Rating: 
Summary: ATATURK: EVIL OR GOOD?
Review: Finally...I've been waiting for this book to come out since1997 when I first read a review of this book. I already knew whoAndrew Mango was since I'd read several articles of him. I was waitingsince I'd had the belief that he was an objective historian. In that review Mango was saying that the book may disappoint the Turkish Government and people a little bit. I purchased the book and read immediately. Yes he is objective. He successfully points to some facts such as how the elimination of Armenian citizens deprived the country of her talented cratfsmen and merchants or to some other facts such as the misdeeds of the anti-minority policy during and after Ataturk. He calls the 1915 Armenian deportation an ethnic cleansing. This and similar books will help the young Turkish generation of Turkey strip themselves of hypnotizing government policy hopefully. On the other hand I think there are some flaws, such as he claims that the apologestics of Vahideddin (the Sultan) propose that the Sultan ordered M.Kemal to go to Anatolia. In fact Falih Rifki Atay, who was a Kemalist, mentions about the historical meeting between Vahdeddin and M.Kemal in his book "Cankaya" which included many memoirs of Ataturk. This book is another help for Turkish youth to think different and not to repeat the misdeeds of the Young Turks and their successors from CUP (Ittihat ve Terakki) to today's Turkish Government. I recommend it enthusiastically to all interested readers.
Rating:
Summary: Ataturk
Review: I am a Turkish American who has read almost every Turkish and non-Turkish book about Ataturk's life. While I found this book to be a very well searched and written, it is a hard read. I found it does not pull you like Lord Kinross's Ataturk does. Mango did draw a very honest picture of Ataturk and at the end of the book, despite his weaknesses, you find yourself admiring the subject and what he accomplished. Still, the author talks more about the events surrounding Ataturk's decisions rather than his emotional and mental condition while making those decisions. One think that annoyed me through out the book was his trying to clear some myths and stories told over the years. That would be OK if there was any way of checking the facts but in most cases there are not. He questions stories told by friends, foes and Ataturk himself, without telling the reader why he is questioning them. In other words, he speculates that the particular story must have happened some other way but he does not have any prove to back it up. Still it is an honest book and I am glad he is very even handed dealing with history. Turks usually complain of biases in foreign authors' writings. It is clear Mango has no biases and he reports only the facts. I am also glad he is even handed about Ataturk's private life. Many ugly allegations have been made against Ataturk by his enemies that continues to this day. While he was not perfect, he was not what his enemies have made him out to be and Mango gives a very clear picture of his private life with warts and all. He also explains why and how some of these ugly stories were spread and continue to spread to this day. It is a good book for educational purposes. My favorite, however, is still Lord Kinross's Ataturk.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinated by Mustapha Kemal Ataturk
Review: I recommend this book to all who want to understand this small country straddling the two continents. Ataturk is the spirit of all young Turks. They all love him and for an outsider it is not hard to understand why once you learn about this incredible man's life story. The book is very well researched, detailed and long. About 2-2 1/2 inches thick book. It reads like a fast novel, and for a historical biography it is incredibly exciting. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Superb! Ataturk is a fascinating read
Review: I'm a Canadian half-Turk who has been fascinated by Turkish and Balkan history. Though I've read Kinross and some of the primary sources in Turkish, this book is a highly informative and bold account of early 20th century Turkish history with Ataturk as the main character but with many other personas in sharp focus. From the influence due to the rabid and hysterical propaganda of the politicians among the Armenian-American diaspora (note: not the regular people, especially our younger generation), it is hard to debate about these issues and even consider some of the historical characters objectively in the US. Mango does this bravely (not worried about denting his book sales) and in a scholarly fashion, but the book as as engrossing as a masterfully worked novel, so even if you aren't well versed in Turkish history it will be an enjoyable read. This should be a textbook in business school courses, as Ataturk was one of the best managers in recent history.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Statesman
Review: Mango has done a great service by providing us all with this Biography. This book is bound to replace Kinross's classic as the ultimate reference for the international reader and historian. To be sure, there is not much new information, as the life of this great man was investigated in great detail by many for decades. Still, the analysis is fresh, more details of the personal life emerge, and much more importantly, the events are related to most recent developments and trends in modern Turkish politics. Even modern Turks tend to forget how much of the Ottoman institutions have been carried over to the new Republic and how an Ottoman upbringing Ataturk had. It is still remarkable and inspiring to seee one more time how this soldier, who spent most of his adult life soldiering and fighting to hold a crumbling empire together, also possessed and developed the qualifications and the skills to plan and lead a whole nation to modernity. He was a genius in identifying the key elements that would define and bind the Turkish nation forever. It was not religion, race nor ethnicity. This was his real genius and what makes him timeless. Much of his ideals are as modern today as they were then. One understands better why Turks have great reluctance to revise or update even some of his most outdated ideas and institutions since they had such good track record. Ideas and models that can not be directly attributed to him or to his day have great difficulty in taking hold, which is a serious problem for modern Turks also. It is also important for the reader to realize that Military Schools were the only schools for higher education in Ottoman Empire. Almost all Muslim Ottoman elite wore uniforms. Military was the only profession most young Turks aspired to. This was very much the established Turkish culture for centuries. Almost all of Ataturk's close friends who shaped and led the new nation were military educated. This goes a long way explaining the very special role military plays today in Turkish politics and society. A lot of Westerners have great difficulty understanding this and make very wrong analogies sometimes. Andrew Mango has used the original sources extensively. His knowledge and expertise of the topic is admirable. He did envision this to be a classic obviously. He has also done a very good job identifying in detail all the names and key characters that surrounded Ataturk on his epic journey from Sultan's loyal officer to Presidency of The Republic of Turkey. His biographical notes and chronology are extremely valuable additions to the book. His final chapters were very well written and contain very good analysis. May be a hard assignment for a reader who has no background on this subject but plenty of help is available in the book. It is a must for anyone who is even mildly interested in the topic or the area.
Rating:
Summary: A good review, interesting opinions, and concise history
Review: Mr. Andrew Mango has done a good job of portraying one of the most infuential people on the Turkish life and most importantly, on the European modern politics. The parts where Ataturk has done an incredible job of defeating the Allies in Gallipoli and later, during the War of Independence are valuably written and demonstrated, though a little bit overlooked. Other than that, Ataturk's revival of the whole Turkish nation and his attempts to create a modern nation of people out of the remaining shattered, weak and ill people downgraded and tortured by the Ottoman Empire are also not very well depicted. Other than that, Mr. Mango has done a good job of demonstrating Ataturk as a despot, but not as a cherished and loved, maybe the most loved of all, leader of Turks. I also failed to see the unifying words of Ataturk and his logic behind his verse, "How happy is a man who claims to be Turk." This was said in an attempt to make all citizens of all origins, ethnic, religious, and other, feel part of a grandeur dream, a unified Turkish Republic working together to reach a modern, developed, and fulfilled future.
Rating:
Summary: a Good Book on a Great Man, ATATURK
Review: Read it to learn about one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. Mango shows us how this man rescued his nation from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. A great leader who revolutionized Turkey. I was amazed to read about the incredible changes he brought into his country single-handedly. Mango's bibliography alone makes it worth buying this book. I only wish I could get my hands on Lord Kinross's book but it is out-of- print.
Rating: 
Summary: not good not bad
Review: Some good points about the book: The author tells the story well, he states interesting details. Some bad points: Sometimes he is not accurate, in addition some important details are missing. In some places, the author implies things, refraining himself from clear statements. Maybe he was afraid of reactions. In a sense this is understandable, the subject is still the biggest taboo in Turkey, maybe in the world. There is NOT any important Turkish biography about this subject. Anyway the book is in a way a dissapointment for me. Author's main sources are very well-known,like Falih Rifki or Riza Nur. Finally, the main question is does he have something new to say, I think he doesn't. Moral of the story: dont waste your time with this book if you are not really crawing about the subject. I was crawing, that might be cause of my disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Balance
Review: There has been little of substance written about Ataturk in English. Most of it has been anti-Turkish diatribe or poorly research apologia. Now we have a sympathetic historian who is not afraid to explore the darker side(s) of Ataturk. This book may overwhelm the casual reader with unappreciated dates, names, and places, but for the more interested reader the thorough research brings some comfort. In short, a thorough and balanced history of the birth of the Turkish Republic and its founder.
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Summary: Offers better understanding in the ideals of Ataturk
Review: This book as absolutely one of the best books written about Ataturk. I sometimes found it difficult to read but this didn't stop me finishing the book. This book gives a better understanding in the matters of that time in Turkey. It also offered me a better view in understanding Ataturks ideals as secularism, popular nationalism, the importance of developing to an enlightend society. The importance of serving not only your country but also serving the world, humanity. These are in my opinion Ataturk's core ideals. This book helped me understand the matter. It also made me clear that certain matters in present turkey are the results of the intervention of the western world as it was during and shortly after the WWI. I also saw that the British, Greaks and the Russians we're not distasted by the fact that they played dirty games to win. On the other hand the German generals found the Turkish High Command inferior eventhought they were allies. Out of this very complicated dirty gamezone, came Ataturk, who did not let some get him in the way. No matter who they were. He played the same game of chess with the imposable rules of the allies and won. Even turks who opposed him were undermined in someway. Out of the ashes of the Ottoman empire arose the modern Turkey thank's to not only Ataturk but also to the fallen during campaigns of the Dardanels, Gallipoli, Kaukasses, thrace and all the other fronts. This book gives me somehow a neutral understanding in the remarkable personality of one of the greatest men, military commanders in the 20th century.
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