Sean McMeekin. The Ottoman Endgame

Sean McMeekin’s The Ottoman Endgame: War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908–1923, follows a familiar path in introducing the significance of the First World War in the Middle East. Like other recent works surveying the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, the book treats the Great War as a crucible upon which the modern Middle East was forged. A clear understanding of the war and its outcomes, the author suggests, provides a necessary foundation for anyone seeking insights into the violence and instability of contemporary Middle Eastern affairs. Ottoman Endgame’s account of the period provides readers a rich narrative and engaging perspective on the fighting and the diplomacy that brought the empire to its end. Yet how McMeekin renders the empire’s internal affairs, especially from the perspective of locals on the ground, remains somewhat problematic. Where The Ottoman Endgame excels most is in its tone and pace. Like Sean McMeekin’s other works, the prose of this study is compelling and enjoyable. At no point does the retelling or explanation of the events needlessly digress or lag. Beginning with the political tensions that consumed the reign of Abdülhamit II in the late nineteenth century and ending with the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the book presents a swiftly moving narrative that is highly accessible, especially for readers with little familiarity with the First World War in the Middle East. Scholastically the book benefits significantly from its use of a range of European diplomatic sources. McMeekin brings particularly new insight into the negotiations that defined Istanbul’s entrance into the war, as well as into the internal reasoning and interests that determined the various war plans considered by members of the Entente. A sound collection of archival sources also contributes to the book’s treatment of the various campaigns comprising World War I’s Middle Eastern theater. Be it with respect to Ottoman Endgame’s thorough survey of the Battle of Gallipoli, or to its reflection upon less-known fronts (such as in North Africa and Iran), the book was clearly composed with an eye toward appealing to casual readers and scholars of military history alike.

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