A. L. MACFIE, The End of the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1923, Turning Points, vol. 1 (New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 1998). Pp. 258. $17.95 paper, $75 cloth.

Abstract

The mystery of the Ottoman Empire is not that it ended but that it lasted as long as it did. The End of the Ottoman Empire is the first book in a new Longman series under the editorial direction of Keith Robbins to examine key “turning points” in the history of the emergence of the modern world. Positioning the Ottomans' final moments within the context of a world-history approach is a worthy goal. Moreover, scholars in the discipline have recently been discussing the need to develop texts to expose the Ottoman experience to a broader audience. Macfie attempts to make this connection by relating the end of the Ottomans to the contemporary world. He argues that the destruction of the Ottoman state marked “a tectonic shift in the political and social structure of the area” (p. 234), leading to the emergence of the successor states and the modern organization of the Middle East and southeastern Europe. It is also, according to him, “the end of the Eastern Question” (p. 234) and the beginning of new relations among the modern European states.