Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.  •  Peter Green BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1992 •  PAPER  • 617 PAGES An outstanding biography of the complex ruler, this book combines great storytelling, adventure, romance, brutish violence, historical accuracy -- and vivid character sketches of Darius, Aristotle and other famous personalities. With his commanding knowledge and his way with words, Alexander of Macedon is a scholarly book that you can't put down. (GRE56, $22.95)
Alexander the Great  •  Robin Lane Fox BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 568 PAGES A popular biography of Alexander the Great, noteworthy for its scholarship, great descriptions and psychological insight. This enormously readable book succeeds in bringing the man and his era to life. (GRE17, $16.00)
Alexander's Path  •  Freya Stark TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1990 •  PAPER  • 283 PAGES Classic travel writing, well researched and evocative. Stark journeyed throughout the Near East in the 1950s, producing a series of classic travelogues. In this book, she retraces the route of Alexander the Great along the shores of western and southern Turkey including Xanthus, Myra and Miletus. It's an excellent companion for anyone sailing from Kusadasi to Antalya. (TKY32, $15.95)
Ancient Greece, A Concise History  •  Peter Green HISTORY •  1979 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES • COMING IN A lively, illustrated history of Greece from the Stone Age to the death of Alexander the Great in under 200 pages. With good maps, a bibliography for further reading and hundreds of black-and-white photos of sites and objects. (GRE04, $18.95)
The Ancient Mediterranean  •  Michael Grant CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1990 •  PAPER  • 374 PAGES Grant, a well known classical scholar, draws on archaeology, geography, art, and economics to paint a vivid picture of ancient cultures, from prehistory through the Roman Imperium, and their influence on western civilization. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, and 19 maps of the region. (MED10, $18.00)
Arabesque, A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, And Lebanon  •  Claudia Roden FOOD •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES Roden leavens 150 well-chosen, classic recipes of North Africa and the Middle East with scraps of history, culture and tales. With 93 color photographs. (MED99, $35.00)
The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914  •  Gertrude Bell  •  Rosemary O'Brien BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES In the days before she began molding British foreign policy in the Middle East, Gertrude Bell kept herself busy crossing the Arabian desert alone (or sometimes in company with bandits). As a travel and adventure writer, she has the very great advantage of literary talent: her diaries are neither fusty nor musty. Her book is a candid portrait of Arabia, and her accounts of encounters with sheikhs and Bedouins are markedly unexotic. They were her companions or her enemies, and she writes of them as a more domestic author might have written about the parish curate or the town lout. (ARB52, $29.95)
The Argonautika, The Story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece  •  Apollonius of Rhodes  •  Peter Green LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER The story, in verse, by Apollonius of Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece, here retold. A noted classicist, Peter Green retranslates the original into readable modern verse. With a helpful glossary and maps that show the route of the journey. (GRE92, $24.95)
Armies of the Ottoman Turks, 1300-1774  •  David Nicolle HISTORY •  1985 •  PAPER  • 48 PAGES Nicolle's little book neatly summarizes the military history of the Ottoman Turks. It's a well-illustrated introduction to Ottoman uniforms, tactics and history in the Men-at-Arms series. (TKY101, $15.95)
Ataturk, The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey  •  Andrew Mango BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2003 •  PAPER  • 666 PAGES Mango (who was born in Istanbul and has written extensively on modern Turkey) expertly traces Ataturk's rise to power after World War I, when this complex leader created the modern Turkish state and redefined the relationship between Europe and the Middle East. He shows Ataturk's influence on the role of Islam in the modern nation. (TKY52, $24.95)
Balkans Southeast Europe Map  •  Freytag & Berndt 2008 •  MAP • COMING IN OCTOBER A nicely detailed travelers map of Southeast Europe from Prague east to Odessa and south to Italy, Greece and western Turkey, including the Danube, Romania, Bulgaria and the Black Sea from Odessa to Istanbul. At a scale of 1:2,000,000. (EUR147, $12.95)
The Black Sea, A History  •  Charles King HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES This brisk narrative history takes in the history, culture and politics of the region from 700 B.C. to the 1990s. King argues that, like the Mediterranean, the Black Sea unites diverse languages and cultures (Greek, Roman, Armenian, Persian, Scythian, Byzantine, Ottoman, Tatar and Mongol). The book opens with a chapter on Pontus Euxinus, an ancient Greek site along the shores of the Black Sea. Charles King is a professor in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. With four maps and 15 black-and-white photographs. (EUR173, $29.95)
Black Ships Before Troy, The Story of The Iliad  •  Rosemary Sutcliff LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A retelling of the Trojan War story for younger readers, illustrated in watercolor. (TKY171, $5.99)
Byzantine Art  •  Robin Cormack ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 248 PAGES A scholarly introduction and survey of the art of the Byzantine empire in the Oxford History of Art. With 127 illustrations, 82 in full color. The author contends that, contrary to popular belief, the Byzantines were fully as ambitious -- and their art as constantly evolving -- as their Roman precursors. Illustrated. (MDE64, $27.95)
Byzantine Art and Architecture, An Introduction  •  Lyn Rodley ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 394 PAGES A compendium of articles and essays about Byzantine art, many first published in scholarly international journals. (MDE63, $55.00)
The Byzantine Commonwealth  •  Dmitri Obolensky HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES A classic history of Eastern Europe from 500 to the fall of Byzantium in 1453, originally published in 1971. (TKY77, $24.95)
The Byzantines  •  Guglielmo Cavallo  •  Thomas Dunlap HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 294 PAGES A collection of essays from scholars worldwide focusing on the people of the Byzantine empire. (TKY66, $26.00)
Byzantium  •  Stephen R. Lawhead LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 872 PAGES A sweeping novel encompassing history, religion, and fantasy. Lawhead's epic tale is told from the perspective of Aidan, a 10th-century monk traveling from Ireland to Byzantium with the Book of Kells. His perilous journey -- interrupted by Vikings, Saracens, and lapses of faith -- takes him through Great Britain, Europe and the Middle East. (TKY92, $7.99)
Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests  •  Walter Kaegi HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 313 PAGES A classic history, painstakingly researched and utterly absorbing, of the seventh-century conqest of the eastern roman world. Insights on the great campaigns, political alliances and economics of the empire are accompanied by copious charts, maps, graphs and back-and-white illustrations. This book explores the evolution of the 1100-year-old Constantinople into the powerful capital of the Ottoman sultans, an essential reference to the Medieval east including Syria, Armenia and Palestine. (TKY19, $43.00)
Byzantium and the Slavs, In Letters and in Culture  •  Ihor Sevcenko HISTORY •  1985 •  HARD COVER A scholarly collection of essays on the realtionship between the Byzantine Empire and Slavic culture, focusing on political and religious interactions. (TKY73, $52.50)
Byzantium, A History  •  John Haldon HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES A short, academic history of the Byzantine empire, ideal for those seeking an informed and brief overview. (TKY78, $32.50)
Byzantium, Decline and Fall  •  John Julius Norwich HISTORY •  1996 •  HARD COVER  • 488 PAGES The third and final volume in Norwich's astonishing history of the Byzantine empire. It ends with the dramatic fall of Constantinople in 1453. (TKY121, $49.95)
Byzantium, The Apogee  •  John Julius Norwich HISTORY •  1992 •  HARD COVER Part Two in Norwich's three part history of the Byzantine Empire, this thoroughly researched and surprisingly entertaining volume covers the period from 800 AD to 1000 AD, telling of the empire at its most powerful -- and most cruel. With 32 pages of photographs. (TKY70, $49.95)
The Caravan Moves On, Three Weeks among Turkish Nomads  •  Irfan Orga TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 227 PAGES A classic account of the author's journeys in southwest Anatolia, originally published in 1958. Orga (Portrait of a Turkish Family) writes astutely of the nomadic peoples of the High Taurus. Orga, who had recently returned London, contrasts rapidly modernizing Turkey with the traditional life of the ancient Anatolians. The titles comes from the Turkish saying dogs bark but the caravan moves on. (TKY84, $22.95)
A Concise History of Byzanitum  •  Warren T. Treadgold HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A quick, readable survey of the Byzantine Empire, focusing on the spread of cultural and religious ideas. (TKY69, $29.95)
Culture Smart! Turkey  •  Charlotte McPherson GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 168 PAGES A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. (TKY127, $9.95)
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture  •  Slobodan Curcic  •  Richard Krautheimer ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 357 PAGES Now in its fourth edition, this is classic, well-illustrated history covers the Eastern Mediterranean from the age of Constantine to the era of Justinian. A volume in the Pelican History of Art published by Yale. (TKY72, $37.00)
Early Christian and Byzantine Art  •  John Lowden ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES An illustrated guide to the architectural heritage of the early Christian period (860-1453), including a survey of the philosophy, ideas and intellectual climate of the time. With hundreds of photographs of Byzantine art, decorated churches and illuminated manuscripts. (EUR23, $24.95)
Eastward to Tartary  •  Robert D. Kaplan TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 364 PAGES A loosely organized travelogue by the author of the acclaimed "Balkan Ghosts," Kaplan connects his travels and experience in the Balkans, the Middle East, Turkey and the Caucasus to the history and culture of Central Asia. (CAS45, $14.95)
The Emergence of Modern Turkey  •  Bernard Lewis HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 524 PAGES The classic history of Turkey from the decline of the Ottoman Empire to 1950 with a focus on the Ataturk revolution. It's authoritative balanced and engaging. This third edition includes new preface by Lewis with reflections on developments in the 1990s. (TKY56, $37.95)
Eothen  •  Alexander William Kinglake TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 242 PAGES Originally published in 1844, this classic travelogue of journeys throughout the Middle East and Asia Minor takes the form and tone of a letter to a good friend: conversational, ironic and personal. Included are ramblings in Constantinople, Palestine, Syria and the Dead Sea. (MDE24, $21.00)
Essential Rumi  •  Jelalludin Rumi  •  Coleman Barks RELIGION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A collection of poetry by the 13th-century Sufi mystic and founder of the Whirling Dervishes Mevlana Jelalludin Rumi. Coleman renders a well-chosen selection of Persian estatic poetry into contemporary English. A student of Sufism since 1977, Barks is a poet and the author of numerous Rumi translations. (TKY95, $14.95)
Eyewitness Guide Turkey  •  Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  FLEXI-BOUND  • 432 PAGES Gorgeously illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact book is a thorough overview of Turkey, its history, traditions, cultures and sights. With hundreds of color photographs and illustrations. (TKY82, $25.00)
The Fall of Constantinople 1453  •  Steven Runciman HISTORY •  1990 •  PAPER  • 270 PAGES A classic, wonderfully written history of the fall of Constantinople in 1493 and its consequences. Runciman, a noted British scholar, draws on many sources, both Greek and Muslim, in tracing this fateful time in the history of the city. Originally published in 1965, the book does a masterful job of explaining not only the events of May 1453 but also their wide-ranging ramifications. With an appendix on the churches of Constantinople after the conquest. Read this book for insight into Byzantine and Ottoman influences in the city. (TKY76, $19.99)
Formation of Islamic Art  •  Oleg Grabar ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1987 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES A classic on the art and architecture of the Islamic World by a prominent authority. (ARB28, $29.00)
Fragments of Culture, The Everyday of Modern Turkey  •  Deniz Kandiyoti HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 350 PAGES A loosely organized collection of scholarly articles addressing everyday life, ranging from issues of gender and class, to shopping malls, film, education, and folk dancing. (TKY97, $25.00)
Gallipoli  •  Alan Moorehead HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 380 PAGES A wonderfully readable and classic account of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, orginally published in 1956. (WAR85, $14.95)
God Lives in St. Petersburg, and Other Stories  •  Tom Bissell LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 212 PAGES Bissell (Chasing the Sea) returns to his years in Central Asia as a Peace Corps volunteer in these sharp, witty fictionalized accounts. His six fast-paced tales are set in Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and the Aral Sea. (CAS117, $13.95)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $17.95)
Greece and Western Turkey Map  •  Hallwag MAP A detailed map of Greece, includes Western Turkey, imported from Switzerland, on a scale of 1:1,000,000. (GRE39, $12.95)
Greek Art  •  John Boardman ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A standard brief survey of classical Greek art and architecture, revised to reflect recent archaeology, this book presents hundreds of paintings, frescoes and other objects from antiquity, each in its spiritual and cultural context. A volume in the "World of Art" series. With 300 illustrations, 73 in color. (GRE12, $21.95)
A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey  •  Mitchell Reddish  •  Clyde Fant GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 395 PAGES A guide to the places, history and archaeology of the journeys of the Apostle Paul across Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, geared for the traveler. With black-and-white photographs, site diagrams and maps. The authors, both biblical scholars, have led many travel study groups through the region. (MED90, $27.95)
Hagia Sophia, Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church  •  Rowland Mainstone ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES • COMING IN With 300 illustrations and 56 site plans, this authoritative book will delight any traveler to Istanbul interested in history and architecture. (TKY24, $39.95)
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $14.00)
The Histories  •  Herodotus HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 656 PAGES In what may be the first travel book, Herodotus records the heroic struggle between Europe and Asia that culminated in the invasion of Greece by Xerxes. (MED15, $10.00)
The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor  •  J. G. MacQueen HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES A solid introduction to the Hittites, an ancient culture of modern-day Turkey. MacQueen surveys the rise and fall of this Anatolian people, their relations with other ancient populations such as the Babylonians and Mycenaean Greeks, and recent archaeological findings. With 149 illustrations, maps and plans. (TKY46, $22.50)
The Iliad  •  Homer  •  Robert Fagles LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 704 PAGES In the excellent Fagles translation -- here presented in a deluxe paper edition -- Homer's Trojan epic hasn't aged a bit in the last 2,700 years. It's as exciting and engrossing as ever. Take it along to Troy and the Aegean. (GRE173, $17.00)
In Ruins: A Journey Through History, Art, and Literature  •  Christopher Woodward ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 280 PAGES Art historian Woodward roams widely in search of the pleasures of ruins, traveling from Sicily and Rome to Turkey, around his native England and off to Zanzibar. "If I am lonely in a foreign country," he confesses at the outset of these thought-provoking essays, " I search for ruins." He's a wonderful writer. In this infectiously compelling book, he meditates on the allure, majesty and history of our fascination with antiquities, mixing his own observations with those of writers, painters and architects. He pays proper homage to Rose Macaulay and her wonderful Pleasure of Ruins. (TVL37, $14.00)
In Search of the Trojan War  •  Michael Wood ARCHAEOLOGY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES This handsomely illustrated book examines the archaeology, history and legends of Troy -- a vivid analysis of the ancient world by the peripatetic anthropologist and documentary filmmaker Michael Wood. With the remarkable Heinrich Schliemann (who discovered Troy in 1873) as his point of departure, Wood takes the reader along on a remarkable story of archaeological adventure. (GRE52, $22.95)
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great  •  Michael Wood HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Historian Michael Wood recreates the epic journey of Alexander the Great across Asia in this companion volume to the documentary television series. With a good selection of maps, photographs and illustrations of Hellenic art and artifacts from the region. (MED23, $21.95)
In the Steps of St. Paul  •  H.V. Morton TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES Travels throughout the Mediterranean in search of St. Paul, bible in hand. A pilgrim as much as a traveler, Morton journeys through Syria, Cyprus, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece and Rhodes in this classic account. Fittingly, his appreciative journey ends at the Tomb of St. Paul. As in all his many travel books, Morton charmingly mixing history with offhand humor, anecdote and keen observation. (MED70, $22.00)
Innocents Abroad (Or the New Pilgrims Progress)  •  Mark Twain TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 523 PAGES On June 8, 1867, young journalist Samuel Longhorne Clemens, not yet famous as Mark Twain, set sail on a grand tour of Europe. With his disarming wit, Clemens makes the very best traveling companion in this classic account. The section on his visit to "the land which was the mother of civilization" is a celebrated highlight of the book. Twain has few rivals in art of reporting the horrors of travel with humor. "Paris, England, Scotland, Switzerland, Italy--Garibaldi! The Grecian Archipelago! Vesuvius! Constantinople! Smyrna! The Holy Land! Egypt and 'our friends the Bermudians'!" are among the main ports of call. (MDE08, $14.95)
Insight Guide Mediterranean Cruises  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 300 PAGES Covering 120 ports of call throughout the Mediterranean from the Canary Islands to Egypt. (MED94, $22.95)
Insight Pocket Guide Istanbul  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 122 PAGES A brief guide with suggested itineraries and a handy pull-out map. (TKY63, $12.95)
Islam, The Straight Path  •  John L. Esposito RELIGION •  2004 •  PAPER  • 286 PAGES A well-written survey of the faith, practice and beliefs of Islam. It's a balanced tome intended for an undergraduate audience, yet it also functions as an excellent overview for the general reader. (MDE22, $39.95)
Islamic Art and Architecture  •  Robert Hillenbrand ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Covering one thousand years and the geographic scope of Islam, this book is a wide-ranging guide to the arts of Islam, including architecture, calligraphy, ceramics, and textiles. A marvelously compact synthesis, it focuses on major styles associated with Muslim dynasties including the Ottomans. With a useful glossary of Islamic terms, time line, maps and 270 illustrations, many in color. (CAS17, $18.95)
Islamic Arts  •  Jonathan Bloom  •  Sheila Blair ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 445 PAGES A comprehensive survey of 1,000 years of Islamic architecture, design and decoration. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps and site plans. For anyone with an interest in art, this book is a wonderfully illuminating, stimulating introduction to the subject. (ISL01, $24.95)
Islamist Mobilization in Turkey, A Study in Vernacular Politics  •  Jenny White RELIGION •  2003 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A social history and ethnography of contemporary Istanbul based on interviews and field work in the Umraniye neighborhood. Jenny B. White is associate professor of anthropology at Boston University. (TKY98, $22.50)
Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire  •  Bernard Lewis HISTORY •  1989 •  PAPER  • 187 PAGES • FAVORITE In this slim volume the great Islamic scholar describes the invasion of Constantinople by the OttomanTurks on May 29, 1453, evoking the city at this pivotal moment in its long history. It is a fascinating, highly readable look at the people and architecture of the city with a superb discussion of the conquest and its cultural aftermath. Highly recommended for an understanding of the long, complex history of the city. (TKY17, $19.95)
Istanbul Map  •  Borch Maps MAP A laminated, folded map of Istanbul at a scale of 1:11,000. (TKY65, $8.95)
Julian, A Novel  •  Gore Vidal LITERATURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 503 PAGES A historical novel on the last pagan Roman emperor Julian the Apostate, the fascinating 4th century scholar who became a great soldier and determined the future of the entire Roman Empire. (TKY128, $16.00)
Life in the Ancient Near East, 3100-332 B.C.  •  Daniel C. Snell HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES From the dawn of the written word to conquest by Alexander the Great, the history of the ancient Middle East is traced in this readable, thoroughly researched overview of economic, social and cultural development in the world of the Bible. It's a concise and intriguing study from a professor of history. (MDE56, $22.00)
Lilac and Flag, An Old Wive's Tale of a City  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 171 PAGES Set in legendary Troy, this third book in Berger's "Into Their Labors" trilogy is a modern classic, evoking both the decadence of the city's waning greatness and the hope of its rural peasants for the future. (TKY47, $15.00)
Living in Istanbul  •  Jerome Darblay ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES A coffee-table book of color photographs, showcasing the landscapes, architecture and interiors of the Turkish city. (TKY79, $50.00)
Lonely Planet Middle East  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 816 PAGES A practical guide to the North African and Mediterranean countries of the Middle East from Libya, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey to Iraq and Iran. With detailed maps, and separate sections on mosques, music and cuisine. (MDE30, $27.99)
Lonely Planet Turkey  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 724 PAGES A comprehensive, practical travel guide to Turkey in the hallmark Lonely Planet Style. It's the most oft-sighted guidebook in the hands of independent travelers to Turkey, jammed with detail on where to go, what to do and where to stay, eat and explore. With a section of color photographs, maps and a good overview of culture and history. (TKY50, $25.99)
Lonely Planet Turkish Phrasebook  •  Arzu Kurklu LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2008 •  PAPER  • 259 PAGES A palm-sized handy guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. With a 2,000-word mini-dictionary. (TKY115, $8.99)
The Making of Modern Turkey  •  Feroz Ahmad HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 252 PAGES A study of the politics, economy, military developments and society of Turkey, from 1908 through the 1990s. A volume in the textbook series "The Making of the Modern Middle East." Ahmad was a student of the Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis (The Emergence of Modern Turkey). (TKY123, $48.95)
Mammals of Europe  •  Priscilla Barrett  •  David W. MacDonald FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals, it's a comprehensive handbook, with detailed descriptions, range maps and commentary on behavior. (FG61, $34.95)
The Maze  •  Panos Karnezis LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 376 PAGES An enchanted tale, rooted in history, of a dissolute Greek brigade in retreat across the Anatolian desert in 1922 with the Turkish army in pursuit. An ambitious book in three parts, Karnezis writes with flair, recalling at times De Bernieres and Corelli's Mandolin. (GRE225, $14.00)
Mediterranean Sea Map  •  Freytag & Berndt 2005 •  MAP • BEST SELLER A double-sided, full-color map of the Mediterranean, including the Iberian Peninsula and Black Sea, North Africa and the Levant, at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (MED36, $12.95)
The Middle Sea, A History of the Mediterranean  •  John Julius Norwich HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 720 PAGES • NEW A marvelous writer who has already tackled Byzantium, the Normans in Sicily and Venice, Norwich spins his magic in this story of culture, trade and politics, royalty and rulers, wars and religion in the Mediterranean from antiquity to the end of the First World War. (MED98, $20.00)
A Mind at Peace  •  Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar  •  Erdag Goknar LITERATURE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 380 PAGES • COMING IN DECEMBER Tanpinar evokes the anxiety, confusion and conflict of Istanbul in the whirlwind days of the new and rapidly modernizing Republic of the 1920s and 1930s in this culturally astute novel, originally published in 1949. Tanpinar (1901-1962) was one of Turkey's most important 20th century writers. (TKY134, $25.00)
Minoan and Mycenaean Art  •  Reynold Higgins ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES A survey of the ancient art of Crete, Mycenae and the Cyclades in its cultural context, revised to include recent archaeology. With maps and 241 illustrations. (GRE61, $18.95)
A Modern History of the Kurds  •  David McDowell HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 515 PAGES • COMING IN A scholarly, comprehensive history of the Kurdish people, who spill over the borders of modern Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. In this third edition, McDowell considers the economic, political, religious and tribal struggles among this ancient people -- excellent background to understanding the "Kurdish Question." (TKY59, $28.95)
Murder on the Orient Express  •  Agatha Christie MYSTERY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Christie's bestseller is sure to keep train passengers awake long into the night. (EUR118, $6.99)
My Name Is Red  •  Orhan Pamuk  •  Erdag Goknar LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES Set in sixteenth-century Istanbul, this charmingly digressive novel combines a murder mystery, artistic debate and a love story. It will also pique your interest in Islamic illuminated manuscripts. (TKY68, $14.95)
Nelles Guide Cyprus  •  Nelles GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This handsome guide, notable for its first-rate photography and outstanding maps, covers the history, culture and contemporary life of Cyprus. (MED14, $15.95)
The New Life  •  Orhan Pamuk  •  Guneli Gun LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES In this modern Turkish novel, a young university student embarks on a quest to decipher a book's mystery. His obsession takes him across Turkey, entangles him in a love affair, and pulls him towards a new life -- while calling national identity into question. Palmuk has also written Snow (TKY93), My Name is Red (TKY68), and The Black Book (TKY01). (TKY94, $13.95)
Noah's Flood, The New Scientific Discoveries about the Event That Changed History  •  William Ryan  •  Walter Pitman SCIENCE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES A riveting tale interweaving biblical history, marine geology, archaeology and mythology. The authors are scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. They marshal convincing evidence to show that indeed there was a flood -- and a huge one -- when the Black Sea was breached by the Mediterranean 7,600 years ago. (BLK42, $15.00)
The Olive, Tree of Civilization  •  John Train  •  Mark E. Smith HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES A history of the celebrated vegetable and the mythology behind it. (NAT72, $25.00)
On Foot to the Golden Horn: A Walk to Istanbul  •  Jason Goodwin TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 278 PAGES An outstanding travel writer and journalist, Goodwin interweaves history, incident and reflection in this excellent portrait of Central Europe. With chapters on Cracow, Slovakia, Budapest, Transylvania, Brasov and Bulgaria. (EUR81, $15.00)
On the Shores of the Mediterranean  •  Eric Newby TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 486 PAGES A sparkling observer and famously entertaining writer, Newby tackles the Mediterranean in these merry essays. He finds himself in North Africa, the Adriatic, Venice, Naples, the Greek Islands, Turkey, Cairo and Jerusalem. (MED25, $14.95)
The Orthodox Church  •  Kallistos Ware RELIGION •  1993 •  PAPER  • 359 PAGES A comprehensive, clear overview of the origins, historical development and practice of Eastern Christianity by a British scholar and Archbishop. With chapters on Byzantium, conversion of the Slavs, the Church under Islam, Moscow and St. Petersburg and the contemporary Orthodox world. (GEN261, $17.00)
Osman's Dream, The History of the Ottoman Empire  •  Caroline Finkel HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 688 PAGES An ambitious, scholarly history of an 600-year empire that, at its height, stretched from Central Asia to the Levant, Danube and North Africa. A long-time resident of Turkey with a doctorate in Ottoman Studies, Finkel draws on Turkish sources to paint a nuanced portrait of a multi-ethnic, geographically diverse, strained dominion, an empire like that of that he Holy Roman Empire and Hapsburgs. (EUR200, $18.95)
The Ottoman Centuries  •  Lord Kinross HISTORY •  1988 •  PAPER  • 638 PAGES A richly detailed, engrossing history of the Ottoman empire from its dawn in 1300 through its zenith under Suleiman the magnificent and up to the foundation of the modern republic in 1923. With maps and black-and-white photographs throughout. (ITL54, $18.95)
Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition  •  Norman Itzkowitz HISTORY •  1972 •  PAPER  • 118 PAGES This classic history, by a professor of Turkish studies at Princeton, summarizes the major themes and issues surrounding the Ottoman period with clarity. (TKY81, $13.00)
Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600  •  Halil Inalcik HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A scholarly study of the Ottoman Empire by a preeminent Turkish authority, originally published in 1973. Inalcik looks with special interest at the role of warfare and religion in daily life. With black-and-white illustrations. (TKY75, $24.99)
Ottoman Turkey, Islamic Architecture  •  Godfrey Goodwin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1977 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES An extended photo-essay on Islamic architecture focusing on the magnificent buildings constructed during the Ottoman period in Turkey. (TKY31, $20.00)
The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923  •  Justin McCarthy HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 406 PAGES Written by a historian who has a way with words, this book is a vivid overview of the history, customs and traditions of Ottoman Turkey for the curious general reader. It covers not only the history of the Ottoman Empire but also society, environment and everyday life. With many helpful maps and illustrations. (TKY36, $62.40)
The Ottomans, Dissolving Images  •  Andrew Wheatcroft HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES A survey of four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule, focusing particularly on Western perceptions of the Ottoman empire. Wheatcroft, who teaches history at Cambridge, includes much detailed information on Istanbul and Ottoman court culture. (TKY74, $14.95)
The Oxford History of Byzantium  •  Cyri Mango HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER An illustrated survey of the sweep of Byzantium, its culture, religion, politics, art and architecture, by a team of scholars. The diverse thematic essays cover the whole period from founding of Constantinople to the Ottoman conquest. (EUR210, $55.00)
Passage to Ararat  •  Michael J. Arlen  •  Clark Blaise BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  PAPER  • 293 PAGES Winner of the 1976 National Book Award, this is the memoir of a man searching for his Armenian roots. Growing up in a family that has abandoned its connection to Armenia after the genocide of 1915, author Michael J. Arlen decides to take a journey into the past, where he discovers the painful history of his people. (CCS11, $15.00)
Passionate Nomad, the Life of Freya Stark  •  Jane Fletcher Geniesse BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES Dame Freya Stark, called the "last of the Romantic travelers" by The Times of London, ventured into the forbidden territory of Druze, became the first woman to explore Luristan in western Iran and was credited with reducing sabotage against the Allies on the eastern front with her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and life. Before she was knighted by the Queen of England at the age of 82, Stark had documented her adventures in 30 books and was honored by the Royal Geographical Society for her cartographic achievements, among other accomplishments. In addition to depicting Stark's journeys, the biographer (a former "New York Times" reporter) sensitively unveils details of the complex, personal life of this "poet of travel." (MDE28, $15.95)
Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates  •  Paul Dallman NATURAL HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 210 PAGES Richly illustrated, clearly written and engaging, this book is an ecological overview of the landscapes, plants and vegetation types found in Mediterranean climates. It's an eye-opening guide to California, Chile, South Africa, Australia and -- naturally -- the Mediterranean. (MED21, $35.95)
Portrait of a Turkish Family  •  Irfan Orga BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2003 •  PAPER  • 332 PAGES This splendid memoir of life in Istanbul in the years surrounding World War I captures the spirit and flavor of the city in the last days of the Ottoman empire. It is also a poignant account of struggling to get along under very difficult circumstances. Born into a privileged family, Orga's fate changed radically with the defeat of the Ottomans and the changes brought about by Atatürk and the founding of the Turkish republic in 1923. With chapters entitled Introducing the Family, Disillusionment of an Autocrat, and The End of The Story. Orga's son supplies an illuminating forward for this edition, filling in biographical details. (TKY83, $32.95)
The Private World of Ottoman Women  •  Godfrey Goodwin CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 263 PAGES For those particularly interested in the role of women in the Ottoman empire, this far-ranging book explores the world of women from all levels of society during six centuries of rule, including harem life, court ceremony, travel and domestic affairs. (TKY34, $24.95)
Race of Scorpions  •  Dorothy Dunnett LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 534 PAGES An absorbing tale of political intrigue set in the 15th-century Ottoman empire and throughout the Mediterranean. It's volume three of Dunnett's masterful "House of Niccolo" series, the story of Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, a young dyer's apprentice who gets caught up in the rivalry for the throne of Cyprus. The characters may be fictitious but the historical footing is solid and the setting credible. (MED33, $15.95)
The Rage of the Vulture  •  Barry Unsworth LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 443 PAGES An atmospheric novel set in Constantinople during the last gasp of the Ottoman Empire by the Booker-Prize winner author (who once taught English in Istanbul). The protagonist is a British foreign service officer with a secret. (TKY119, $14.95)
Rough Guide Turkey  •  Rosie Ayliffe  •  Mark Dubin  •  John Gawthrop GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 1072 PAGES A comprehensive guide to the history culture and attractions of Trurkey for the visitor. (TKY48, $24.99)
Sailing From Byzantium, How A Lost Empire Shaped The World  •  Colin Wells HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES A history of the Byzantine empire and its cultural, artistic, religious, philosophical, and scientifc legacy. (TKY130, $14.00)
Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950  •  Mark Mazower HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES In this inviting book, part history and part travelogue, Mazower chronicles the fate of Christians, Jews and Muslims in Salonica through Ottoman rule, Europeanization, and devastations of WWII. At the crossroads of the Aegean in Northern Greece, Thessaloniki (as the city was originally founded and is known today) has been a place of commerce and coexistence since its days as a Byzantine port. Mazower, professor of history at Columbia University, is the author of The Balkans: A Short History. He writes with authority and verve. (GRE232, $16.95)
Secret History  •  G. A. Williamson  •  Procopius HISTORY •  1982 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES A classic and compulsively readable account of the mores and manners of elite society at the court of Emperor Justinian. This is historical mudslinging only a Byzantine could devise, a withering expose of the scandals, intrigues and infidelities of the splendid empire and its rulers by none other than its official historian. This guy had a major ax to grind, which translator G.A. Williamson considers in the long introduction to the author and book. (TKY11, $14.00)
The Seed and the Soil, Gender and Cosmology in Turkish Village Society  •  Carol Delaney HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES Drawing on her work in a mountain village in Central Anatolia in the 1980s, Stanford professor Carol Delaney examines attitudes toward family and social relations, gender, marriage and religion. (TKY120, $27.50)
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush  •  Eric Newby TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 255 PAGES • FAVORITE Newby wrote a string of memorable books of his adventures, often on a bicycle, but sometimes by foot or train, usually with his wife Wanda. This, one of his earliest, is a superb example of the misguided lark, an account of a comically ill-prepared jaunt in the Naristan mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. "People like it," he explained, "when things go wrong." (CAS32, $14.99)
Sons of the Conquerors, The Rise of the Turkic World  •  Hugh Pope HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES Istanbul-based journalist Hugh Pope interweaves travel, history, interview and observation in these essays about Turks and Turkic speaking people across Inner Asia. Pope (Turkey Unveiled) is the Istanbul correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. (TKY104, $19.95)
The Spirit of Mediterranean Places  •  Michel Butor TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1986 •  PAPER  • 147 PAGES • FAVORITE In this remarkable short book, the celebrated French novelist chronicles his travels to Mallia in Crete, Delphi, Salonica, Ferrara and Mantua in Northern Italy, Cordova, Istanbul and Egypt, where Butor spent a year as a young man. It's an absorbing, wonderfully appreciative account of the region, a favorite of ours. (MED03, $13.95)
Sufism  •  A.J. Arberry RELIGION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES The first concise yet highly informative history of Sufi teachings. (ISL42, $9.95)
They Burn the Thistles  •  Margaret E. Platon  •  Yashar Kemal LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 424 PAGES Memed, the protagonist of Kemal's "Memed, My Hawk," returns in one of the author's finest novels, which finds him fleeing through the mountains from his enemies. (TKY136, $15.95)
A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan  •  Christiane Bird CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 405 PAGES An intrepid British travel writer, Bird (Neither East nor West) journeys the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria for this insightful profile of the Kurdish people, their culture and future in Central Asia. (IRN44, $14.95)
Travelers' Tales, A Woman's Europe  •  Marybeth Bond  •  Mary Morris ANTHOLOGY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 298 PAGES This entertaining collection depicts Europe through the eyes of a diverse group of women writers, including Frances Mayes, Jan Morris and Mary Morris. These humorous and well-written true stories capture the misadventures, discoveries and slices of life that the continent (and travel!) has to offer. (EUR160, $17.95)
A Traveller's Companion to Istanbul  •  Laurence Kelly HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES Laurence draws on diaries, letters, memoirs, histories and novels in putting together this handy anthology as told through an illuminating selection by writers, foreign and Turkish, over the ages. (TKY122, $16.95)
TravelTalk Turkish  •  Penton Overseas LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2004 •  HARD COVER A combination Lonely Planet phrasebook and one-hour audio CD, designed as an introduction for the traveler. The CD, which is divided into 18 short lessons, covers 300 key words and phrases. (TKY124, $16.95)
The Treasures and Pleasures of Turkey  •  Ron Krannich GUIDEBOOK •  2002 •  PAPER  • 278 PAGES A guide to traveling and shopping in Turkey. With an introductory chapter on shopping treasures and rules for Success, along with what to look for throughout the country. Istanbul gets its own chapter. The focus is on artisans, craftspeople, and shopkeepers. (TKY96, $16.95)
Troilus and Cressida  •  William Shakespeare LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A Signet Classics edition of the play, set in Troy. (GBR498, $5.95)
Troy and Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery  •  Latacz Joachim ARCHAEOLOGY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 368 PAGES Latacz offers the latest archaeological evidence to argue that the Troy of Homer's Iliad was an ancient city, not the poet's invention. (TKY131, $75.00)
Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey  •  Hugh Pope HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 395 PAGES Written by a husband and wife team based in Istanbul, this engaging popular history focuses on the many paradoxes of Turkey since World War I. It's an opinionated, revealing portrait of the nation by two knowledgeable journalists. (TKY33, $22.95)
Turkey, A Modern History  •  Erik Zurcher HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 245 PAGES A lively historical account of the Turkish state from 1780 to the establishment of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923. Special attention is given to the "Young Turk" movement and Kemil Ataturk in this comprehensive volume. It's the best single guide to the complex history of modern Turkey, well written and opinionated. Revised. (TKY10, $28.95)
Turkish Cooking, a Culinary Journey through Turkey  •  Carol Robertson FOOD •  1996 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES A portmanteau travel guide and cookbook, organized geographically. (TKY88, $24.95)
Turkish Traditional Art Today  •  Henry Glassie ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 947 PAGES A scholarly, well illustrated survey of the artisans, rugmakers, potters and craftsmen, and the diversity of arts and crafts. With photographs by the author, this huge book documents the diversity of wares throughout Turkey. (TKY60, $89.95)
Turkish, A Rough Guide Phrasebook  •  Rough Guide LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES An A-Z pocket dictionary, phrasebook and mini-guide to the Turkish language. (TKY61, $6.99)
Turkish, Start Speaking Today  •  Educational Services Corporation LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2004 •  AUDIO CD A 90-minute crash course in Turkish for travelers on audio CD with a phrasebook. The course follows the foreign service method -- which focuses on dialogues and useful sentences instead of individual words. In each case, an English phrase is spoken once, and repeated in Turkish twice. Topics include introductions, transportation, business and health. (TKY106, $21.95)
The Turks Today  •  Andrew Mango HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 292 PAGES A concise history of Turkey since the death of Ataturk in 1938. In part II, Mango (the author of a biography of Ataturk) considers modern Turkey, its society, economy, politics and prospects. (TKY90, $17.95)
Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600  •  David Roxburgh ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 512 PAGES This sumptuously illustrated book, published in conjunction with an exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts, showcases the art and culture of Turkish speakers, not just in Turkey but from the Bosphorus across Asia to westernmost China. With 500 color photographs of artifacts from the Topkapi Museum and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul. (TKY105, $90.00)
The Voyage of Argo  •  Apollonius of Rhodes  •  Emil V. Rieu LITERATURE •  1977 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES The story of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Aided by a map and a glossary, Emil V. Rieu's translation of the original epic by Apollonius of Rhodes, is readable and informative. A classic in the works of Greek mythology. (GRE91, $14.00)
Walking the Bible, A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses  •  Bruce Feiler TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES This illuminating account of a 10,000-mile odyssey across the Biblical lands of the Middle East is part travelogue, part pilgrimage, and part quest for religious meaning. Feiler is accompanied by Israeli archaeologist Avner Goren. (MDE50, $14.95)
Wallpaper City Guide Istanbul  •  Wallpaper Magazine GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 103 PAGES A stylish, thin (it fits in your back pocket) city guide compiled by the design magazine Wallpaper's local reporters. Well-organized, with chapter tabs, many photographs and of-the-moment recommendations. (TKY133, $8.95)
The Western Shores of Turkey, Discovering the Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts  •  John Freely GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 403 PAGES In this excellent overview to the ancient sites of the Turkish coast from Istanbul to Antalya for the traveler, Freely discusses fabled sites from Gallipoli to Antioch, Pergamum, and Ephesus and Halicarnassus. Originally published in 1988. (TKY07, $22.50)
The White Castle, A Novel  •  Orhan Pamuk LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 161 PAGES The American debut by the Novel Prize-winning Turkish author and perhaps his most immediately accessible book. A tale of the tension between East and West set in the 17th century, it's the story of the relationship between an Ottoman astronomer and his look-alike slave, an Venetian scholar captured on the high seas. Palmuk's other novels include Snow (TKY93) and My Name is Red (TKY68). (TKY129, $12.95)
A Woman's Asia  •  Marybeth Bond ANTHOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 310 PAGES These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright. (ASA49, $17.95)