The authors, who speak fluent Turkish and have reported from Turkey for 20 years, provide a rich mosaic of contemporary Turkey and its formative past. The strengths and weaknesses of the Ottoman Empire, the Armenian tragedy, the Kurdish struggle, the controversial legacy of the brilliant but autocratic founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, are all here. They also provide portraits of new leaders who have broken taboos and ushered in new freedoms at a time when other forces attempt to pull Turkey back into the Middle Eastern vortex.  (TKY33, $22.95)