Erdogan Rising

The Battle for the Soul of Turkey

By: Hannah Lucinda Smith

Narrated by: Hannah Lucinda Smith

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Everyone has heard of Erdogan: Turkey’s bullish, mercurial president is the original postmodern populist. Around the world, other strongmen are now following the path that he has blazed. For the first time, Erdogan Rising tells the inside story of how a democracy on the fringe of Europe has succumbed to dictatorship.

Hannah Lucinda Smith, Turkey correspondent with The Times of London, has witnessed all that has befallen Turkey and the wider region since the onset of the Arab Spring. From the frontlines of the wars in Syria and Eastern Turkey, through the refugee crisis and the attempted coup against Erdogan, she traces how chaos in the Middle East has blown back on a country that was once heralded as the model of Islamic democracy. With access to key insiders, she also paints a vivid portrait of Erdogan’s descent from flawed democrat to staunch authoritarian.

Erdogan Rising is a story rooted in Smith’s first-hand experiences of a country divided, told through the eyes of a rich cast of characters. She journeys into the Turkey where Erdogan commands a following so devoted they compose songs in his honour, adorn their houses with his picture, and lay down their lives to keep him in power. But on the other side - sometimes just a few hundred metres down the road - she also meets the Turks who are mourning the loss of the country they once knew.

Erdogan Rising serves as a chilling warning of democracy’s fragility - and reveals how much people can change.

©2019 Hannah Lucinda Smith (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Warm, funny, engaging and always informative, Smith's writing stands among the finest of a new generation of journalist authors. Essential reading - I was delighted by every page." (Anthony Loyd)

Overall fascinating profile of Erdogan’s Turkey

The book gives a interesting look inside Erdogan’s Turkey. The author provides quick profiles of key supporters and certain opponents of Erdogan, as well as laying out the political maneuverings of Erdogan. His populism has entrenched his supporters so deep in power that it will take the opposition years to dig out Erdogan’s machine. As an American there are some comparisons to be made with trump, particularly with his opponents. The democrats need to provide an actual alternative vision of America that appeals to the working class instead of being the no vote.

However, some nitpicks in some of the author’s descriptions. One is how she described the YPG military marches as North Korean-like. Personally I found it unnecessary to compare them to North Korea, I’ve seen their marches before and the YPG’s marches aren’t as choreographed as NK’s. I’d like to know why she thinks that they’re North Korean like? Second is when she described the Tsarnaev brothers as Kyrgyz. I had to double take on that because they were Chechen (despite being born in Kyrgyzstan) and identified as such.

Overall a good read.

Quite Good

Fascinating and well told story about, not just Erdogan, but also modern Turkish politics and identity.

Portrait of Modern-Day Turkey

As subtitle suggests, this is more of a portrait of the country than of Erdogan himself. He is brought into focus at key parts, but there are long stretches where his name isn't mentioned at all. Chapters cover a range of topics having to do with Turkey in the Erdogan era: border issues with Syria, the plight of Kurds and other minorities, Turkey's ambivalent relationship with the rest of Europe and the U.S., etc. I listened to it while on a trip to Turkey and it helped me to get a feeling for the country. A lot to what the author says was corroborated by the people I talked with. Her narration is great. I loved her voice, very easy to listen to. Sometimes, having the author narrate his or her own work can be a disaster, but in this case it was perfect.

Good introduction to Erdogan and present day Turkey’s political seen

Erdogan Rising provides a good overview of Erdogan, the man, and his rise to power. Smith includes profiles on a number of important figures including Atatürk, Davotoglu, Gullen, Öcalan, and a few others who have also shaped modern Turkey and Erdogan’s rise, or at least who shine light on Turkey’s present situation under Erdogan. Smith is a journalist so much of the book is a first person narrative. As such, it occasionally is a bit uneven in terms of its focus, with perhaps too much time devoted to her experience in Syria, as well as the relations between Turkey and her native UK. However, by capturing the stories of a diverse cast of characters (including Atatürk’s last remaining descendants, a man who has taken on a career as an Atatürk impersonator, the founder of Erdogan’s biggest mouthpiece in the media, a member of Turkey’s tiny Jewish community), Smith is able to give a reader a feeling of what Turkey is like in a way that a history book or political sketch cannot. Additionally, her narrating of her work is quite strong with a lot of authenticity in her voice. As someone who did not know much about Turkey before, I recommend this book if someone wants to get an introductory taste of one of the region’s and the world’s most important and fascinating figures as well as the country he increasingly rules with an iron fist.

Better than I thought it was going to be

The author dances around being a journalist thus impartial versus being a woman, a feminist, a Westerner, an individual, an investigator, a political oracle, a member of the oppressed, and a member of the elite as she tries to make her points.

the author freaks me out a bit because I don't know if I can trust her work, not that need to because I lived in Turkey for 13+ years and speak Turkish at a native level. I don't know if I can trust her because she has brought up some very good points in her book about Turkey but then she calls the United States a liberal democracy which thank God it has never been and will never be. US is a constitutional republic. This is very basic, yet she misses it, but she knows Adnan Menderes' upbringing quite well.

Self contradictory at times but, as I said it is much better than I thought it was going to be. Turkey is not an easy subject.

Fabulous historic, political, and cultural account of Erdoğan’s rise to power!

This is a fabulous historic, political, and cultural account of Erdoğan’s rise to power! It also captures the way he has maneuvered within Turkish culture and redrafted the national narrative well.

Fascinating, brave & the barer of a sad truth.

An enlightening and deeply informative piece. Perfectly choreographed & would highly recommend to anyone with a passion to further understand this ancient land & 'protector' from the East. Deeply moving. Thank you.

Best book of it's type on Turkey.

Wonderful look at a fascinating time. Author reads the book, providing accurate pronunciation of Turkish, and has access to a truly remarkable variety of sources.

Average read/listen.

If you’re the type to educate yourself about every world leader or of specific ones for particular reasons, this will likely disappoint or just be nominal at best. I thought it good background material for a person/country/topic of interest of mine but aside from a few standout details, the book is average at best.

very dissaponting

I saw the book in an audible and purchased it with enthusiasm. I have been living in Istanbul for the last 12 years and was truly interested in an objective outside view of this person who has been ruling Turkey for the last 20 years.
She starts with Erdogan but gets into details of terrorism, archeology anthropology linguistic history, and racial issues where she fails to understand most if not all of these topics and she forgets the topic of the book: Mr. Erdogan. she loses objectivity and therefore credibility. By chapter 10 I could not continue reading. I am sorry but I am disappointed. An observant journalist could have written all the bad things and whatever little good things about this person without really digging into topics where her knowledge does allow.