TURKEY
 
Turkey unveiled: Ataturk and after
Nicole Pope, Hugh Pope
Lively, confident analysis of the country's history and politics
 
A modern history of the Kurds
David McDowell
Good book on the Kurds' struggle for nationhood
 
Ottomans
Jason Goodwin
A history of the Turkish empire
 
My name is Red
 
Ohran Pamuk

Outstanding novel; a profound, philosophical thriller by Turkey's greatest writer