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Murat Ozyuksel is Professor of History and Political Science at Istanbul University, Turkey.
'In this book, Murat Ozyuksel has analysed the role of the Hejaz Railway, using German and other European sources, but most prominently Ottoman archival materials. While earlier studies of railroads constructed in the sultans' domains often de-emphasized the Ottoman perspective, this study makes a novel contribution: reviewing the troubled history of the Hejaz Railroad, the author focuses on the political and military aims of Sultan Abdulhamid II, who pushed the project through in spite of the limited financial and economic benefits to be expected from the Hejaz line. Murat Ozyuksel's careful analysis of the sultan-caliph's projects and the impossibilities that often prevented their implementation makes his book a notable contribution to the growing number of historical studies concerning the Ottoman Empire during its final decades.' Surai ya Faroqhi , Professor of History, Istanbul Bilgi University. 'In this splendid study, Murat Ozyuksel places the history of the Hejaz Railroad, an effort by the Ottoman sultan to modernize and unify his empire, in the broader context of international history as well as the struggles among Muslim peoples of the Ottoman realm. This ambitious project ultimately failed, not because of Ottoman financial weakness, but because of Arab resistance and British and French opposition to extend the iron road of Ottoman power into the reaches of the Middle East. With a firm base in the Ottoman archives, and his deep knowledge of railroad construction, social, and political history, Ozyuksel demonstrates that however sick Europeans may have imagined the Ottoman Empire, its rulers were determined to survive in a hostile world.' Ronald Grigor Suny Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Social and Political History, The University of Michigan.
