The Turk in America: The Creation of an Enduring Prejudice

Utah Series in Middle East Studies

by Justin A. McCarthy

In The Turk in America, historian Justin McCarthy seeks to explain the historical basis for American prejudice towards Turks in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  The volume focuses on fraudulent characterizations of Turks, mostly stemming from an antipathy in Europe and America toward non-Christians, and especially Muslims.  Spanning one hundred and fifty years, this history explores the misinformation largely responsible for the negative stereotypes of Turks during this period.

611 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2010

About the author

American demographer, professor of history.

His area of expertise is the history of the late Ottoman Empire.

McCarthy has attracted most attention for his views on the Armenian Genocide, occurring during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Most genocide scholars label these massacres as genocide, but McCarthy views them as part of a civil war, triggered by World War I, in which equally large numbers of Armenians and non-Armenians died.

Reviews

[Sterling · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thesis: McCarthy argues that the negative stereotype created of the Turkish people in the late 1800s in American was intentionally perpetuated into the 1900s until slightly after the end of World War I.

He argues his thesis quite well and to an extreme. He is incredibly, ridiculously repetitive.

As someone new to international relations between Turkey and the United States, I was a little confused about some of the events that he mentions. He does describe all the examples he provides, but I think he could have done a better job making this book accessible to readers unfamiliar with the subject.

In some parts of the book, McCarthy's feelings are very apparent. He is sometimes a little snarky and sarcastic, which makes it more entertaining.

If I wasn't reading this for a class I would not have finished it.