Overview

The first English-language biography of the de facto ruler of the late Ottoman Empire and architect of the Armenian Genocide  Talaat Pasha (1874-1921) led the Young Turks' single-party regime in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and is arguably a founding father of modern Turkey. He was also the architect of the Armenian Genocide, which set the stage for a century that would witness political terror and ethnic cleansing on a scale never imagined. Here is the first biography in English of the revolutionary figure who not only prepared the way for Ataturk and the founding of the republic in 1923, but who shaped the modern world as well. In this explosive book, Hans-Lukas Kieser provides a mesmerising portrait of the shrewd and merciless politician who maintained power through a potent blend of Islamic-Turkish nationalism and a readiness to employ violent 'solutions.' 'This brilliant portrait of Talaat Pasha is in a league of its own.' - Lisa Kaaki, Arab News 'Gripping.' - John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs

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9780691202587

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His book is invaluable, offering a bigger picture than Akcam's, both of the events that prefigured the massacres of 1915-1917 and of the war. The view from Talaat Pasha's desk gives a perspective that would be hard to beat. ---Mark Mazower, New York Review of Books In this brilliant book, Kieser moves the architect of Ottoman imperial nationalism and the Armenian Genocide to center stage in the European drama. This is the first scholarly biography of a man both revered by the beneficiaries and reviled by the victims of his drive to save an empire, only to preside over its demise. --Ronald Grigor Suny, author of They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else : A History of the Armenian Genocide This is an extremely important book that not only fills a large gap in the existing scholarship but also introduces new perspectives on the Armenian Genocide. It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand late Ottoman history and the Committee of Union and Progress, which organized the genocide against the Christians during First World War. --Taner Akcam, author of A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility A highly valuable model of the use of biography in the service of history and the social sciences. Kieser's careful reading of the Armenian Genocide offers precious keys to understanding the process of the Islamization and Turkification of the late Ottoman Empire. --Hamit Bozarslan, author of Violence in the Middle East: From Political Struggle to Self-Sacrifice This long-awaited biography is very timely and masterfully executed. Kieser reinstates Talaat Pasha as a major statesman of twentieth-century European and world history. --Stefan Ihrig, author of Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler

Author Information

Hans-Lukas Kieser is associate professor in the Centre for the Study of Violence at the University of Newcastle in Australia and adjunct professor of history at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. His many books include Nearest East: American Millennialism and Mission to the Middle East; The End of the Ottomans; and Turkey beyond Nationalism.

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