An extraordinary yet almost unknown chapter in American history is revealed in this extensively researched expose. On July 1, 1893, President Grover Cleveland boarded a friend's yacht and was not heard from for five days. During that time, a team of doctors removed a cancerous tumor from the president's palate along with much of his upper jaw. When an enterprising reporter named E. J. Edwards exposed the secret operation, Cleveland denied it and Edwards was consequently dismissed as a disgrace to journalism. Twenty-four years later, one of the president's doctors finally revealed the incredible truth, but many Americans simply would not believe it. After all, Grover Cleveland's political career was built upon honesty--his most memorable quote was "Tell the truth"--so it was nearly impossible to believe he was involved in such a brazen cover-up. This is the first full account of the disappearance of Grover Cleveland during that summer more than a century ago.

From the «Terror of the World» to the «Sick Man of Europe» sheds new light on the hotly debated issue of Orientalism by looking at the European images of the Ottoman Empire and society over three centuries. Through a careful examination of the European intellectual discourse, this book claims that there was no coherent and constant Europewide vision of the Turks until the eighteenth century and clearly demonstrates that the Age of Reason has not rendered reasonable images of the Turks. Indeed, once inspiring awe, the European opinion of Ottomans was held in contempt during this period.

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The long agony of the "sick man of Europe," an expression used by the Tsar of Russia to depict the falling Ottoman Empire, could almost blind people to its incredible power and history. Preserving its mixed heritage, coming from both its geographic position rising above the ashes of the Byzantine Empire and the tradition inherited from the Muslim Conquests, the Ottoman Empire lasted more than six centuries. Its soldiers fought, died, and conquered lands on three different continents, making it one of the few stable multi-ethnic empires in history, and likely one of the last. Thus, it's somewhat inevitable that the history of its decline is at the heart of complex geopolitical disputes, as well as sectarian tensions that are still key to understanding the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. When studying the fall of the Ottoman Empire, historians have argued over the breaking point that saw a leading global power slowly become a decadent empire. The failed Battle of Vienna in 1683 is certainly an important turning point for the expanding empire, as the defeat of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha at the hands of a coalition led by the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, Holy Roman Empire and Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth marked the end of Ottoman expansionism. It was also the beginning of a slow decline during which the Ottoman Empire suffered multiple military defeats, found itself mired by corruption, and had to deal with the increasingly mutinous Janissaries (the Empire's initial foot soldiers). Despite it all, the Ottoman Empire would survive for over 200 more years, and in the last century of its life it strove to reform its military, administration and economy until it was finally dissolved. Years before the final collapse of the Empire, the Tanzimat ("Reorganization"), a period of swiping reforms, led to significant changes in the country's military apparatus, among others, which certainly explains the initial success the Ottoman Empire was able to achieve against its rivals. Similarly, the drafting of a new Constitution (Kanûn-u Esâsî, basic law) in 1876, despite it being shot down by Sultan Abdul Hamid II just two years later, as well as its revival by the "Young Turks" movement in 1908, highlights the understanding among Ottoman elites that change was needed, and their belief that such change was possible. During the period that preceded its collapse, the Ottoman Empire was at the heart of a growing rivalry between two of the competing global powers of the time, England and France. The two powers asserted their influence over a declining empire, the history of which is anchored in Europe as much as in Asia. However, while the two powers were instrumental in the final defeat and collapse of the Ottoman Empire, their stance toward what came to be known as the "Eastern Question" - the fate of the Ottoman Empire - is not one of clear enmity. Both England and France found, at times, reasons to extend the life of the sick man of Europe until it finally sided with their shared enemies. Russia's stance toward the Ottoman Empire is much more clear-cut; the rising Asian and European powers saw the Ottomans as a rival, which they strove to contain, divide and finally destroy for more than 300 years in a series of wars against their old adversary. The Sick Man of Europe: The History of the Ottoman Empire's Decline in the 19th Century chronicles the struggles of the vast Turkish empire before World War I brought about its dissolution. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the decline of the Ottoman Empire like never before.

Die Vorstellung, China sei ein "schwacher Staat", der in einer zunehmend darwinistisch konzipierten Welt nicht konkurrenzfähig sei, beherrschte vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts, besonders seit dem verlorenen Krieg gegen Japan (1894/95), bis in die 1930er-Jahre den politischen Diskurs in China selbst wie auch in anderen Ländern der Welt. Der Band zeichnet diese "Untergangsgeschichte" des "kranken Mannes Asiens" nach und hilft somit, das Selbstverständnis und die Identität des heutigen China zu verstehen.