Collection of Books Read by Atatürk
Collection of Books Read by Atatürk
Discover Our Collection of Books Read by Atatürk
The Eyüboğlu Educational Institutions' “Collection of Books Read by Atatürk” is a rare book collection formed by gathering the editions from that period of the works that Atatürk read, underlined, and took notes in, which are housed in the Atatürk Private Library at the Anıtkabir Museum. This collection includes works written in Turkish as well as in different languages such as Ottoman Turkish, French, and English.
Highlighted with 100 books for the 100th anniversary of our Republic, the collection continues to grow each day as rare editions of the books from Atatürk’s library are added to our Central Library. The current collection contains 180 rare books.
Alongside classical works in areas such as history, language, political science, culture, law, history of religions, and mythology, the collection also includes books reflecting the economic, political, cultural, and artistic trends, administrative understandings, and contemporary authors of his time. It reveals the book and reading passion of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, our great leader Atatürk, as well as his broad vision, wide range of interests, and universal and scientific way of thinking.
Highlights from the Collection
The Universal Library of a Great Leader
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was not only a great leader but also a deep thinker who read extensively, analyzed, and synthesized what he read to produce original ideas. The geographical and topical diversity of the books he read illustrates the breadth of his intellectual universe. Through the languages he knew, he read many books not only about Anatolia but also about both Western and Eastern civilizations. With curiosity about how people across cultures and civilizations perceived the world throughout human history, he read and examined classical works in fields such as history, language, political science, culture, law, history of religions, and mythology, along with contemporary writers and thinkers of his time.
Tracing the History of Humanity…
The most frequent topic among the books Atatürk read is history. Subjects like world history, Turkish history, the origins of the Turks, Ottoman history, Eastern history, European history, and Islamic history were among the main areas he studied and researched. Alongside authors like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Voltaire—who influenced the French Revolution and Enlightenment—his library included historians like Maspero, H.G. Wells, John Stuart Mill, Joseph de Guignes, Leone Caetani, Şehbenderzade Ahmed Hilmi, Ahmet Refik, Rıza Nur, Ahmed Rasim, Ziya Gökalp, and Peçevi İbrahim Efendi.
“The Turkish Language is a Sacred Treasure for the Turkish Nation”
Works on language form a significant part of Atatürk’s library. With the awareness that language is a vital element of a nation’s identity, Atatürk showed great interest in languages, the historical roots of Turkish, the regions where it was spoken, and etymology. He read books on the history of the Turkish language, modern Turkish dialects, grammar books, and multilingual dictionaries (French-Turkish, Arabic-Turkish), and comparative dialect dictionaries with the meticulousness of a linguist. Seeing Turkish as “the heart of the Turkish nation,” Atatürk’s readings on language laid the groundwork for the alphabet and language reforms.
Atatürk as a Writer…
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was not only a great leader but also a powerful writer. With nine written works covering subjects from military affairs to politics and even geometry, he ensured his thoughts would endure. His most important work, Nutuk (The Speech), was first published in Ottoman Turkish in 1927. In our collection, we feature both a rare deluxe edition prepared for protocol with decorative and colorful pages, and the public edition published in the same year. Nutuk made an impact not only in Turkey but worldwide, and it was translated into French, German, and English.
Protokol baskısı, 1927
Türk Tayyare Kurumu, 1927
