Anyone working on Turkey is familiar with the acclaimed Dutch historian Erik J. Zürcher，one of the world's great writers on Ottoman and Turkish history. Zürcher made his mark as the founder of Turkish Studies in The Netherlands，holding the Chair of Turkish Studies at Leiden University from 1997 until his recent retirement. Having guided two generations of students of Ottoman and Turkish history，he supervised more than thirty PhD dissertations，published more than 150 articles and wrote or edited thirteen books （most of which were translated into Turkish）—including several of the most influential works on the late Ottoman Empire and early Turkish Republic. The Unionist Factor：The Role of the Committee of Union and Progress in the Turkish National Movement （1905-1926），based on his doctoral dissertation and published in 1984 and his second monograph，Political Opposition in the Early Turkish Republic：The Progressive Republican Party （1924-1925）—published in 1991—remain classics in the field to this day.

But Zürcher made his deepest mark with his seminal work，Turkey：A Modern History. First published in 1993，it has since been revised and updated twice—in 1997 and 2004—before being substantially updated again in 2017 in a fourth edition. Since its first edition，Turkey has become the standard reference in many undergraduate courses on Turkey worldwide. It has also been translated into several languages，including Turkish，Polish，Hebrew，Indonesian，Arabic，Persian and Albanian.

Although the author himself is a historian，one of Turkey's great meritsis the broad range of audiences it speaks to，from historians to economists and political scientists. Moreover，Turkey is a comprehensive，reliable and readable source covering the last two centuries of Ottoman/Turkish history. Its breadth and vast body of sources in different languages，as well as the author's dexterity in synthesizing these，continue in this fourth edition，ensuring the work remains invaluable.

The book is divided into four parts，based on the author's own periodization of the history of modern Turkey （a detailed scholarly justification for which was written for the first edition，included in the second and third，but regrettably omitted from this one）.

The study begins with the era of Ottoman modernization from the end of the eighteenth century to the Young Turk ascendancy in 1908. Zürcher closely and carefully examines the growing economic，cultural and diplomatic interaction between Europe and the Ottoman Empire during this time—including its steady incorporation into the capitalist world system—drawing out the key foreign and domestic drivers of the empire's modernizing institutions and emerging ideological currents. Unlike most accounts，which favor one or the other，Zürcher charts a middle way between the modernization and the dependency schools of thought，drawing skillfully—if eclectically—on both to present a balanced treatment of the shifting terrain. Readers of this fourth edition will surely miss the formidable introduction from previous editions covering historical periodization，theory and methodology，from which two generations of students have benefitted mightily. Excluded from the new edition，this material would have been useful for the younger generation of students who are now becoming acquainted with the book.

The second part covers the Young Turk-Kemalist period （1908-1950）. Although this periodization has become mainstream now，it was somewhat controversial when Zürcher proposed it in 1993. By highlighting the strong continuities between Young Turk and early Kemalist reformist program to 1950—in effect treating it as one long period of historical development—Zürcher challenged received Kemalist historiography，which holds the Republic as having been constructed ex novo from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Zürcher's magnificent account of this extended period of reform and change is the best a reader can find in a general work on Turkey. Covering both domestic and international developments，it ranges skillfully over economics culture and politics，emphasizing the continuities and ruptures as empire gave way to republic. In this way，the author's treatment of Kemalist single-party rule introduces students to a robust critical reassessment of more than one aspect of the established historiography，especially when it comes to the Young Turk and Kemalist periods. We learn，for example，that the official “ideology” of Kemalism “lacked coherence and emotional appeal” （p. 183） and the real purpose of Mustafa Kemal's （Atatürk） famous 36-hour Nutuk （speech） before the congress of the Republican People's Party from 15-20 October 1927 （pp. 175-176）.

Section three details the multi-party period from just after World War II until the 12 September 1980 coup d'état. The author offers readers a condensed yet comprehensive account of one of the most troubled，but fascinating，periods of Turkish history. During that time，Turkey faced three military coups，social unrest and the emergence of deep polarization among right-wing nationalists，revolutionary leftists，Islamic fundamentalists and Kurds. Historians，political scientists and sociologists alike can benefit greatly from Zürcher's treatment of political parties，the growth of democratic pluralism and rapid economic development，as well as foreign policy issues，such as the Cyprus Question.

The final part of the book covers the third republican period，from 1980 until 2014. The reader familiar with past editions will find this part the most revised and updated. Zürcher's analysis draws a sharp，clear through-line from the nationalist–authoritarian order imposed on Turkey by the military after 1982，to the neoliberal restructuring of Turgut Özal across the 1980s and the years of crisis in 1994-2002，through to the current era of Justice and Development Party rule. While covering the key developments in post-Cold War Turkey，it stops short of the very recent past. As the author rightly notes in his preface：“It makes no sense for the author of a history textbook to run out of breath trying to catch up with events as they unfold”—advice any honest historian should follow. Instead，he notes：“What this book tries to offer is a deeper historical insight to help the reader understand the roots of the current crisis in Turkey” （p. xii）. And on this，he has without doubt succeeded. The author's preface could easily be used as a conclusion to the book，with its brief，but masterful，detailing of the major political developments of the past two years.

This new edition offers much else besides. For one，the biographical notes，also in previous editions，remain invaluable for scholars of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. Furthermore，the bibliographical survey—always comprehensive—has been thoroughly revised，with numerous new publications added，accompanied by concise commentary by the author. In a marked departure from earlier editions，the endnotes for each chapter are now greatly expanded，allowing the reader to follow up sources should she wish. Needless to say Turkey：A Modern History will remain the standard reference on Turkey for many years to come.