- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Thames & Hudson (14 Mar 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0500251754
- ISBN-13: 979-0500251750
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 16 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
147,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #76 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > Middle East > Turkey
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Product Description
Review
'Impressive, and suggests a contemporary Herodotus at work ... Stone does justice to the enormous complexity of Turkish history'
--Standpoint
'Arresting ... authoritative and measured ... Stone's Turkey breaks the popular mould and introduces its readers to a place beyond their presumptions' --The Sunday Times
'Brilliant and readable ... pithy, straightforward, superbly argued and very funny ... This is a book you could easily read on a plane ride to Istanbul, and you should, too'
--Country Life
`Norman Stone is one of the great historians of our time ... a refreshing and sometimes surprising view of Turkish history' --Military Illustrated
'Stone's irreverent narrative is a spur to read more about a forgotten power that is central to Europe's history' --The Financial Times
'Lively, forceful and fast-moving'
--The Scotsman
'Gripping'
--The Catholic Herald
'An enjoyable gallop through the history of Turks' --The Literary Review
'However many histories of Turkey you have read, you will never have read one as incisive, combative and sure-footed as this one, which is also delightfully brisk and extremely funny' --Cornucopia
'An authoritative but clear guide to an extremely complex subject in a lavishly illustrated, easy-to-follow format'
--Good Book Guide
`A fanfare for modern Turkey and a vivid, provocative, often funny, always insightful account of how it came about ... If you really don't know why a portrait of Ataturk hangs in almost every shop in Turkey, read this book' --The Guardian
'Races from the 11th century to the present with irreverent economy'
--Irish Independent
--Standpoint
'Arresting ... authoritative and measured ... Stone's Turkey breaks the popular mould and introduces its readers to a place beyond their presumptions' --The Sunday Times
'Brilliant and readable ... pithy, straightforward, superbly argued and very funny ... This is a book you could easily read on a plane ride to Istanbul, and you should, too'
--Country Life
`Norman Stone is one of the great historians of our time ... a refreshing and sometimes surprising view of Turkish history' --Military Illustrated
'Stone's irreverent narrative is a spur to read more about a forgotten power that is central to Europe's history' --The Financial Times
'Lively, forceful and fast-moving'
--The Scotsman
'Gripping'
--The Catholic Herald
'An enjoyable gallop through the history of Turks' --The Literary Review
'However many histories of Turkey you have read, you will never have read one as incisive, combative and sure-footed as this one, which is also delightfully brisk and extremely funny' --Cornucopia
'An authoritative but clear guide to an extremely complex subject in a lavishly illustrated, easy-to-follow format'
--Good Book Guide
`A fanfare for modern Turkey and a vivid, provocative, often funny, always insightful account of how it came about ... If you really don't know why a portrait of Ataturk hangs in almost every shop in Turkey, read this book' --The Guardian
'Races from the 11th century to the present with irreverent economy'
--Irish Independent
Product Description
New from the eminent historian Norman Stone, who has lived and worked in the country since 1997, comes this concise survey of Turkeys relations with its immediate neighbours and the wider world from the 11th century to the present day. Stone deftly conducts the reader through this story, from the arrival of the Seljuks in Anatolia in the eleventh century to the modern republic applying for EU membership in the twenty-first. It is an historical account of epic proportions, featuring rapacious leaders such as Genghis Khan and Tamerlane through the glories of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent to Kemal Atatürk, the reforming genius and founder of modern Turkey.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"Turkey A Short History" is a great introduction to the country.As a history it is packed with information and with clear analyses of causes and effects but it is much, much more than just a chronological account. Norman Stone's style keeps the tone lively and always readable. He exhibits a dry sense of humour and a common sense approach as well as impressive scholarship.
I particularly like the comments on the Turkish language, which to the casual visitor can seem so baffling.Throughout the text there is a real sense of the author's involvement in and passion for this perplexing and enchanting country. When a reflection on a relevant situation in the modern world would illuminate a historical point, the author doesn't flinch from making it.
The illustrations are beguiling and very evocative. My only caveat about the book is that only one map has been included: that for 1683, when the Ottoman empire was at its greatest extent. I would have liked more maps from different eras and I think they would have helped to illustrate the seismic movements of peoples and armies in this region.
Read and enjoy it and then visit the appendix on further reading. This volume opens the gate.
I particularly like the comments on the Turkish language, which to the casual visitor can seem so baffling.Throughout the text there is a real sense of the author's involvement in and passion for this perplexing and enchanting country. When a reflection on a relevant situation in the modern world would illuminate a historical point, the author doesn't flinch from making it.
The illustrations are beguiling and very evocative. My only caveat about the book is that only one map has been included: that for 1683, when the Ottoman empire was at its greatest extent. I would have liked more maps from different eras and I think they would have helped to illustrate the seismic movements of peoples and armies in this region.
Read and enjoy it and then visit the appendix on further reading. This volume opens the gate.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Pity the poor reader who is curious about history but not to the extent of six or seven hundred pages of it. As a wild generalistion, many history books are too long, written for specialists who will not be reading it entirely for pleasure. As an art form, a short history is hard to write, but Normn Stone excels at it. This is a very good book, taking a huge topic (as he admits) and making it intelligible in less than 200 pages. Ambitiously, it starts at the beginning with the origins of the Turks in the west after a long migration from the frontiers of China. At the end of the book, we have arrived at 2010. Yet Stone never seems hurried, and always keeps the reader interested. It is accurate, incisive, opinionated, and never dull. I recommnd this to anyone trying to follow Turkey's long and colourful history, or just going there on holiday. A must-read book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
No one would expect an objective analysis from Norman Stone, who has never made the slightest attempt to hide his Turcophile tendencies. I appreciate that this book might offend Greeks, but we should remember that the virulent hostility between Greeks and Turks is of relatively recent origins. As Stone makes clear, the Greeks (and dozens of other peoples) were vital elements of the Ottoman system. Indeed, he is scathing about incompetent Turks, including some Sultans and Grand Viziers, and goes to great lengths to emphasise that the notion of a Turkish nation or people only emerged when the Ottoman empire was breaking up.
It's pretty easy to see why Stone's style would offend some modern historians. This is a relatively short book, and it covers a lot of ground. Stone gets his points across elegantly: like Gibbon, he knows how to get complex ideas across with arresting metaphors and similes. Not for him are the tedious 'objective' analyses that so many professional historians use to advance their own prejudices.
Altogether, a fascinating book. Stone is very good on the problems that the Ottomans had in coming to terms with the advances of European civilisation. As the Turkish intelligensia came to terms with the enlightenment, they realised that Turkey could never keep up unless it abandoned the Caliphate and became a secular nation.
He makes it clear that the tensions that now exist in Turkey rest upon the paradox that EU membership depends upon the development of genuinely democratic political institutions--which would in turn almost guarantee an Islamic state that would rapidly repudiate everything that Europe stands for. Yet for all this, the Turkish economy is thriving--and the way things are now, they can count their rejection by the EU elite as an unmitigated blessing.
It's pretty easy to see why Stone's style would offend some modern historians. This is a relatively short book, and it covers a lot of ground. Stone gets his points across elegantly: like Gibbon, he knows how to get complex ideas across with arresting metaphors and similes. Not for him are the tedious 'objective' analyses that so many professional historians use to advance their own prejudices.
Altogether, a fascinating book. Stone is very good on the problems that the Ottomans had in coming to terms with the advances of European civilisation. As the Turkish intelligensia came to terms with the enlightenment, they realised that Turkey could never keep up unless it abandoned the Caliphate and became a secular nation.
He makes it clear that the tensions that now exist in Turkey rest upon the paradox that EU membership depends upon the development of genuinely democratic political institutions--which would in turn almost guarantee an Islamic state that would rapidly repudiate everything that Europe stands for. Yet for all this, the Turkish economy is thriving--and the way things are now, they can count their rejection by the EU elite as an unmitigated blessing.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Turkey: A Long Disappointment
TURKEY: A SHORT HISTORY
by
Norman Stone
This review is by the Cote D'Azur Men's Book Group which comprises a dozen retired academics, accountants, engineers,... Read more
by
Norman Stone
This review is by the Cote D'Azur Men's Book Group which comprises a dozen retired academics, accountants, engineers,... Read more
Published 9 months ago by N. J. Freedman
A superb primer
I think the more extreme negative reviews of this book are misleading. Turkey is one of those countries that are a source of endless fascination. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Cardew Robinson
What a disappointment
Having expected much, I was disapppointed with this short book. There is much to potentially interest albeit at a superficial level, but it is poorly written, appears to have... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Keith H
Norman Stone's name printed larger than book title
This is one of the worst history books which I have read.
Norman Stone luxuriates in descriptions of violence and is too opinionated to make this book an interesting... Read more
Norman Stone luxuriates in descriptions of violence and is too opinionated to make this book an interesting... Read more
Published 13 months ago by amazonjohn
reader
Informative and short. You need to read many others to get a comprehensive handle on Turkey, but this one gives you a quick and easy head start. And very much up to date. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Administrator
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