This book serves two important functions. First, it gives a comprehensive overview of themany varieties of Islamic practice and organization in contemporary Turkey and sets these intothe larger national context. Second, the author shares important insights into the manner in whichthe culture of the political process leads inevitably to certain kinds of accommodation withreligion. The survey of Turkey's religious brotherhoods, associations, and political parties,while brief, is comprehensive without being superficial. Enough history, ideology, organization,and telling details are given for each to come alive in the larger context of Turkey'scomplex intersection of culture and political history. The book comes alive in the description ofthe Alevi, a religious minority that has been the subject of the author's own research formany years. There also is a particularly interesting discussion of the presentation of Islam inchildren's schoolbooks and the relationship of Islamic values to moral behavior and love forthe nation. Although this is not new material, it is set within a larger discussion.