Product Description

In his major new work, Wall Street Journal Istanbul correspondant Hugh Pope provides a vivid picture of the Turkic people, descendants of the nomadic armies that conquered the Byzantine Empire and reigned over the region for centures. Today the Turks encompass a region much larger than the political boundaries of the nation of Turkey - from the Xinjiang province of western China, to Iran, Iraq, the Netherlands, Germany, all the way to the Appalacian Mountains of the United States. One of the world's foremost experts on modern Turkey - its languages, people, and history - and acclaimed co-author of Turkey Unveiled (a New York Times Notable Book), Hugh Pope has traveled the world to encounter and assimilate the many facets of this extraordinarily complex and fascinating ethnic group, distilling the essentail qualities shared by all people of Turkish descent. Rich with stories and legends stretching back centuries, Sons of the Conquerors is a compellingly readable account of a profoundly neglected subject.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #612901 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Delving deep into a world most westerners are shamefully ignorant of, this highly readable collection of essays about Turkic people from Virginia to Xinjiang, China, buzzes with life and personality even as it explains topics as obscure as the inner workings of Azerbaijani politics. Pope, who also wrote (with Nicole Pope) Turkey Unveiled and is the Istanbul correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, has a knack for storytelling and an inexhaustible store of novelistic details-the pop of a weld torch, for example, as an Istanbul ironworker explains that UFOs are proof that Americans have djinns (evil spirits) instead of souls. The only real flaw in this appealing, affectionate portrait of the Turkic world (a term that includes all Turkish speakers, not only those who live in Turkey) is that all this vivid reporting can't compensate for a relative lack of big-picture analysis. The book's dozens of otherwise deft capsule histories of obscure corners of the world have an oddly free-floating quality, unmoored from any clear geopolitical understanding. It is perhaps this that gives some of Pope's conclusions a tossed-off feeling. "Bulgarian Turks still do not really trust the Bulgarians," he writes in a chapter about the persecution of the former by the latter, before breezily concluding, without offering any supporting evidence, that "the edge is off the conflict." Pope's gift for accessible writing make this an excellent first book for anyone interested in the subject, even if its dearth of analysis means it shouldn't be the last.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
With the end of the Soviet Union began independence for a half-dozen Turkic countries, where Istanbul-based reporter Pope has made forays for the past 15 years, traveling in both presidential airliners and faltering taxis. Pope does not organize his trips chronologically, but, rather, according to what he believes are the seven collective characteristics of Turkic peoples. One is the "military vocation" epitomized by Turkey itself, whose military is regarded as the guardian of secularism; a concomitant trait is predilection for the political strongman. None of the new Turkic states is a liberal democracy, and none less so than Turkmenistan, home to a shambolic personality cult devoted to its dictator. Pope's talks with officials are always revelatory of local and international politics, but readers will most value his perceptiveness about Turkic culture when he, speaking fluent Turkish, meets ordinary people. Some of these are Uygurs, the Turkic minority suppressed by communist China, and others are part of the Turkic diaspora in Europe and America. A sensitive presentation of how Turks view themselves and their future. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The Economist magazine, may 19th, 2005
He (Pope) has produced the most comprehensive work on the Turks today. (It) overflows with hilarious anecdotes and distinctive characters.

Customer Reviews

superb work on Turkey and Turkic world
A surprizingly large expanse of territory across the globe is inhabited by Turkish and Turkic peoples. Pope's fascinating and comprehensive work is among the most important books, and best written on the subject whether providing the reader with a significantg understanding of the importance of the Army on Turkish politics, insights on Turkish history presence in the Balkans or focusing more general on Turkish history and its major figures.
However, the history, politics, economy and social worlds of Turkey is only part of the story of the Turkic people. Pope describes their diverse life worlds and politics on the Steppe of Cental Asia and also as against competitors in this vast area such as the Russians and the Chinese and also with important emphasis on the rush for oil. This is a very bold and extremely well written saga of the Turkic world in the context of the wider world system. A fabulous read, don't miss it.

A Journalist's Diary in the Turkic World
Hugh Pope presents a good understanding of Turkish culture having lived in Turkey and been able to speak in Turkish. I have long been thinking about why somebody has not made a documentary at this level about new Turkic states and Turkic world in general so that the world can see how those countries culturally are and how they are being run. Reading Hugh Pope's book you get a chance to visualize through his vivid explanations and stories. His starting point is Istanbul, Turkey. He then takes on his journey to Turkic states. It was also comprehensive enough to include Turkic people spread out throughout the world including Europe, Mid-east, China (The Uygur Turks) and USA.

Nicely written book from a journalist/traveller's point of view. Highly recommended to those who are interested in Turkic people, current Turkic states, their regimes, struggles, opportunities and also recommended to people of modern Turkey.

For Those Who Know Nothing About the Turkic World
Hugh Pope's "Sons of the Conquerors" is a good book for those who know nothing about the Turkic world and who are interested to learn more. Appearing heavy at just short of 400 pages, this is not heavy academics. Pope writes as a journalist, keeping the reading light and the chapters short. This is a book that can be read on the subway or on a lunch break.

The subjects are fascinating: The Turks of modern Turkey, four of the five "Stans" (Tajiks excluded, as they are closer to Persians), and a few lesser-known Turkic peoples like the Uyghurs of China and the Karakalpaks of western Uzbekistan. Mr. Pope is a journalist and not a historian, so the book is collection of personal observations and experiences (some less memorable than others) taken over a period of ten-odd years, from the last years of the USSR to the first years of the post 9-11 world. Educators might use the book as a companion to more academic work or as further reading.

The biggest flaw, or flaws, of the book is the editing. Misspelled words, awkward sentences missing words, and a few mistakes (the Appalachians are in the eastern U.S., not the west) make for a poor showing on the editor's part. These frequent errors give the work an impression it was rushed to print; in this age of Wikipedia and Spellcheck such petty mistakes are really quite inexcusable.

Nevertheless "Sons of the Conquerors" was an enjoyable and fascinating read.