Shattering Empires

by Michael A. Reynolds

I am sure many of you are familiar with the book your professor assigned where he was the author, or the guy who is writing a book ad had his students do his research.   Right?  Well this book smacks of this syndrome.  There are lots of bibliography notes (research notes) and some conclusions drawn by the author at the end of each chapter.  And yes I read this book with the same approach.  Upon completing the book, that was as disjointed as can be, I have little idea what the author’s thesis was.  Sure it’s about the collapse of both the Ottoman and the Russian Empires, and the book attempts to explain why…my conjecture for now.  For sure the author spends 90 percent of the Ottoman theme on Anatolia, leaving eastern Ottoman Empire mostly ignored.  Apparently, according to this author Russia’s demise did not go past Crimea and the Caucasus. This may be a common thinking for the average American bear, but not for someone who takes a position of authority such as this author on two empires.  And why did he leave out the Austro-Hungarian Empire?  It collapsed in the same time frame too.   There seems to be four themes in the book:

1. Ethnicity
2. Decentralized administering of government, specifically tax collection.
3. Colonization of the Great Powers, external pressure, interference, thus need for a defense.
4. Russian meddling in Ottoman affairs in their quest for a warm water port.

The supporting facts, well documented through end of chapter bibliographies, suggests to many that the common phenomenon, nationalism, best explains the empire’s deaths.  It is therefore, little surprise that historians of the Ottoman empire and the Middle East have traditionally approached the late Ottoman period not so much as the final era but as the prelude to (or resumption of) several distinct national histories.  If indeed he were accurate, he would owe the reader a broad conclusive statement to this affect in the onset.  Each chapter has a conclusion, but the book fails to tie them all together.  I made my own crib notes while reading the book.  Perhaps taking them all down may make some sense of it.  Here goes.

Before you read on I must inform the reader that in reading Birds Without Wings you become much better informed of the Atrocities of the Christian Greeks, Serbians, and Bulgarians waged upon the Muslims in that region.  Its a wonder why Ottomans equally in turned expelled Christians from Anatolia.  I am appauled that the author did not provide this level of detail of the now European  aspect.  It makes this book a tragic expose in history re-making. The professor/author should be shot.

Bibliography:  As of this date it’s still in draft.  It contains many comments of my own.  See details in previous entry of this post