Ataturk (Profiles in Power) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'An excellent addition to the impressive Profiles in Power Series by an author who is well versed in the history and diplomacy of the Middle East' Teaching History

Product Description

This concise account of the life and career of Mustafa Kemal AtatIrk (1881--1938), the formidable "founder of modern Turkey", offers a substantial revaluation of a key figure in modern history, and also an introduction to the Turkish republic itself. It is a timely study with Turkey again at the centre of international attention, as Islamic fundamentalists challenge many of AtatIrk's westernising and secularizing reforms, and as the regional aftershocks of the Soviet collapse reopen profound questions about Turkey's nature, role and relationships AtatIrk had sought to settle for good.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education (April 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582078636
• ISBN-13: 978-0582078635
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,123,419 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A summary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic., July 22, 1999

By A Customer

Profiles in Power: Ataturk as well as telling us about Ataturk also summarizes the the falling down of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey . It does not go into details but gives overall explanations of the events. Notes and references given at the end of each chapter and the references listed in the Further Reading part is very usefull for the interested reader. Through out the book the writer can be said to be neutral to case, though I doubt the correctness of some of his views.For example the explanation of the meaning of the title "Ghazi" which is the title given to Mustafa Kemal after the War of Sakarya as the "Destroyer of the Christians", is not correct. The meaning of the word Ghazi (Gazi) is explained in the Turkish Dictionary published by Turkish Language Institude as "the title given to the commanders who, performing extraordinary courage and capabilty wins victory against the enemy." Although some comments on some issues should be double checked it is a fluent, consistent book, enjoyable to read.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise, well-judged, sympathetic account, December 14, 1999

By A Customer

This book keeps up the generally high standard of the "Profiles in Power" series and will be very useful for readers fresh to Ataturk and modern Turkish history. The author does not conceal the blemishes in Ataturk's character, but equally the reader can hardly fail to grasp the scale of the Turkish leader's achievements against the background of the Ottoman empire's collapse and the conservatism of Turkish traditions. A longer biography would do greater justice to the complexities of Ataturk's personality and historical legacy, but this is still a reliable and enjoyable book.

3.0 out of 5 stars A summary of Ataturk's life and times, November 7, 2009

By	Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk belongs to that rarefied category of men who have been called "the father of their country." Yet such lofty achievements could hardly have been reasonably predicted when he was born in 1881 to a minor customs official and his wife. Growing up in the Ottoman Empire, he joined the army where, in spite of his involvement in the secret societies of the period, he rose rapidly through the ranks. Distinguishing himself during the First World War, he quickly emerged at the forefront of a national resistance movement after the war, one that challenged both the Allied occupation forces and the Ottoman regime and culminated in the proclamation of a Turkish Republic. Assuming its presidency, Ataturk pushed through a series of reforms that transformed Turkey into the secularized Western-oriented state that it is today.

Summarizing the momentous events of Ataturk's life can be a challenge for any short work, the more so given the relative unfamiliarity of an English-language audience with the background of events. In this, A. L. Macfie does a commendable job in this concise biography of Ataturk of providing an efficient explanation of the developments of the period within the framework of his subject's life. The combination gives the reader a useful, analysis of the public career of the Turkish leader, one that summarizes nicely his life and achievements.

Yet Macfie's achievement hampers the book in other ways. While he is able to balance the examinations of Ataturk and his times nicely in his chapters on the period when Ataturk is in power, Macfie is less successful in weaving together the disparate strands of his subject's early years and the contemporary history of the late Ottoman empire. As a result, Ataturk disappears from the early chapters as he is shunted aside for an abridged history of Ottoman reform movements, or the early wars, demonstrating the limitations of its scope. In the end, while this book is a useful study of Ataturk's career, it lacks the space to do justice to the broad task the author sets himself. Readers desiring a more comprehensive account of his life would be better advised to read Andrew Mango's lengthier biography, Ataturk, which is recommended for anyone seeking more than a brief introduction to "the father of modern Turkey".