BOOK REVIEW - America Alone, Mark Steyn

I read Mark Steyn's recent book, America Alone, the other day. I say "the other day" because I started in the morning, was quickly hooked and read all the way through to finish in the afternoon. Like all good books it's concise and precise and packs a lot of punch in its two hundred and a bit pages.

Steyn's thesis is that societies are a product of their demographics and that the increasing number of Muslims in (particularly) Western Europe set against a decline in the indigenous population due to a massive decline in birth rates is going to have profound consequences.

“What’s the Muslim population of Rotterdam? Forty percent. What’s the most popular baby boy’s name in Belgium? Mohammed. In Amsterdam? Mohammed. In Malmo, Sweden? Mohammed. By 2005, it was the fifth most popular boy’s name in the United Kingdom.”

The book is full of really interesting facts about the decline in birth rates through various countries in Europe that will see those countries halve their populations by 2050. By mid-century, Muslims continue to have large families and Europeans continue to have tiny ones, the nation of Yemen will exceed Russia in population.

“In the fourteenth century, the Black Death wiped out a third of the Continent’s population; in the twenty-first, a larger proportion will disappear — in effect, by choice. We are living through a rare moment: the self-extinction of the civilization which, for good or ill, shaped the age we live in. One can cite examples of remote backward tribes who expire upon contact with the modern world, but for the modern world to expire in favor of the backward tribes is a turn of events future anthropologists will ponder, as we do the fall of Rome.”

Steyn agrees with the theme introduced by others including Melanie Phillips in her book Londonistan that Europe's overly generous welfare system has attracted a new form of immigrant, one that isn't attracted by the strength of the society or by the opportunities to improve one's lot in life (such as the attraction of America) but by the promise of welfare. These rent-seeking newcomers don't respect the values or opportunities on offer but, instead, simply uproot themselves, end up in England, France, Belgium and Sweden etc and establish outposts of their home countries.

When one population breeds at a massive rate and one is in serious decline you'd think that there will come a point at which a clash occurs. However, far from understanding the threat, Europe is doing all it can to hasten its own demise by accommodating even the most ridiculous of Muslim demands. Neither Steyn or Phillips believe that there is any way to avoid Western Europe becoming an Islamic state. We are likely to see a majority Muslim European country with nuclear weapons within our lifetime and must cross our fingers that the dominant radical element has been overcome by moderate forces.

Steyn has a breezy, humorous style that makes it a frightening and fun read.

8/10 for the highly recommended America Alone.