Ataturk: An Intellectual Biography [NOOK Book]

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Overview

When Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the first president of Turkey in 1923, he set about transforming his country into a secular republic where nationalism sanctified by science--and by the personality cult Atatürk created around himself--would reign supreme as the new religion. This book provides the first in-depth look at the intellectual life of the Turkish Republic's founder. In doing so, it frames him within the historical context of the turbulent age in which he lived, and explores the uneasy transition from ...

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Ataturk: An Intellectual Biography

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Overview

When Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the first president of Turkey in 1923, he set about transforming his country into a secular republic where nationalism sanctified by science--and by the personality cult Atatürk created around himself--would reign supreme as the new religion. This book provides the first in-depth look at the intellectual life of the Turkish Republic's founder. In doing so, it frames him within the historical context of the turbulent age in which he lived, and explores the uneasy transition from the late Ottoman imperial order to the modern Turkish state through his life and ideas.

Shedding light on one of the most complex and enigmatic statesmen of the modern era, M. Sükrü Hanioglu takes readers from Atatürk's youth as a Muslim boy in the volatile ethnic cauldron of Macedonia, to his education in nonreligious and military schools, to his embrace of Turkish nationalism and the modernizing Young Turks movement. Who was this figure who sought glory as an ambitious young officer in World War I, defied the victorious Allies intent on partitioning the Turkish heartland, and defeated the last sultan? Hanioglu charts Atatürk's intellectual and ideological development at every stage of his life, demonstrating how he was profoundly influenced by the new ideas that were circulating in the sprawling Ottoman realm. He shows how Atatürk drew on a unique mix of scientism, materialism, social Darwinism, positivism, and other theories to fashion a grand utopian framework on which to build his new nation.

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Editorial Reviews

Digest of Middle East Studies
In this timely and brilliantly articulated book, Hanioglu reaffirms the need for an intimate understanding of historical context in biographical research. . . . This rich and exhaustively researched study is indispensible for academics and students of Turkish and Middle Eastern studies alike. It is the definitive biography of Atatürk and an instant classic in the field.
— Douglas H. Garrison
Literary Review
Professor Sükrü Hanioglu . . . combines elegance and meticulousness in Atatürk.
— Andrew Mango
Today's Zaman
M. Sükrü Hanioglu's latest book, Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography, is probably the best book on Atatürk's legacy and his historic role. . . . Hanioglu managed to combine both impartiality and immediate access to Turkish sources to produce a classic.
— Herkül Millas
Political Quarterly
This book has the potential to inspire a new period of much needed assessment of Atatürk's thought, work and legacy.
— Rifat Kandiyoti
New Yorker
[F]resh and concise . . .
Times Higher Education
[T]his intellectual biography is a significant achievement, and indispensable for anyone seeking to understand the roots of modern Turkey.
Foreign Affairs
Atatürk does not lack for biographers, most of whose books are adulatory, but none has so thoroughly brought to life the ideological climate that molded the man as has Hanioglu. And few have presented Atatürk with such objectivity.
Digest of Middle East Studies - Douglas H. Garrison
In this timely and brilliantly articulated book, Hanioglu reaffirms the need for an intimate understanding of historical context in biographical research. . . . This rich and exhaustively researched study is indispensible for academics and students of Turkish and Middle Eastern studies alike. It is the definitive biography of Atatürk and an instant classic in the field.
Choice
Hanioglu has prepared a concise, compelling biography of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He examines the political and intellectual movements that influenced Atatürk from his early school years until his death in 1938, along with the implementation of their ideas, which led to the development of the Republic of Turkey. . . . This work provides the essential intellectual framework to understand Ataturk and the enormity of his accomplishments.
Saudi Gazette
M. Sükrü Hanioglu probes the bold and pragmatic mind of Atatürk in his new book. . . . Hanioglu provides us with a fresh way to look at Atatürk.
Literary Review - Andrew Mango
Professor Sükrü Hanioglu . . . combines elegance and meticulousness in Atatürk.
Today's Zaman - Sahin Alpay
Professor Hanioglu's study, based on meticulous research of primary sources, deals with the social setting and intellectual sources that shaped the ideas that have directed Ataturk's actions and policies. The book not only helps demythologize Ataturk, it also provides a most valuable contribution to a better understanding of the state he founded. . . . Ataturk is indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand Turkey's politics.
Today's Zaman - Herkul Millas
M. Sükrü Hanioglu's latest book, Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography, is probably the best book on Atatürk's legacy and his historic role. . . . Hanioglu managed to combine both impartiality and immediate access to Turkish sources to produce a classic.
Political Quarterly - Rifat Kandiyoti
This book has the potential to inspire a new period of much needed assessment of Atatürk's thought, work and legacy.
Journal of Islamic Studies - Clement Dodd
This book breaks new ground in seeking to determine what Ataturk's reforms actually meant for their creator instead of trying to fit together his policies into a coherent doctrine called Ataturkism, as others have done. It is an important addition to the literature on the republic that Ataturk sought to define, and was determined to create.
booksandideas.net - Clelia Delbarre
This book is aimed less at historians of the Ottoman Empire or of Turkey than at a wider public. It is a fine work of synthesis, fully accessible to non-specialists, which takes account of the complexity of the transitional period between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. Hanioglu's line of argument is perfectly clear and his account is easy to follow.
Library Journal
Hanioglu (Near Eastern studies, Princeton Univ.; A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire) takes on the task of "demythologizing" Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. Cutting through years of writings filled with admiration for this charismatic leader and a popular sentiment close to hero worship, Hanioglu performs a skillfull analysis, focusing on the ideas and intellectual movements that shaped the statesman, rather than recounting Atatürk's personal life. An early education in secular and military schools, distrust of dogma, and adherence to scientism, labeling "religion as the major obstacle to human progress," created a president determined to make Turkey a modern, secular, Western-leaning nation (an effort still seen today in Turkey's bid to join the European Union). Hanioglu does a stellar job highlighting the scientific trends Atatürk used to validate his Turkish national ideal. Racial anthropology, historic linguistics, and other ideas of sometimes dubious merit were all tools to proclaim the superiority of the Turkish and bolster a country crushed by Western Europe in World War I. VERDICT This is an insightful intellectual biography of one of the 20th century's most fascinating statesmen. Highly recommended for scholars of Atatürk, Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East.—Veronica Arellano, California, MD
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781400838172
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press
  • Publication date: 5/9/2011
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 280
  • Sales rank: 867,590
  • File size: 5 MB

Meet the Author

M. Sukru Hanioglu is the Garrett Professor in Foreign Affairs in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His books include "A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire" (Princeton).
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Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables ix
A Note on Transliteration and Personal and Place Names xi
Turkish Pronunciation Guide xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Fin-de-siècle Salonica 8
Chapter 2. Das Volk in Waffen: The Formation of an Ottoman Officer 31
Chapter 3. The Scientism of the Young Turks 48
Chapter 4. From Wars to the Great War: A Hero Is Born 68
Chapter 5. Muslim Communism? The Turkish War of Independence 86
Chapter 6. The Secular Republic 129
Chapter 7. Nationalism and Kemalism 160
Chapter 8. Turkey and the West 199
Conclusion 226
Bibliography 233
Index 255
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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted September 24, 2011

    Recommended for Mid East history buffs

    A wonderful, readable insight into the man and the country he so greatly influenced.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 10, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 21, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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