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)