Social sciences

摘要

BIOGRAPHY Hanioglu, M. Siikrii. Atatiirk: An Intellectual Biography. Princeton Univ. May 2011. c.280p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780691151090. $27.95. biog Hanioglu (Near Eastern studies, Princeton Univ.; A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire) takes on the task of "demytholo-gizing" Kemal Atatiirk (1881-1938), the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. Cutting through years of writings filled with admiration for this charismatic leader and a popular sentiment close to hero worship, Hanioglu performs a skillfull analysis, focusing on the ideas and intellectual movements that shaped the statesman, rather than recounting Atatiirk's personal life. An early education in secular and military schools, distrust of dogma, and adherence to scientism, labeling "religion as the major obstacle to hu- man progress," created a president determined to make Turkey a modern, secular, Western-leaning nation (an effort still seen today in Turkey's bid to join the European Union). Hanioglu does a stellar job highlighting the scientific trends Atatiirk used to validate his Turkish national ideal.