This is one of those instances where I think we're justified in devoted a thread to an entire chapter. I love the narrative structure of this chapter -- it's almost like a Borges story in the way it's brevity and arrangement. I found myself enthralled by section III, where Fromkin presents the results of some archival revelations about the whole scenario, the secret treaties, the double cross, withheld information that secured a dying giant some measure of protection with as little personal committment as possible. I think that, more than anything, demonstrates the Young Turks' position at that particular moment in time -- they felt themselves to be so fatally vulnerable that they were willing to wager more than they had to ensure the commitment of some strong ally. Very tense stuff.

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Ain't got a name, just a current address.

Chapter Six does have a labyrinthine quality to it. That Section III could be a quirky Postscript. I also like the detail that the secret treaty signed by Germany that wasn't supposed to be needed terminated in December 1918 (just after the end of the actual war). Needs a different title, though. How about "Enver's Game"?

Quote:

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How about "Enver's Game"?

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Thanks!

Enver, in this Chapter, is my hero. Yes, they must have been feeling vulnerable, tired of the European powers ignoring them politically, but taking whatever advantage they could economically. Enver and his crew, in this situation, had some great 'intel' to have some intimation of what Churchill was planning, and to make the correct assessment from the clues given. And the gumption to turn around to Germany and say: 'Hey, how 'bout these ships?' -- utterly ballsy. (I wonder what his stress levels were like at the time?)

"All beings are the owners of their deeds, the heirs to their deeds."

Loricat's Book Nook
Celebrating the Absurd

I just finished Ch. 7, which confirms Enver's status as a pivotal figure in Turkey's entrance to the war. He appears to be, at the end of this chapter, a great deal more hand-cuffed than the warship episodes found him.

Loricat: Enver, in this Chapter, is my hero.

Enver is quite a character, and he is around for most of the book. Chapter 56, which is primarily about Enver after the end of the war, might be the best in the book.