Turkey Book Talk episode #57 – Karabekir Akkoyunlu, research associate at the University of Graz, on “Exit from Democracy: Illiberal Governance in Turkey and Beyond” (Routledge), a collection of 10 essays he co-edited with Professor Kerem Öktem.
Listen out for details of our brand new Turkey Book Talk membership system – giving members a range of exciting extra perks.
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Cathy Otten on Yezidi women and Iraq after the Islamic State
January 5, 2018
First Turkey Book Talk episode of 2018 – Arbil-based journalist CATHY OTTEN discusses “WITH ASH ON THEIR FACES: YEZIDI WOMEN AND THE ISLAMIC STATE” (OR Books), a deeply reported account of the suffering of the Yezidi religious minority over the border in Iraq.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
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Recent reporting by Cathy Otten
- How ISIS Changed the Yezidi Religion – The Atlantic, 22/12/2107
- The Persian Leopards of Iraqi Kurdistan – Brown Book, October 2017
- Life after ISIS Slavery for Yazidi Women and Children – New Yorker, 31/08/2017
- Slaves of ISIS: The Long Walk of the Yazidi Women – The Guardian, 25/07/2017
* SUPPORT! *
Remember you can support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it, by making a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin, Ayla Jean Yackley and Tan Tunalı.
Raja Shehadeh on travels with his Ottoman uncle
December 8, 2017
Unfortunately topical episode of Turkey Book Talk this week – Palestinian author and lawyer RAJA SHEHADEH on his book A RIFT IN TIME: TRAVELS WITH MY OTTOMAN UNCLE (OR/Basic Books), retracing the journey of his great uncle Najib Nassar, who was on the run from the Ottoman authorities for three years in Greater Syria from 1915.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
The Nation has also just published a beautifully written long-ish profile of Raja Shehadeh that is well worth reading.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
* SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin, Ayla Jean Yackley and Tan Tunalı.
Lora Sarı on the Istanbul-based Armenian publisher Aras
November 24, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #52 – LORA SARI on the Aras Publishing House, set up in Istanbul in 1993 as a “window onto Armenian literature.” We also discuss Mıgırdıç Margosyan’s “Infidel Quarter,” published this year as Aras’ first English-language title.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Extras
- Episode of Turkey Book Talk from last year on Zabel Yessayan.
- Brief profile of Yetvart Tomasyan, one of Aras’ founding fathers.
- My review of Tuba Çandar’s biography of Hrant Dink in HDN.
- Interview with Tuba Çandar discussing that book and Hrant Dink’s life.
* SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin and Tan Tunalı.
Turkey Book Talk reaches its 50th episode – FİKRET ADAMAN, a professor of economics at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University on “Neoliberal Turkey and its Discontents: Economic Policy and the Environment under Erdoğan” (IB Tauris).
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at Hürriyet Daily News. (Also the archive of all my HDN reviews has moved and can now be found here.)
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk: iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
As mentioned in the episode, here’s a related episode from back in July with Esra Gürakar on crony capitalism in Turkey.
** SPECIAL OFFER **
Remember you can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall and Paul Levin.
Alexander Clarkson on Turks and Kurds in Germany
October 13, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #49 – ALEXANDER CLARKSON of Kings College London discusses his research on the Turkish and Kurdish diaspora in Germany, addressed in his long article “Kenan Evren’s Bitter Harvest: Legacies of a Coup that Changed Turkey and Europe.”
Download the episode or listen below.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk: iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
** SPECIAL OFFER **
Consider supporting Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall and Paul Levin.
Ekin Oklap on ‘The Red-Haired Woman’ and translating Orhan Pamuk
September 29, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #48 – EKIN OKLAP on translating Orhan Pamuk into English and the release of “THE RED-HAIRED WOMAN” (Faber), the second novel she has worked on with Pamuk.
Download the episode or listen below:
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
As mentioned in the episode, here is an earlier episode with Pamuk’s previous translator, Maureen Freely, discussing the tragic life of Sabahattin Ali and her translation of his classic 1943 novel “Madonna in a Fur Coat”:
* DON’T FORGET SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall and Paul Levin.
Suzy Hansen on viewing America from Turkey
September 1, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #46 – SUZY HANSEN on “NOTES ON A FOREIGN COUNTRY: AN AMERICAN ABROAD IN A POST-AMERICAN WORLD” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).
She has reported from Turkey for 10 years for outlets including the New York Times magazine, Vogue and the LRB. Her reporting has tackled issues such as Syrian refugees in Istanbul, the Soma mining disaster, the Erdoğan-Gülen power struggle, and the post-coup attempt crackdown (links below the picture).
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Articles mentioned in the episode
Inside Turkey’s Purge – New York Times Magazine, April 2017
The Erdoğan Loyalists and the Syrian Refugees – New York Times Magazine, July 2016
The Mine Disaster that Shook Turkey – New York Times Magazine, November 2014
Whose Turkey Is It? – New York Times Magazine, February 2014
* DON’T FORGET SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman and Andrew MacDowall.
Douglas Howard on a new history of the Ottoman Empire
August 18, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #45 – DOUGLAS HOWARD, professor of history at Calvin College in Michigan, discusses “A HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE” (Cambridge University Press).
The book is the first single-volume history of the Ottomans to appear in a while, covering more than 600 years of history – from the empire’s 13th century origins in the Balkans and western Anatolia to its protracted, violent dissolution at the start of the 20th century.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
* SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a donation to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman and Andrew MacDowall.
Max Hoffman on Turkish civil society under siege
August 4, 2017
Turkey Book Talk episode #44 – MAX HOFFMAN on “TRENDS IN TURKISH CIVIL SOCIETY,” a joint report published by the Center for American Progress, the Istanbul Policy Center, and the Italian think tank IAI.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s a link to the report itself.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
* SPECIAL OFFER *
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a donation to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman and Andrew MacDowall.
Cemil Aydin on the illusion of the Muslim world
May 5, 2017
CEMIL AYDIN, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, speaks to Turkey Book Talk about “THE IDEA OF THE MUSLIM WORLD: A GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL HISTORY” (Harvard University Press).
It is a bracing book. Aydin argues that the idea there is a discreet “Muslim world” with a set of shared essential, civilisation-defining characteristics is little more than “ahistorical romanticism,” a fantastical illusion that has never existed.
Download the episode or listen below.
My review will be published in the coming weeks in the Times Literary Supplement, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
*SPECIAL OFFER*
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a donation to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake and Aaron Ataman.
Queen Mary University fellow MEHMET KURT joins the Turkey Book Talk podcast to chat about “KURDISH HIZBULLAH IN TURKEY: ISLAMISM, VIOLENCE AND THE STATE” (Pluto Press).
It is a remarkable book based on Kurt’s personal experiences, which gave him extraordinary access to a shady and secretive group.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
Allow me to repost this related conversation from a few weeks ago with Cuma Çiçek on his book “The Kurds of Turkey: National, Religious and Economic Identities” (IB Tauris):
*SPECIAL OFFER*
You can support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a donation to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake and Aaron Ataman.
Turkey Book Talk 