Kemal Atatürk : Transforming the Image of a Nation

Product Description Atatürk was the unprecedented author, designer and architect of an enormous transformation that profoundly changed the moral, cultural, historical and physical values of Turkish society. As a pragmatic visionary whose aim was to reset that society on the path of progress and development, he succeeded in giving life to brand new political and social structures that were anchored in the bedrock of grass-roots democracy. By encouraging and fostering the active participation of the Turkish people, he sought to replace the unheeded dictates of an enfeebled Ottoman state with strong individual initiative as the driving force of society. Taking in the grand purview of the principles on which the Republic of Turkey was founded and the boldness of his undertaking, one is astonished by Atatürk's genius and insight. As a historian of international repute, Professor Bernard Lewis is one of those who has best understood Atatürk and who has been able to explain concisely, accurately, and uniquely the man, his aspirations, and his achievements. Mobilising his incomparable familiarity with Turkish and non-Turkish sources, Professor Lewis is the author of one of the mostdefinitive assessments of the Atatürk revolutions in Turkey. About the Author A word about the photographer of these images is also in order. Etem Tem accompanied Atatürk for the better part of the nearly three decades that these photographs span and provides an important visual record not only of the late stages of the Turkish War of Independence but also of the earliest phases of Atatürk's reform. These are the images that Atatürk wanted, not only the Turkish nation but also the whole word to perceive as indicative of the new Turkish republic that he was bringing into being. Together, Bernard Lewis and Etem Tem have created a beautiful and impressive photo journal.