, it is now emerging as a nation of central importance in Eurasian geopolitics, as it was in the days of the Ottoman Empire. The authors describe the growth of the modern Turkish state in the aftermath of World War I, when that empire, defeated by the Allied powers, splintered into some 30 independent states. Led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his so-called Young Turks, the postwar state sought to curb the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, to introduce some measure of democracy into a formerly autocratic system, and to secure a place for Turkey in the constellation of world powers. They were only partly successful; Atatürk, the authors contend, "led Turkey on the path of Westernization, but left it stranded half-way to full democratization because, deep down, he was not a democrat." Now, after years of military rule, the Turkish government is making efforts both to continue that democratization and to secure influence among the emerging Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. The nation, the authors write, is now the arena of conflict between left and right, fundamentalist and secularist, nationalist and cosmopolitan: it stands at a crossroads both political and historical. Westerners, they suggest, would do well to pay closer attention to Turkish affairs, and their book is a fine contribution toward that end. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

...a deeply revealing guide to modern Turkish culture and politics that fills a wide gap in general knowledge.... a brave and at times an ironic book. -- The New York Times Book Review, Robert D. Kaplan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP; Rev Upd edition (December 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590206908
• ISBN-13: 978-1590206904
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > History > Middle East > Turkey

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" to understand Turkey's complexities. March 10, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

More than any country Turkey has been almost deliberately misunderstood in Europe and in the United States. Some of the misunderstanding comes from lazy thinking, much is ignorance and the rest predjudice combined with politics. Nicole and Hugh Pope, who speak Turkish as well as several other languages, have lived for the past decade in Instanbul. Their clear-eyed understanding of Turkey's promise and problems is clearly conveyed in this well written book. It is a "must read" for anyone who wants to understand the reality of this complex and fascinating country.

It's difficult to think of a country in a more complex neighborhood. Turkey has borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Turkey's relations with each brings a different set of complexities. Ironically Turkey's most strained relations are with it's NATO ally, Greece. Internally Turkey's relations with its Kurdish minority, creates a tension with no signs of easy resolution yet are less hostile than many in the west realize. The Popes explore and explain with a depth of understanding and feeling that can only come not only knowing the language and the people but from having the energy and curiosity to travel widely and interview citizens at all levels of society.

This is not a travelogue but a serious history of modern Turkey. Still one wishes they'd found a way to mention the joys of walking through both the rich and poor neighborhoods of Istanbul where a foreigner can see and experience first hand the Turks righly famous hospitality as well as the dynamic tension inherent in a rapidly changing society where you can see traditionally garbed mothers walking with short skirted, lipsticked daughters.

Since Mustafa Kemal Attaturk the Turks have dealt with adversity. The Popes describe a country that is at once moving towards modernity, and possibly prosperity, while at the same time is rediscovering its past. Turkey is a work in progress. The Popes do a masterful job of describing the progress to date, warts and all.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey. August 5, 2001

By Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum, Philadelphia

Format:Paperback

The title is unfortunate; the subtitle not quite accurate. "Modern Turkey" usually means starting in about 1800 and trailing off somewhere in the last generation; this appears to be another once-over that familiar ground, but it is not. Instead, the Popes (a wife-husband time), in a well-written and reliable account, devote three quarters of their study to the years since 1960. Chapters deal, in a sympathetic but always critical manner, with such issues as the military coups, the Cyprus issue, the Kurdish problem, domestic economic developments, the newly-liberated Turkic republics, the Tansu Çiller fiasco, and the Islamist phenomenon. Throughout, the Popes blame much that they find in Turkey on the modern state's founder, Kemal Atatürk, including the "repression, the intense national paranoia, the shortcomings of its democracy and the over-reliance on the army."

Perhaps most interesting is their account of Türgut Özal, the man who dominated Turkish politics between 1983 and his death in 1993. He was "the catalyst for much of the breathless pace of change that revolutionized Turkey" during that decade-long period. His influence extended to much of Turkish public life: "Undermining the Kemalist bastions of state dominance of business and the media, flamboyantly popularizing a new ideology of the market and international trade, irreverently breaking taboos about the military, Islam and the Kurds, Türgut Özal became Turkey's most influential political personality since Atatürk." The authors catch his contradictions ("for all his Muslim piety, [he] liked to finish off a bottle of his favorite Courvoisier brandy") and his foibles ("He is like a piece of soft iron. Whatever magnet he sees, he sticks to"), without undermining his outsized and constructive role.

Middle East Quarterly, December 1999

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Eyes Unveiled January 11, 2006

By Erol Esen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder as the saying goes. But if eyes can't see beauty is lost just the same. This book demands eyes of minds be unveiled to appreaciate the majesty of an honorable country and its people.

To be sure British authors seem to have a knack to educate people--indeed Turks themselves--about the Turkish history and her culture. The Popes' book "Turkey Unveiled" is no exception to this trend. It reads as though it is a sequel to Lord Kinross's masterpiece "Ataturk".

Each chapter begins with a short proverbial quotation by a Turkish politician, a storyteller, or a Turkish newspaper editorial. One such quote by Suleyman Demirel in particular seems to represent the entire Turkish politics since time immemorial: "You can take power with a bayonet. But you can't sit on it." Time and again Turkish politics have been wrought by the Turkish military, a double-edged sword of the implacable Kemalist ideology.

Popes share with the reader the good, the bad, and the ugly side of Turkish politics since the early days of the Turkic tribes from Central Asia all the way to modern-day Turkey. There is greater attention paid to the latter.

As any Turk would relate to the "melancholy, long-drawn-out ballads of their ancestors." So would he relate to "cartoon stories about the cowboy Lucky Luke"; strangely enough the Popes never mention "Lucky Luke" is known in Turkey as "Red Kit". They should add this footnote in the next edition.

The book is witty, objective, and heavily supported by verifiable references. If you need to learn about Turkey, this is an excellent book. If you are a Turk, this book is a must.