Judging by the cover imagery Sultan Abdul Hamid II, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, an Ottoman-era coin, and street scenes from old Istanbul this concise history traces Turkey's transformation across two major eras:
- The late Ottoman period, including the reign of Abdul Hamid II and the empire's political and social upheavals
- The transition to the modern Turkish Republic under Atatürk, covering the nation-building reforms that reshaped Turkish politics, society, and identity
Karpat's broader scholarship — including his studies of how state (miri) lands were transformed into private property, the rise of a new propertied middle class, and how migration reshaped Anatolia's ethno-cultural composition — suggests this concise volume distills decades of his research into an accessible single-volume narrative connecting the empire's final century to the founding of the Republic, making it a solid introductory text for readers wanting the "big picture" of Turkey's modern history from a leading authority in the field
