An excellent history of a rather forgotten and mis-understood piece of First World War history. This is a subtle and balanced review of the precursors and consequences of the war for the Ottoman lands, and puts a lot of history that we think we know well into perspective. Given how much of recent history has been shaped by these events – the Sykes-Picot agreement, the Balfour Declaration, and even in some ways the recent attempted military coup in Turkey – it deserves to be far better known and appreciated.

4/5. Finished Wednesday 12 October, 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)