Turkey: The Passenger

Description

'The Big Dig' by Elif Batuman 'A Story of Dust and Light' by Burhan Sonmez 'An Author Recommends' by Elif Shafak Plus: the thirty-year coup and the dam that is washing away 12,000 years of history, and more. The birth of the "New Turkey," as the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called his own creation, is an exemplary story of the rise of "illiberal democracies" through the erosion of civil liberties, press freedom, and the independence of the judicial system. Turkey was a complex country long before the rise of its new sultan: born out of the ashes of a vast multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire, Turkey has grappled through its relatively short history with the definition of its own identity. Poised between competing ideologies, secularism and piousness, a militaristic nationalism and exceptional openness to foreigners, Turkey defies easy labels and categories. Through the voices of some of its best writers and journalists- many of them in self-imposed exile-The Passenger tries to make sense of this fascinating, maddening country, analyzing how it got to where it is now, and finding the bright spots of hope that allow its always resourceful, often frustrated population to continue living, and thriving.

"These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home." * The TLS * "Few travel guides are confident enough to tell the stories of a destination's complex realities as well as those of their beauty. [The Passenger] has a strong focus on storytelling, with pages given over to a mix of essays, playlists and sideways glances at subcultures and thorny urban issues." * The Stack * "Half-magazine, half-book . . . think of [The Passenger] as an erudite and literary travel equivalent to National Geographic, with stunning photography and illustration and fascinating writing about place." * Independent.ie (Best series of the year - 2021) * "The Passenger readers will find none of the typical travel guide sections on where to eat or what sights to see. Consider the books, rather, more like a literary vacation--the kind you can take without braving a long flight in the time of Covid-19." * Publisher's Weekly * "Fresh and diverting, informative and topical without being slight or ephemeral [...] This supremely well-edited combination of current affairs, journalism, commentary, and fun facts is perfect for our pause-button moment." * Australian Financial Review (Best Books of the Year) * "Tremendously eclectic and classily produced . . . each volume gets under the skin of a country or a city in a multifaceted way that feels essential in these times of narrowing national horizons." * The Bookseller *