On 29th October 1923, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk declared Turkey a republic, and from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, he built his vision of a modern Turkey. Akyol takes us on a tour of modern Turkish history, highlighting its social, political, economic and cultural development – the economic successes, the darker side of rapid modernisation, the power of the military, the persecution of writers and the debate about religion and secularism. A knowledgeable and lively history of the Republic that helps us understand recent developments.