Here you can find our best books on Turkey: the origins of the modern state, as well as books that explore its rich, varied and ancient culture.

Elif Shafak recommends books to understand Turkey’s social, cultural, and political complexity. In that interview, she discusses how the country has changed in recent decades and the relationship between modern Turkey and its Ottoman past. Elsewhere the late Professor Norman Stone, who taught at Bilkent University in Ankara, also discusses the country’s shifting relationship with its Ottoman past, and what the republic founded in 1923 sought to achieve and the merits of Turkey as a modern state in his discussion of Turkish history.

Hugh Pope, the former foreign correspondent and Turkey expert, discusses Turkish politics. He explains how the conflicts within modern Turkish politics are rooted in the way that Ataturk created the state in the before and after the Republic’s foundation. Finally, Thomas de Waal chooses his best books on the Armenian genocide, focusing on the human dimension rather than the politics of that tragedy.

For the best book on Turkish cuisine, turn to Nevin Halici's Turkish Cookbook.