Learn About Turkish History As the Dust Settles
Turkey’s major cities are quiet today after a dramatic coup attempt by a faction within the Turkish military. There is still so much we do not yet know and may not know for quite some time. Had the coup succeeded, this would not have been the first Turkey experienced – far from it. In the era of the insta-expert, there is a lot of speculation on social media and news shows unburdened by evidence, but the War on the Rocks tribe is more discerning. To learn about Turkey’s fascinating political culture and history, these books offer good places to start. You can learn far more about Turkey from these accessible and credible books than you ever will from Twitter:
- The Ottoman Centuries by Lord Kinross
- The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East by Eugene Rogan
- Ataturk by Andrew Mango
- Turkey: A Short History by Norman Stone
- The Emergence of Modern Turkey by Bernard Lewis
- Turkey, Islam, Nationalism and Modernity by Carter Vaughn Findley
- Turkey: A Modern History by Erik J. Zurcher
Also check out our Turkey articles. On Monday, I plan to convene a live Google Hangout to discuss the coup attempt. Details to follow.
Ryan Evans is the founder and editor-in-chief of War on the Rocks.
