5 books recommended by Atatürk to young people!

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who led the Turkish nation's War of Independence and crowned the victory achieved with the republic, also pioneered his people with the effort he showed on the path of 'cultural modernization'.

Aware of the three pillars of independence—military, economic, and cultural—Gazi Pasha never gave up on his ideal of creating a modern state.

So, have you ever wondered about the book recommendations of a leader who read books even amidst the many wars he participated in during his 57-year life?

We have compiled the books that the Gazi recommended for the younger generation to read.

Here are the books, each more valuable than the last, that Atatürk recommended to every young Turk;

1- The Land of White Lilies – Grigory Petrov

The Land of White Lilies is the story of how the country of Finland, consisting of swamps, lakes, and granite stones, developed and how it transformed into the “land of lilies.” It tells how Finland was reborn from its ashes through the effort and determination of a handful of people.

This book, which Mustafa Kemal Atatürk wanted to be recommended to all students and specifically to be taught as a mandatory text in military schools, is a bedside work for everyone.

Atatürk ordered this book to be included in the curriculum of military schools.

2- The Social Contract – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is the most important Romantic thinker and writer of the Enlightenment, which broke new ground in human history, from his Discourse on the Sciences and Arts to Emile, and from the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality to Confessions. The Social Contract (1762) has maintained its status as one of the most fundamental intellectual works regarding how societies live together since the day it was published.

3- The Wren (Çalıkuşu) – Reşat Nuri Güntekin

The novel tells the story of Feride, a child-spirited girl from a well-established Istanbul family, who dedicates herself to the teaching profession after being betrayed by her beloved fiancé and travels from city to city in Anatolia to earn a living. While describing an emotional event, The Wren also critically addresses social issues. The Wren is accepted as a novel that encouraged the beginning of a new and modern era in Turkey.

4- The Principles of Turkism – Ziya Gökalp

Ziya Gökalp, one of the important figures in the history of Turkish thought, culture, and politics, is a primary teacher who taught what it means to say “I am from the Turkish nation,” who the Turkish nation is, where it came from, and where it should go with his work titled The Principles of Turkism. Gökalp, who also prepared the ground for Turkish nationalism with these efforts, brought together the thoughts that had come to him in a scattered state, gave the name Turkism to this thought which found its true meaning, and determined the path the nation would follow from then on. Gökalp, who lived during the transition period from Empire to National-State, made sociological, cultural, and political evaluations on Turkish society and culture to find a solution to the confusion of people's minds at a time when they were perplexed, and these evaluations still maintain their validity today.

5- Belleten

Belleten is a journal published in Turkish every four months by the Turkish Historical Society since January 1937, featuring articles on language and history.

News Source: 12punto