AHMET ERDEM TOZOĞLU, “DEMİRYOLU VE KENT 19. YÜZYILDA OSMANLI BALKAN ŞEHİRLERİNİN MEKÂNSAL DEĞİŞİMİ”,Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, İstanbul, 2024, XII+352 PAGES, ISBN: 9786254299599.

Ahmet Erdem Tozoğlu’s book, Demiryolu ve Kent (Railway and City), originates from his 2013 doctoral dissertation, which was written in English at Middle East Technical University. The author developed the research over nearly 10 years before its Turkish publication. It makes the book an adaptation rather than a translation of the dissertation.

The book is based on the primary sources, including archival documents, maps, plans, memoirs, periodicals and visual materials. The relevant academic literature, comprising dissertations, articles, books and other previously studies are also used. One of the main sources originates from the Ottoman archive. The majority of the other sources are drawn from Turkish and English literature, with additional use of German and, to a lesser extent French materials. 

In conclusion, this book stands as a premier study interpreting Ottoman modernization through the lens of railway projects. Furthermore, in terms of different approaches to Ottoman modernization, as the author hopes, many comparative studies should be revealed in the future.