To make sense of current events in the Middle East, I’d definitely put this excellent book at the top of my list. Fromkin argues that the modern Middle East was shaped by the Allies during and after World War I, not just because of their plans to remake the region, but also due to their lack of follow-through. Does the story sound familiar? While the book wraps up in 1922, the arbitrary borders drawn for Arab states, the creation of Israel, and the rise of hostile sentiments—sparked by the political moves of European powers—set the stage for many of the crises we see today.
I couldn’t put Anna Karenina down. This is truly one of the great classics of literature, and for good reason. At its core, it explores a woman's position in a hypocritical, patriarchal society, but it’s also a story about men, human relationships, and love—both its power to heal and to hurt. Ultimately, it digs into the motivations behind human behavior. First published in 1878, Anna Karenina still has the power to challenge many modern conventional ways of thinking.
In 1872 the mistress of a neighbouring landowner threw herself under a train at a station near Tolstoy's home. This gave Tolstoy the starting point he needed for composing what many believe to be the greatest novel ever written.
In writing Anna Karenina he moved away from the vast historical sweep of War and Peace to tell, with extraordinary understanding, the story of an aristocratic woman who brings ruin on herself. Anna's tragedy is interwoven with not only the courtship and marriage of Kitty and Levin but also the lives of many other characters. Rich in incident, powerful in characterization,…
Turkey is a country with a history of multiparty electoral competition going back to 1950, longer than many other nations in the world. Until recently, it was often perceived as a model country that showed the feasibility of democratic governance in a Muslim-majority society. However, the rise of religious-nationalist populism and sociopolitical polarization has resulted in an authoritarian turn that has stifled political liberalization. Turkish foreign policy has had strong linkages with the West, but now exhibits a more independent and assertive position. Turkish national identity remains exclusionary, as citizens not belonging to the dominant ethnic and religious groups face…
This book delivers the first in-depth history and analysis of Turkey’s relationship with Israel from 1948 to 2010, all set against the backdrop of Turkey’s broader foreign policy. What stands out in Turkey’s approach to Israel, whether under civilian or military governments during and after the Cold War, is its striking lack of consistency—a factor that has made the relationship feel unpredictable and ever-changing. How do we explain this curious inconsistency over six decades? This book digs into long-standing trends in Turkish foreign policy, offering the bigger picture behind Turkey’s complex and evolving past, present and future ties with Israel.
