I learned a lot about the history of Turkey that wasn't covered in European History or other texts. The author has a passion for Turkey and presented well, though with an annoying tendency to talk of what Turkey should do. Either pure history or pure narrative would have worked better for me - I found the mix jarring, and this is most of why a 240 page book took more than a month to finish. Slightly interested in his newest book; may seek out his journalism first.

I'll be living in Turkey this summer, and I decided to pick up Stephen Kinzer's book to prime myself on the country's political situation/basic history. The book is a decent primer, and while I give it credit for this, it's just not that fantastic overall. Stephen Kinzer does this extremely awkward balancing act by alternating chapters in which he praises Turkish culture as relaxed and ideal, and then leads a Western-centric assault on everything about the government immediately afterwards. It is the most condescending tone I've ever read in a book.

This is not a particularly academic work - it's very obviously written by a journalist who is used to opining on his subjects. If you're looking for a quick read that'll give you the lowdown on Turkish history and political culture, feel free to pick this up. Just don't expect anything more.

I've read some of Kinzer's other books, and this was not my favorite. Kinzer lived in Turkey for an extended period and therefore one would expect a fairly solid outing in this book. The book explores broad themes, and therefore presents a non-linear narrative of Turkish history and society, which jumps back and forth between different time periods. For the beginner on Turkey, this presents a bit more of a confusing read, and one can't help but feel that the book would be better organized if presented more in chronological sequence. The final section left an especially bad taste in my mouth, in which Kinzer compares Turkish society to his favourite music, African-American blues. Didn't work for me.

This is a very interesting political history of modern Turkey. The book starts with the question, "Are the Turkish people ready for democracy? Or do they need the army to continue to enforce secular reforms?" (lest the populace elect Islamic fundamentalists to office). Which of course highlights the contradiction of secular reforms intended to bring about democracy, that have to be enforced militarily.

The book is a history of Kemal Ataturk's reforms and what has occurred since. Anyone interested in Middle Eastern and/or Turkish history/politics should read it.

10 senedeki büyük değişimi gösterebilir ancak çok üstten bakılarak yazılmış bi kitap.

Kinzer is a great writer and a good storyteller. He alternates cultural mini-chapters with more analytical writing in Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds. As a Turk who was heavily brainwashed with the "official history of the country during and post-Ataturk", there is much I can and should read, and this book is a good starting point. I can write a whole other book as a response to Kinzer's very insightful study, but for the most part I agree with the bulk of his criticisms and analyses. Kinzer may love Turkey, but he does not hold back in his criticism of blind Kemalism, the iron fist of the military over civilian rule, and the current national pains, such as the ethnic problems the government has with Kurds, with Armenians, with Greece, etc. For years I have resisted reading about recent Turkish history, because I find it hard to believe anyone that I read. There is certainly a good amount of anti-Turkish propaganda in the Western world (a la Midnight Express) and inside Turkey the restrictions on free speech make it hard to get an unbiased view. So Kinzer, as a foreigner who loves Turkey, is a good place to start.

One thing that I want to point out is that even though Kinzer portrays Turgut Ozal as a revolutionary leader who was one of the few modern leaders of Turkey to see its full potential in the 21st century, Ozal's highly capitalist [and nepotist] shift inoculated a deep and powerful corruption in the government that Turkey, to this day, suffers from. Related to Turgut Ozal, and many other leaders of modern Turkey, the baffling question I have always had and to this day cannot really understand, is how so many Kurds can serve in the government and parliament as elected officials, so many Kurds can become very rich business man, entertainers, actors, singers, writers, and Turkey still struggles to find a healthy ground for communication about the Kurdish-Turkish issues? To explain away this discrepancy by just blaming the oppression of free speech seems inadequate.

Overall, Crescent and Star was a pleasure to read. At times, Kinzer becomes a bit repetitive, but his anecdotal references to conversations with Turks from different walks of life and with foreign officials about Turkey are priceless. His obsession, like most Americans and Westerners, of democracy is a bit optimistic, idealistic, and something that I do not completely agree with.

I will try to read Kinzer's more recent books about Turkey and the Middle East. I would like to hear what he has to say about the current political rule in Turkey, as it seems to be what he was wishing for in Crescent and Star, but I am not sure that now that it is happening, he would still wish for it. He got his pro-EU, pro-ethnic dialogue, non-Kemalist, pro-religion government that is trying very hard to turn Turkey into the next EU member. Some things are radically different. For example, now that the ban on the Kursdish language is lifted, radios and TVs broadcasting in Kurdish have sprouted all over, and artists are clamoring to record Kurdish songs and establish collaborations (Aynur Dogan's Kece Kurdan is a good album to start. And of course, Ibrahim Tatlises is not only the most famous Kurdish singer but one of the most famous Turkish singers of all time) On the other hand, Europe is busy passing laws banning head scarves and mosques with minarets, things that Turkey was criticized for doing. Once again, the double standards are apparent, as Turkey is always blamed to be violating human rights (I am not saying that it isn't!) while European countries restrict religious and cultural freedoms as they see fit (and let's not forget the non-secularist stuff, like "In God We Trust" on American bills.) The truth of the matter is the Islamic Fundamentalism that the aptly-criticized Turkish military was always paranoid about has shown its ugly head and this time threatening the Western world, and so *now* it is OK to try to crush Islamic extremism by restricting civil rights... What happened to open dialogue, the communication that Turkish government was always urged to engage in with what it considered extremists? I can imagine some Turkish generals nodding with a shrug to the West: We told you so! Perhaps Kinzer is right in that Turkey is at a unique position to bring together the troubled sides and end the chaos that is currently taking place in the world. But I find that hard to believe, as any issue about Islam is bound to polarize Turks. In the end, I think the ethnic problems can be overcome, but the issues over religion are going to get worse before they get better.

It's been 15 years since this book was published. So it's pretty outdated for people who are trying to understand Turkey. I enjoyed the meze parts and some interpretations about social structure of Turkey. But that's all. When you look at today's Turkey and see what it became, you can understand how wrong was Mr. Stephen Kinzer.

An excellent introduction to Turkey and its history by an individual who is passionate about the culture and Turkey's potential for the future. This was published in 2001 and I would be very curious as to the author's thoughts on present-day Turkey, how he feels the situation has changed or regressed and whether its neighbors make it impossible to become a modern nation. Not hard to read at all and I learned a great deal.

A fresh look at the evolving republic.

I read this book in preparation to going on spring holiday to Turkey. Stephen Kinzer does an excellent job prepping his readers to both understand modern issues in that country, but also peppers his work with small, almost journal like entries that bring this truly unique modern country alive. One short to be remembered was the author's retelling of when he swam the Bosporous straight and the extraordinary feeling of being connected to both Asia and Europe. Kinzer provides ample amount of detail on Ataturk, Turkey's EU bid, the Armenian Genocide, Kurdish independence movements, and how a recent Earthquake completely rocked Turkish politics. After eleven chapters of reading you will be able to fully understand one of the most interesting countries in the modern world. Only downside is that you may have to skim some of the info on Turkish politics, which reads much like alphabet soup to the outsider. But overall this is a great read.

I can put it down, it makes me want to visit Turkey again

This is the second Kinzer book I've read. He's a talented writer who brings his subject to life with a clear, direct, active style.

In both books I've read, Crescent and Star and All the Shah's Men (about the US/British overthrow of the Mossadegh government in Iran), Kinzer turns potentially dry subjects into page-turners.

Perhaps as a by-product of his accessible style, Kinzer arrives at simplistic solutions. In Crescent and Star, the overall thesis is that the founders of the Turkish Republic were correct to forcefully impose secularism and a Western-looking government. Kinzer argues that this imperative is no longer necessary, largely because their experiment was successful.

His argument is less than convincing. He presumes to know what Ataturk would have wanted in a modern day Turkey -- a relaxation of the militarily enforced secularism, for example. He provides virtually no evidence from Ataturk's speeches, writings, etc. Ataturk was profoundly aware of the tension between democracy and religiosity. There's as much evidence -- probably more -- that the founders of the Republic would have maintained their worldview in today's Turkey, given the wave of fundamentalism that is sweeping the Muslim world, especially in countries that share a border with Turkey.