The Pulitzer finalist tells the fascinating story of the rise of an authoritarian Turkey under Erdogan through the microcosm of life in a local Istanbul neighbourhood

'A gripping portrait of a crisis-ridden Turkey' PANKAJ MISHRA 'A richly textured human history .. elegantly maps out Turkey's hard-right turn' THE NEW YORK TIMES 'An ambitious, alive and lovingly written portrait of everyday life' GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY 'Hansen writes fluently and colourfully and has a sharp eye for detail' SUNDAY TIMES Pulitzer finalist Suzy Hansen chronicles the age of authoritarianism in Turkey - through an intimate portrait of its people In the midst of a world in upheaval, Erdogan has remade Turkey in his own image. Once a shining portal that straddled East and West, Istanbul's streets now teem with nationalistic fervour, political repression and rampant corruption. And it's here, in the old Ottoman neighbourhood of Karagumruk, that Suzy Hansen goes looking for the truth about modern Turkey. Through the lives of its inhabitants, Hansen shows how local conflicts are spiralling into regional crises, deepening the fault lines now fracturing Europe and the Middle East. A dazzling account of a nation on the frontlines of history, From Life Itself chronicles the rise of an autocrat, the resurrection of an empire - and the human stories unfolding in its shadow. 'A dizzying tour de force that leaves the reader with a sense of wonder' ELIF BATUMAN

"Ambitious, well observed and lovingly written .. Hansen traces a story that illuminates a politics of mass migration and nationalist backlash that has resonances far beyond Turkey ... Where the book really comes alive is when history catches up to Hansen's own time ... [she] brilliantly captures Istanbul's light, it's pink and gold splendour [and] the little ways in which local prejudices begin to manifest" - GUARDIAN

"A beautifully observant book ... rich and complex ... Hansen elegantly maps out the constellation of forces that brought Turkey to a hard-right turn" - THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Hansen brings modern-day Turkey [and] Erdogan's rule to life, through the eyes of one Istanbul neighbourhood ... The narrative really soars when the author wanders the streets of Karagumruk and speaks to those who live there ... chosen as a prism through which to chart Turkey's descent from democracy to authoritarianism" - SUNDAY TIMES

"Struggling to make sense of the sweeping changes that have transformed Turkey in the past decade under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - a frenzy of construction, war in the Kurdish region, an influx of refugees and, especially, a sharp autocratic turn - Hansen, who has long lived in the country, homes in on residents in a single Istanbul neighbourhood to create a richly textured human history" - THE NEW YORK TIMES