This is an interesting and enlightening book. I saw a review of it in the Hürriyet Daily News (an English language Turkish newspaper) or otherwise would have missed it. The author, Mustafa Aksakal, has written the first book I have found to take a comprehensive and believable look at the entrance of the Ottoman Empire into World War I.Most books take one of two approaches: either the Ottomans were duped by an expansionist Germany, or Enver Pasha manipulated an incompetent Ottoman government into the war. By delving deep into the records of Turkey, Germany, France and Russia (which have been depleted by war, disinterest and, sometimes, deliberate cleansing) Aksakal has thrown light and understanding on the events of 1914."The Ottoman Road to War" shows that a myriad of conflicting self-interests prodded the several nations towards a result that was neither inevitable nor planned. Anyone with a bit of knowledge of the period and the region will find this book imminently believable. It is an excellent example of scholarship.Most histories are filtered by hindsight. Aksakal has reviewed the documents that are available, evaluating them in terms of what was known and believed by the various parties at the time the decisions were being made. In doing so, he has shown that nations with conflicting interests can find themselves led into situations that are, with hindsight, both foolish and self-destructive.The Ottomans of 1914 had just suffered a century of reverses and humiliations. Much of its Empire had been lost. Neighboring states (former colonies) were thirsting for revenge. Seen as the "Sick Man of Europe", the remains of the Empire were preserved largely because the great powers each feared that the others might gain too much by its final dismemberment. The Turks, proud and humiliated, saw war as the only means by which to re-enervate themselves.This is one of the best books I have read, both for its style and its treatment of the subject. My only reservation is that a reader with little or no knowledge of early 20th Century Balkan relationships ought to read a general history of the region before tackling "The Ottoman Road to War in 1914". I recommend "The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913", by Jacob Gould Schurman, which I have read twice and is available for free on Kindle books.