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Andrew Mango

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Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey Kindle Edition

by Andrew Mango (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 189 ratings

in History of Turkey & the Ottoman empire

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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

Print length

687 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

ABRAMS Press
Publication date

August 26, 2002
File size

8943 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andrew Mango was born in Istanbul. He wrote his first article on Turkey for the Political Quarterly in 1957. Since then he has published dozens of articles, as well as two general introductions to Turkey. He is the author, most recently, of Turkey: The Challenge of a New Role (1994).

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07NJ2L85F
Publisher ‏ : ‎ ABRAMS Press (August 26, 2002)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 26, 2002
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 8943 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 687 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #14,918 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in History of Turkey & the Ottoman empire
- #1 in Turkey History (Books)
- #4 in Historical Middle East Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.4 189 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

189 global ratings

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rick, montana

This is THE Ataturk

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023

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Spent 18 months in Turkey, and no one is more beloved of his people than Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. This biography I've waited since I left there in 1962. I've read other biographies, but none better. I'd also like to offer my extreme gratitude to the seller. The book was a price within my means, and it said it was "good". They were wrong, this is a pristine copy, like brand new, ahead of schedule. Thank you so much. The book is close to 700 pages, excellent photos, and a joy to read. Want to know how Turkey came into the modern age? Read this biography.

5 people found this helpful

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Zero. Z

Good book for people who already know a decent amount about the Turkish Republic

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2023

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Very dense and very clear. Andrew Mango goes deep into personal life and intellectual development of Ataturk inserting personal accounts of people he worked with. However, this is not a book I suggest you read if you are new to exploring Ataturk's influence on Turkiye. Start with Hanioğlu's intellectual biography.

2 people found this helpful

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Lyn Immel

Educational book on Ataturk and Turkey

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2023

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I had never heard of Ataturk until I went on trip to Turkey with a tour group some years ago. I was so impressed how progressive he was with women's rights including how they dressed. There is a large section at back of book that one can use to find info on issue they may be interested in.

One person found this helpful

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Lawrence R. Wright

Dry but worth it

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2013

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OK, not beach reading. The writing style is like a textbook, not engaging, but the author covers a lot of ground. Glad I made the effort. Like so many history/biography books, lots of place names mentioned that are not sited on the included maps -- what's up with that?

One person found this helpful

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Manish Vasan

Pretty Hard Read

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2023

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I'm someone that blazes through similar sized books in a matter of days but this one was s hard read and tough to follow. Felt more like a text but at the end of the massive book, I finally had a vague understanding of Ataturk and his life. Most of the book is about his life pre-presidency. What I was most interested in was his life after he became the president and how he would have transformed Turkey, which was only 1/4th of the book. All in all, i'd say, try out other authors books on Ataturk before grabbing a copy of this.

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2017

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This is an important book to understand how a Muslim country can modernize under what was essentially a benevolent president for life. Ataturk was one of the most important men of the 20th century when you consider he created a relatively progressive country with education, women's rights, decent economy and separated religion from politics. He was the military savior of the country during and after World War One, and then instituted reforms which brought a backward decaying Ottoman Empire into the 20th century to become an important country and ally for the west. Overlooked both in this book and historically, Ataturks Turkey essentially stopped the spread of Stalins communism into the Middle East. He played off the competing aggressive interests of the West and Russia brilliantly. His political timing was also remarkable as he rose from modest beginnings to military leader and then political leadership against all odds. He is an important leader to understand in today's world. The Middle East could use more like him.

35 people found this helpful

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Larry N. Stout

Cogent and eye-opening

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2013

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I had a naive view of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk before reading this thoroughgoing biography. The book has reinforced my admiration for the man as the remarkably canny, far-sighted, and determined founder of modern Turkey, even as it revealed to me his inevitable (human) faults. The book also provides a wealth of new understanding of Turkey at the end of Ottoman days, through to the end of Ataturk's life, and beyond. You might well be surprised to learn, as I was, that Turks had no surnames before 1934, and that Ataturk, despite his adamant rationalism, resorted to bizarre invented mythology regarding the history of Turkic peoples in Anatolia; and to learn that modern Turkish language is in large part an invention, incorporating Turkified terms borrowed from European (i.e., "civilized") languages, so that the high Ottoman language of Ataturk's family of origin (in Salonica, not Anatolia) is unintelligible to speakers of the modern Turkish idiom. Unlike some highfalutin bios, this very nice specimen is not strained by pretentious overanalysis, either of the man or his times. Highly recommended.

4 people found this helpful

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Will Jerom

Truly impressive

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2010

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Content Summary: This book is sweeping in scope, beginning with the Ottoman period just before World War One, and outlining the major CUP leaders who rebelled against and effectively ended the power of the monarchy. Ataturk would later of course finish that job, abolishing the sultan and caliph positions permanently. Mango focuses mostly on the political and military life of Ataturk, as well as religious and linguistic reforms ushered in. He also comments on Ataturk's social life and personal thoughts and habits. Mango is to be commended for such a comprehensive job, with some summary and comments about the legacy of Ataturk later.

Analytical Review: This is a big book, but it reads like and even longer book because it is so crammed with details and names. Readers will likely find themselves paging for names and geographical sources, a convenient summary of short biographies appears at the end for assistance. A very enlightening book, which only the patient and interested reader should pick up - but those will find it immensely rewarding.

14 people found this helpful

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