Atatürk

By Alexander Lyon Macfie

Book Overview

This concise account of the life and career of Mustafa Kemal Atat rk (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 Atat rk's westernising and secularizing reforms, and as the regional aftershocks of the Soviet collapse reopen profound questions about Turkey's nature, role and relationships Atat rk had sought to settle for good.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0582078636
• ISBN13: 9780582078635
• Release Date: August 1994
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Concise, well-judged, sympathetic account

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.