September 30, 2013 · 2:06 am

Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922 by Giles Milton

Years ago, for whatever reason I developed an unexplained curiosity about the Ottoman Empire. While this passing interest didn’t last very long, it lasted long enough to inspire me to read a few books on Turkish history. One of those books I happened to read described a horrible catastrophe that took place in 1922 in the city of Smyrna, located in what’s now called Turkey. Smyrna, an incredibly cosmopolitan city with strong commercial and cultural ties to communities across Europe, was a majority Christian city and home to more Greeks than the city of Athens. As the Greco-Turkish War came to a close Smyrna found itself occupied by the victorious Turkish army. As a horrific fire broke out and quickly spread across the city, Smyrna’s surviving non-Muslim population found itself on the city’s dockside anxiously trying to escape both the flames and the murderous Turkish Army. While thousands escaped, many did not. With its large Greek, Armenian and European expat communities dead or forced out, and much of the city burnt to the ground Smyrna was renamed Izmir and recast as a wholly Turkish city. Old Smyrna and all it represented ceased to exist.

About five years ago I happened to read that Giles Milton, author of White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa’s One Million European Slaves had written a book about the Smyrna tragedy. Oddly enough, even though I loved White Gold, whenever I saw a copy of his Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922 during my weekend library visits I never grabbed it. Finally, after five years of ignoring it on the library shelf I took it. And ya know what, I’m glad I did. Paradise Lost is a very good book.

There’s much to like about Paradise Lost. While Milton covers a lot ground in order to tell the story of Smyrna, his writing is very good. Considering the subject matter Milton keeps things fairly lively and not once did I find myself bored or distracted. His emphasis on telling the stories of individual people probably helped keep things interesting. Lastly, because of his detailed descriptions of life among the city’s many Greek, Armenian, British, French and Italian residents Milton’s book serves as nice reminder that until the middle part of the 20th century most sizeable Levantine cities were incredibly polyglot and ethnically diverse.

Just as he did with White Gold, Milton has crafted a history book that non academics like myself will enjoy reading. It makes a fine companion read to Mark Mazower’s incredibly well researched Salonica: City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950. It’s also inspired me read Christopher de Bellaigue’s Rebel Land: Unraveling the Riddle of History in a Turkish Town. as well as Nazim Hikmet’s novel Life’s Good, Brother. It’s starting to look like I’m once again inspired to read about Turkey. If that’s the case I can’t wait to get started. 

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Filed under Eastern Europe, Europe, History

September 29, 2013 · 10:03 pm

The Second Arab Awakening by Adeed Dawisha

I’ve mentioned in several posts that I’ve done a less than stellar job hosting the Middle East Reading Challenge. While I’ve contributed more than a few reviews as part of the challenge, quite frankly I could be doing more. Since a good leader leads by example, I’ll try a bit harder to read and review more Middle Eastern themed books. Maybe with a lot of hard work and a little luck I can finish strong after a slow start. A bit over idealistic perhaps but we’ll see what happens.

With all that in mind, let me get things rolling with my impressions and such of Adeed Dawisha’s The Second Arab Awakening: Revolution, Democracy, and the Islamist Challenge from Tunis to Damascus. Like many of the books you’ll see featured on this blog, I discovered Dawisha’s 2013 book while rummaging through the “new books” section at my public library. Thinking it would make a nice addition to the Middle East Reading Challenge I grabbed it. I began reading it later that evening and found myself rather enjoying it. Then a few days later I either lost interest, got distracted or hit a rough patch in the book and I quit reading it. But after a brief hiatus and was back at it reading away. After finishing it earlier this morning at a neighborhood coffee shop I asked myself the same question I always do after finishing a book: was it worth my time? Yes, it was.

Why was it worth it? What I liked the most about Dawisha’s book was his attempt to interpret the Arab Spring within the context of the larger scope of Arab history. Specifically, what is the relationship between the recent Arab Spring and that of an earlier tide of Arab and Pan-Arab nationalism which swept through the region in the 50s and 60s. According to Dawisha, while this revolutionary wave did overthrow much of the old colonial order, sadly it did not bring actual democracy to the Arab world. In one of history’s cruel ironic twists, those same revolutionaries who threw out the region’s corrupt colonial stooges ended up being more corrupt and repressive than the leaders they replaced. Dawisha’s book isn’t just a chronicle of how things have unfolded throughout the Arab world, but an attempt to understand if those recent political developments will help produce more progressive and freer societies.

In hopes of answering this question, Dawisha’s response is both detailed and nuanced. He freely admits he doesn’t have all the answers and I admire him for having the wisdom to say so. In pointing out yet another ironic twist, many of the region’s winners are Islamists who for years have denounced Western style democracy as being an affront to more divinely inspired forms of government. Now those same Islamists are actively campaigning in elections, with many of them achieving unprecedented success. But many are learning that getting elected is one thing but effectively governing is quite another. And to govern effectively, one must frequently compromise. Dawisha ends his book by concluding that the future of Arab democracy might be in the hands of Islamists who spent years fearing that very thing. Ironic indeed.

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Filed under Arab World, Area Studies/International Relations, Current Affairs, History, Islam, Middle East/North Africa

September 27, 2013 · 11:58 pm

Steve Inskeep does Karachi

I was first introduced to the city of Karachi thanks to a piece in The Economist magazine. As I read the article I was shocked by the magazine’s depiction of the Pakistani megacity of 14 million as a hotbed of ethnic violence, political instability, corruption and religious tension. To make matters worse, what little infrastructure the city possesses in no way come close to serving the needs of Karachi’s teeming millions, many of them considerably impoverished. On top of all of this, Karachi limps along as Pakistan’s commercial capital and most populous city, while the nation’s leadership must deal with a nuclear-armed India on one border and Taliban-led insurgency on the other. Interesting times indeed.

I have little doubt those arresting images came to mind once I stumbled upon Steve Inskeep’s Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi during one of my weekend library visits. Published in 2011, Instant City is NPR Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep’s boots on the ground look at the troubled city of Karachi and how it became the chaotic place it is today. To do this, Inskeep begins his book with a description of a religious procession by members of the city’s Shia community. From there he works backwards, examining Pakistan’s origins as a homeland for Indian Muslims and how the sudden influx of millions of those refugees would end up profoundly shaping the city’s destiny. From there Inskeep visits with activists, business leaders, professionals, politicians and commoners to help serve up a detailed and nuanced portrait of Karachi.

While I didn’t find Instant City wildly entertaining, I did find it highly informative, much like I did Edward Luce’s 2007 book In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India. Because of the book’s focus on life in a South Asian megacity, Instant City would make a pretty good follow-up read to Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found and Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity as well as novels like Cracking India and Partitions.

With all the time I’ve been devoting to Rose City Reader’s European Reading Challenge in addition to hosting the Middle East Reading Challenge (which pathetically needs to be a lot more time) I feel I’ve neglected books about South and East Asia. I’m hoping before the end of the year to turn that around a bit. Therefore, in the coming months get ready to read about more books that deal with the Indian Subcontinent, East Asian or places in between. With this part of the globe possessing much of the world’s population and being responsible for so much economic growth, how can I afford not to?

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Filed under Area Studies/International Relations, Current Affairs, History, Indian Subcontinent, Islam

September 15, 2013 · 9:48 pm

Karen Elliott House on Saudi Arabia

I always knew Saudi Arabia had its share of problems, but I never fully understood the scope and severity of those problems until last fall when I read John R. Bradley’s Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crises. Reading Bradley’s book I was shocked by his portrayal of Saudi Arabia as a feudal kingdom under assault from an array of inexorable and centrifugal forces. I walked away from Saudi Arabia Exposed wondering if sometime in the near future, the country will disintegrate into some sort of chaotic mess much like the Soviet Union did in the early 1990s. An alarmist way at looking at things perhaps, but considering Bradley’s insightful portrayal certainly not out of the question.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when during one of my public library visits, what did I stumble across but a copy of Karen Elliott House’s On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines – and Future. I can’t remember how I first heard about Elliott House’s 2012 book but when I saw it, I suddenly remembered I’d been wanting to read it. So, despite having far too many unread library books sitting at home, I swiped it. And why not? The book would make a great addition to Joy’s Back to School Reading Challenge as well as the Introverted Reader’s Nonfiction Reading Challenge. Of course, with me hosting the Middle East Reading Challenge I simply HAD to check out this book!

On Saudi Arabia is one of those books which at first I did not like. Not only did something about her writing style bug me, but I thought she spent too much time editorializing when she could have done a better job making her case by incorporating interviews and other first hand accounts. But the more I read her book, the more I was impressed with the scope and depth of her analysis. Yes, when it’s all said and done the book is her commentary on the desert kingdom. But it’s damn good one and should be taken seriously.

After reading On Saudi Arabia, one wonders how long the country can exist in its present form. Its ruling family, much like the old Soviet Politburo is bloated with an inner circle of aging leaders. Even though it’s the world’s largest oil exporter, the country’s petroleum industry employs relatively few native Saudis. On top of that, while oil exports generate fantastic wealth, that revenue has remained flat, but the nation’s population continues to skyrocket. Residents of the coastal and more cosmopolitan Hejaz resent those from the interior and more religiously conservative Najd and vice versa. And on top of all of this, as forces unleashed by the recent Arab Spring continue to play themselves out throughout the region, those in the Kingdom look nervously at a resurgent Iran and wonder what the future holds.

While I might still have a few misgivings about On Saudi Arabia, I’m willing to wager that Karen Elliott House is certainly on to something. Therefore, I find it difficult to not recommend her book to anyone wanting to understand today’s Saudi Arabia.

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Filed under Arab World, Area Studies/International Relations, Current Affairs, History, Islam, Middle East/North Africa

· 2:06 am

A Conspiracy of Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II

Recently, the Central branch of my public library organized a shelf display of books about World War II. As I casually inspected the intriguing array of books one of them caught my eye. Emma Werner’s A Conspiracy of Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II looked particularly promising. Because of the book’s Denmark setting, I could read it as part of Rose City Reader’s European Reading Challenge. It could also count it as part of Joy’s Back to School Reading Challenge, the Introverted Reader’s Nonfiction Reading Challenge as well as the Book Dragon’s Library Books Reading Challenge. So, with all those reading challenges in mind, of course I grabbed Werner’s A Conspiracy of Decency, adding it to the growing clutch of books under my arms and headed to the automated check-out machines.

After finishing Werner’s 2002 book about a week ago I’m glad I took a chance on it. While it’s probably not the most in-depth and sophisticated look at the Holocaust I’ve encountered, I thought her survey-like approach of the subject matter made for light but engaging reading. But her book’s greatest strength is the story itself: how the people of Denmark under Nazi occupation were able to save well over 90 per cent of the nation’s Jewish population is nothing short of miraculous.

After several highly placed individuals learned that Denmark’s 7000 plus Jews were to be forcibly deported over the course of an evening, plans were quickly set in motion to warn the country’s Jewish community of the Nazi’s evil plan. After hiding the Jews throughout the country, they were later ferried across in fishing boats to neutral Sweden. This was facilitated not only by the actions of willing Danes but by the inaction of sympathetic elements in the German navy, since many of them happened to be older reservists and/or military careerists who loathed the SS and Gestapo and therefore did not share their antisemitic ideology. (According to Werner, there are no recorded incidents of the German navy attacking these vessels or arresting their passengers) While in Sweden the younger refugees attended school with many children and some college students completing their studies thanks to Danish textbooks and study materials that were smuggled across the sound. (One student even continued his law school studies as he waited out the war in Sweden.) Others took jobs and continued their lives with comparatively little interruption. Amazingly, after Germany surrendered and the Jews returned to Denmark, many found their homes had been taken care of by their neighbors. Instead of finding their belongings looted many discovered that their plants had been watered and their household pets had been fed and taken care of. Compare this to a place like Poland, where close to 90 per cent of its Jewish population did not survive the war or France, where the Vichy collaborationist government was a willing participant in the deportations. Or places like Lithuania, where many nationalist elements actively took place in the killings.

But there were other contributing factors. Denmark was blessed by having a neutral neighbor separated by a narrow stretch of water. Denmark’s Jews were also able to flee to that neutral neighbor, Sweden, after the country adopted a more pro-Allied foreign policy once it began apparent that the tide of war had turned against Germany. In addition, unlike many part of Europe, Danish society was not plagued with antisemitism. Overall, Danish society had a high degree of civic engagement and many of its democratic institutions weren’t completely squashed by the Nazis. The mixture of good luck, good geography and good people all helped Denmark’s Jews survive one of humanity’s darkest hours.

This little known period of history makes for great reading. I feel quite lucky that I stumbled upon this book at my public library. Had it not been for them, I might never have read this book.

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Filed under Europe, History, Judaica

September 8, 2013 · 8:40 pm

Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956

From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.  – Winston Churchill

A few posts back, I mentioned that Janet Soskice’s The Sisters of Sinai stood a very good chance of making my personal year-end best of list. Of course I use the words “a very good chance” because who knows how many excellent books will I encounter before the end of the year. Encounter enough of them and before I know it The Sisters of Sinai ends up being knocked off its pedestal and relegated to the honorable mention list. But don’t lose any sleep Janet Soskice. I don’t think it’s going to happen.

However, I feel confident making one particular prediction: when 2013 comes to a close Anne Applebaum’s Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 will be on my personal year-end best of list. I can say this without hesitation because Applebaum’s 2012 book is by far the most intelligent and incredibly well-researched book I’ve read this year.

A good history book will tell you what happened. A great history book will tell you both how and why things happened. So it is with Iron Curtain. We all know that the Soviet Union dominated Eastern Europe for over 50 years. But in her book Applebaum, thoroughly and methodically shows the reader how and why the Soviet Union ruthlessly and systemically destroyed (or at the very least co-opted) the governing organs and public institutions of Eastern Europe in order to remake the region into its own repressive image. The result would be a collection of Soviet vassal states (Yugoslavia and Albania, even though not directly aligned with the USSR, would nevertheless remain Socialist dictatorships) until the Fall of Communism.

My only knock on this book is a slight one. Sometimes there’s so much information that one just has to take a break from reading Iron Curtain. But after a brief decompression I was back at it full throttle. At first I felt Applebaum should not have restricted the book’s scope to almost exclusively East Germany, Poland, Hungary and to a lesser degree Czechoslovakia. (Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia are mostly ignored. Albania is completely left out.) But the more I read, the more I quickly realized that this a terrific book. So who cares.

All excellent books should inspire one to read more, and Applebaum’s book is no exception. The obvious choice would be her prize-winning Gulag, which fortunately for me is sitting on my desk awaiting to be read. Another logical choice would be The Savage Continent, especially after I enjoyed hearing its author interviewed on Fresh Air. Even though it’s a tome I’d also like to give the late Tony Judt’s Post War a try. Lastly, inspired by Iron Curtain, this also might be a good time to read my copy of Bloodlands since it also deals with the same geographic area. (Any of these books, along with Iron Curtain make great choices for Joy’s Back to School Reading Challenge.) Sounds like I have my work cut out for me!

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Filed under Area Studies/International Relations, Eastern Europe, Europe, History

September 7, 2013 · 6:44 pm

The making of a Serbian warlord

Invariably, the lives of the most ruthless and despicable make for the most fascinating reading. No matter how evil and grandiose their exploits might have been, we readers relish the written accounts of their unsavory, yet larger than life adventures. We fear, condemn and revile them but let’s face it, we love reading about these kind of people. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed reading  Christopher S. Stewart’s 2008 book Hunting the Tiger: The Fast Life and Violent Death of the Balkans’ Most Dangerous Man. Yes, it was well-written. Yes, the pace flowed nicely. Yes, I thought the book’s editor did a fine job. But in the end, it was Stewart’s chronicle of Serbian criminal mastermind turned genocidal warlord Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic that makes this book a winner.

And who, you might ask is this Arkan person? Son of a high level Serbian officer in the former Yugoslav army, the rebellious and highly intelligent Arkan began soon to be infamous life with a youthful crime spree of robbery and mayhem before fleeing Yugoslavia for the greener pastures of capitalist Europe. After a string of burglaries, bank robberies, prison breaks (and marriages) across Western Europe (as well as one bold criminal operation in which he and his accomplices sprung a fellow gang member from a courthouse as he awaited his trial) he embarked on a second career as a contract killer in the service of the Yugoslav intelligence agency. After carrying out a series of successful assassinations against Yugoslavia’s enemies, he returned to his homeland to pursue his criminal activities.

Once war came to the former Yugoslavia, Arkan’s career would take yet another twisted direction. Starting with his band of Serbian soccer hooligan and hand-picked ex-convicts, Arkan’s forces wrecked bloody mayhem across Bosnia and Croatia. When the international community slapped an economic embargo on Serbia, Arkan and his cronies got filthy rich smuggling black market goods. Then, once the war died down he married once again, this time to the beautiful and up and coming singer Ceca, referred to by many as Serbia’s Madonna. But eventually, after the political winds shifted Arkan’s past finally caught up with him. In January of 2000 he would be assassinated in a hail of gunfire in the lobby of an upscale Belgrade hotel. Just like all infamous but larger than life characters his death would cause many to mourn, many to celebrate, but all to take notice.

If you’re looking for answers to how and why the former nation of Yugoslavia descended into such bloody chaos, then this is your book. Hunting the Tiger makes great follow-up reading to other books about the Yugoslav Wars, books like Peter Maass’ Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War and Misha Glenny’s The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War. I have no problem recommending this excellent book.

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Filed under Area Studies/International Relations, Eastern Europe, Europe, History