Atatürk : [the biography of the founder of modern Turkey

This biography of Ataturk aims to strip away the myth to show the complexities of the man beneath. Born plain Mustafa in Ottoman Salonica in 1881, he trained as an army officer but was virtually unknown until 1919, when he took the lead in thwarting the victorious Allies' plan to partition the Turkish core of the Ottoman Empire. He divided the Allies, defeated the last Sultan and secured the territory of the Turkish national state, becoming the first president of the new republic in 1923. He imposed coherence, order and mordernity and in the process, created his own legend and his own cult.

In this major new biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the first to appear in English based on Turkish sources, Andrew Mango strips away the myth, to show the complexities of one of the most visionary, influential, and enigmatic statesmen of the century. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was virtually unknown until 1919, when he took the lead in thwarting the victorious Allies' plan to partition the Turkish core of the Ottoman Empire. He divided the Allies, defeated the last Sultan, and secured the territory of the Turkish national state, becoming the first president of the new republic in 1923, fast creating his own legend.

Andrew Mango's revealing portrait of Atatürk throws light on matters of great importance today-resurgent nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and the reality of democracy.

Publishers Weekly

In 1923, reports Mango, a satirical magazine ran a cartoon showing the three faces of Turkey--the nation, the assembly and the government. All were identical: the features were those of Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938), an army officer who had salvaged the core of defeated Turkey after the 1914-1918 war to create a secular republic. A decade later, still trying to structure an identity for what remained of the polyglot, ramshackle Ottoman Empire, he decreed--as virtual dictator of a nation now largely populated by Muslims--that inhabitants had to take surnames. For himself, he adopted Ataturk, literally Father Turk. Mango (a retired BBC expert on Turkey and author of three previous books on the country) gives this man, one of the least-known nation-builders of the last century, full treatment, from his earliest days to his ascension to power and his death, from cirrhosis at the age of 57. Few leaders have so modernized an ancient society, instituting radical changes in dress, religion, government, education--even the alphabet. Ataturk abolished the monarchy, divided WWI's victors bent on partitioning all of Turkey, defeated rapacious Greeks intent on expanding their expatriate communities in Asia and destroyed or co-opted his domestic rivals. That so much of his legacy survives is evidence of his success. Mango's admiration for Ataturk doesn't keep him from displaying the dictator's arrogance, ruthlessness and authoritarianism; his Turkish expertise enables him to flesh out Ataturk's complex life via sources he translated himself. Mango gives a rounded, finely detailed portrait of the man who created modern Turkey. B&w photos. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

A “superlative [and] exhaustively researched” biography of “one of the most complex and controversial figures in twentieth-century world history” (Library Journal).Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was virtually unknown until 1919, when he took the lead in thwarting the victorious Allies'plan to partition the Turkish core of the Ottoman Empire. He divided the Allies, defeated the last Sultan, and secured the territory of the Turkish national state, becoming the first president of the new republic in 1923, fast creating his own legend. This revealing portrait of Atatürk throws light on matters of great importance today—resurgent nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and the reality of democracy.“One of the world's most respected specialists on Turkey.” —The New York Times“Mango gives this man, one of the least-known nation-builders of the last century, full treatment, from his earliest days to his ascension to power and his death, from cirrhosis at the age of 57. Few leaders have so modernized an ancient society, instituting radical changes in dress, religion, government, education—even the alphabet... Mango's admiration for Ataturk doesn't keep him from displaying the dictator's arrogance, ruthlessness and authoritarianism; his Turkish expertise enables him to flesh out Ataturk's complex life via sources he translated himself... a rounded, finely detailed portrait.” —Publishers Weekly“Thanks to Andrew Mango's new biography, the best in the English language, a man both demonized and idolized appears to us in three dimensions.” —The Washington Post “A superb biography.” —Dallas Morning News“The best concise account I have ever seen of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The narrative is gripping.” —Geoffrey Lewis, author of Modern Turkey "In this new biography of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first to appear in English based on Turkish sources, Andrew Mango strips away the myth to show the complexities of one of the most visionary, influential, and enigmatic statesmen of the century - his high ideals and ruthless tactics, his championship of women's rights and his inability to sustain an equal relationship with women, his nationalism and his belief in a single universal civilization, his regular drinking bouts and the strange theories they produced." "In Turkey today Ataturk is invoked at every turn in domestic politics, and a law protects his memory from insult. Andrew Mango's portrait of Ataturk reveals a man who, while responsible for some of his country's ills, transformed the republic from a battle-scarred ruin into a regional power. It is a fascinating story and one that throws light on other matters of great importance today - resurgent nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and the reality of democracy. Above all, Ataturk's life makes us consider again the ever-controversial questions about human progress posed by the European Enlightenment that inspired him."--BOOK JACKET. This biography of Atatürk aims to strip away the myth to show the complexities of the man beneath. Born plain Mustafa in Ottoman Salonica in 1881, he trained as an army officer but was virtually unknown until 1919, when he took the lead in thwarting the victorious Allies' plan to partition the Turkish core of the Ottoman Empire. He divided the Allies, defeated the last Sultan and secured the territory of the Turkish national state, becoming the first president of the new republic in 1923. He imposed coherence, order and mordernity and in the process, created his own legend and his own cult This is a biography of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founding father of the Turkish Republic. Trained as an army officer, in 1919 he took the lead in thwarting the partition of the Turkish core of the Ottoman Empire and transformed it from a battle-scarred ruin into a regional power.