America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It Reviews

• "Some light reading for the new Dark Ages"

  
  By A2LEVKA3U6CXX7 on 2006-09-25
  At least, that's how he signed my copy. I'd call Mark Steyn's essay the single best distillation of the challenge posed to the West by radical Islam that I have ever read.
  
  Regular readers of Mr. Steyn will not be unfamiliar with his central points:
  
  1) In the ongoing conflict between the West and Islam, both the demographics and the will to power favor the Islamists. That a country like Spain, with a birth rate of 1.15 children per adult women, will extinguish itself in a few generations, while immigrants from countries such as Pakistan (birth rate 4.53) will move in to fill the vacuum.
  
  2) That as an aggressive, unassimilated minority edges closer to a majority (as in France, with an estimated 30% Muslim population in the under 20 age group), the character of the democratic institutions will become more closely aligned with Islamic law and culture.
  
  3) That the post-Christian welfare state is largely to blame for the pessimism and failures of will demonstrated by Europe.
  
  4) That America represents the primary exception to this trend, if only by degree, and that only a concerted effort to save our society stands a chance of reversing these trends.
  
  That's a reasonable précis of Steyn's book, and he is certainly not unique in either his diagnosis or his prescription for the West. What sets this apart is his writing. The argument is made in a way that is the most engrossing and entertaining presentation of these ideas I've ever read. Steyn, as part of his superhuman writing regimen, is the obituarist for The Atlantic Monthly, and he puts that talent on display. This is not just a description of a set of demographic realities, but a loving, if premature (he hopes), obituary to a dying great culture. It's Steyn's ability to blend humor with the terminal diagnosis that sets him apart.
  
  Take the following, from letting the book fall open at random (pages 60-61), where Steyn weaves together these seemingly disparate ideas: a photo of Lincoln with his future assassin in near proximity, the globalization at the root of a bird flu scare ("Any minute now there would be toxic cockatoos over the white cliffs of Dover, and the East End would be reeling under a blitzkrieg of sneezing parakeets"), the Black Death in Europe in the 1340s, the exportation of radical Islam from the Bedouin to the West, and finally a quote for Dean Martin's old nightclub act. I can't even describe it adequately; Steyn actually pulls it off, brilliantly.
  
  Finally, I'd like to try to approach the book from the opposite direction. Invariably, political book reviews become contentious. It may be apparent that I came to this book predisposed to agree with the thesis, and I would not argue. That said, I think this is one of the rare political books that could be read and enjoyed regardless of personal politics. Dare I say it, but Steyn might even change some minds. Between his inventive turns of phrase, his references to pop culture and classic Americana, and his interesting digressions on topics as diverse as the heyday of French television and European history in the Middle Ages, Steyn offers something for everyone. And that's appropriate. Unlike many political books, this does not seem written to say "I'm right and you're wrong", but rather "we're all in this together".
  
  
  

• Serious, Sober & Funny

  
  By AFK948SCCAPK8 on 2006-09-23
  Mark Steyn is an astute observer of today's geopolitical scene, especially the rising tide of Muslim fundamentalism in Europe. This is a sober subject with ominous implications for the free world. Yet Steyn consistently leavens his commentaries with razor-sharp wit and trenchant one-liners.
  
  On Russia's abominable 70% abortion rate: "Russian women are voting with their fetuses."
  
  On opinion polls showing 49% of Egyptians believe the Mossad is responsible for a recent terrorist resort-hotel bombing: "Denial is more than a river in Egypt."
  
  How about this anecdote (my favorite): In the fall of 2003, a mass panic swept Sudan. Foreigners were shaking hands with Sudanese men, causing them to lose their masculinity. One merchant reported that a west African entered his store and shook his hand powerfully until he felt his [male organ] melt into his body. "I know the feeling," Steyn writes. "The same thing happened to me when I shook hands with Senator Clinton."
  
  Humor aside, Steyn raises serious questions about the West's willingness to confront virulent Muslim fundamentalism (on display once again with the reaction to Pope Benedict's recent comments) and capacity to prevail in the "long war."
  
  
  

• Important and timely

  
  By A2VN986E5KR1NV on 2006-10-18
  Mark Steyn, like P.J. O'Rourke, is an extraordinarily insightful and witty communicator who is not only an artist in the tapestry he weaves with words, but who has keen and piercing discernment into one of the most pressing issues of our time: the shockingly rapid and rabid advance of virulent violence in the name of religion.
  
  Thankfully, unlike many lily-livered and wrong-headed authors of today, Steyn does not grant moral equivalency between faiths that promote peace and love, with faiths that promote hatred and terror. Steyn tells it like it is, and focuses on the real, specific threat to us all: the spread of Islamist extremism (differentiated from peace-loving Muslims). This aggressive terror movement quite literally threatens the very existence of Western Civilization and the freedoms of every single person reading this review.
  
  Having been to Europe on several occasions, including recently, I can say that Steyn's observations about the encroaching threat are right on. Recently, French law enforcement officials have gone so far as to call for help, noting that what Islamist extremists and hoodlums are waging against them in France is an actual intifada. The Netherlands, also overwhelmed with angry immigrants who refuse to assimilate, is likewise facing an epic clash of cultures. In the UK, key cities are on the brink of becoming majority Muslim--a frightening percentage of whom believe that terrorism is a viable, moral option.
  
  Could this happen in America? In fact, the seeds have already been planted. If you have been unaware or dismissive of this fact, then you absolutely must get Steyn's book and read it immediately.
  
  This is not a book about partisanship. Whether one is a "conservative" or a "liberal," if you love America; if you love your family; if you love freedom...you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to get informed and get involved.
  
  This is not a book of racism or bigotry. Steyn does not attack an ethnic group or, specifically, those who practice the Muslim faith. In fact, he sheds light on why Islamist extremism is the greatest danger to Muslims in the world today. (It should be noted that more Muslims and Arabs have been killed and persecuted and enslaved by Islamofacism than any other force.)
  
  Some commentators and comedians casually dismiss or minimize the threat that we all face. For those of us who are Baby Boomers and Xers, it is perhaps deeply ingrained into our nature to pooh-pooh any talk of menace or serious threats to our way of life; this faulty mindset is born out of decades of complacency and relative peace. What is looming on the horizon is simply inconceivable to many. But then again, so was Pearl Harbor. And so was 9/11.
  
  For the sake of the world--including moderate Muslims--it is vital that America (and all of the virtues for which it stands) wins in this struggle. It's high time to refute all of the self-loathing America-hating, traitorous professors and pundits here in this country, and the Euro-weenie hand-wringers on foreign shores, who blame the USA for all of the ills on the planet. Say it loud and clear: the USA has been an overwhelmingly postive force for good in this world, and it's survival is crucial for the prosperity of many nations and peoples.
  
  War has been declared and waged against us; we ignore it at our own peril.
  
  

• Incisive and Prophetic

  
  By A38R0HUOCPLOGL on 2006-10-18
  Mr. Steyn's new book is a panoramic examination of our near-term future: the explosive growth of Muslim populations around the globe, the slow demographic death of Europe, the real-life consequences of the statist mentality at the national and individual levels, and what all of these portend for American national interests.
  
  I live in Germany and have traveled to various European countries. There are many things of which you become aware when you actually live here, rather than traipse about for a couple of weeks during the summer. One of these is the lack of children: there are masses of elderly folks, but virtually no children. My wife and I have become so accustomed to this that, upon a short visit to the U.S. recently, we marveled at the proliferation of children everywhere we went. The second thing you notice when you interact intensively with the locals is the utter narcissism and self-absorption that characterizes Europeans of all ages. It's interesting to see so many individuals (ostensibly grown "adults") making such spectacles of themselves by trying all-and-sundry to hold on to their teen years. I can remember, from my graduate school years, the pathetic, self-deluded husks of middle age I saw at nightclubs, fresh from a divorce and sporting glaringly obvious comb-overs, trying desperately to "hook up" with women half their age. Now, imagine an entire continent of 30-, 40-, and 50-year-olds in similar straits. THAT is what it's like to live in Europe, folks.
  
  Steyn's book reads like someone who has been here. This place truly is dying. Europe has become the museum of the world, working hard to maintain the crumbling relics of a by-gone era for the benefit of the tourists willing to pay to see them.
  
  No one who has lived in Europe, who has had extensive interactions with Europeans (other than the elites), and who is tuned into every-day life can fail to see what is happening. We would be well-advised to pay attention to Mr. Steyn, instead of dismissing his theses.
  
  
  
  

• Phenomenal. Buy it right now.

  
  By A3U4FCEAT75XLS on 2006-10-11
  Steyn's latest book is one of about 15 or 20 in the new genre I'll call "WTF Is Happening To The World". Many of the books in this genre (Londonistan, While Europe Slept, Eurabia, all of the Spencer books, etc.) are extremely well written and well researched. Having read all of them, I was kind of wondering what was left to say.
  
  Steyn's book does not present brand-new groundbreaking material, insofar as other authors in the genre discuss similar themes. The world is in serious trouble. Europe is toast. Islam is on the march, energized and confident. Etc. However, Steyn's book is unique in pulling it ALL together. This would be the one to read if you have time (or patience) for just one book on the Islamic threat. Steyn presents a well-reasoned argument that America is basically the last holdout or redoubt of the West, with Europe having basically been taken over, demographically if not yet militarily.
  
  Steyn is, as others have noted here, humorous and witty. However, I find all the reviews of the book as "hilarious" (here and elsewhere) a bit odd, as if we're discussing the new season of South Park. There's nothing hillarious about Steyn's focus, which is, to put it simply, that Islam is conquering the western world by immigrating in, then procreating like rabbits, while entirely failing to integrate and living in separate ghettos, insisting that their new home countries adopt to their religious demands and intolerance, and recently, exerting the influence that comes from having 20-30-40 % of the under-25 population. What is hillarious about that? It's a poor choice of words. Steyn is extremely witty, clever and insightful - that's more than enough without having to present him as the new act on Comedy Central.
  
  There are a lot of people in deep denial about the nature of the Islamic challenge across the world - from the 9/11 Truth morons to the many, many, many people, particularly in Europe but here too, who just want to cave and basically sue for peace rather than engage in this tiring fight for our survival as a culture. Unfortunately, no one book is going to wake these people up from their moral comas. However, Steyn usefully contributes to a body of knowledge and argument that, hopefully, over time will exert some influence and help people wake up.
  
  In sum, I found this book not "hilarious" and rip roaringly funny, but rather, intelligent, witty, insightful, and important. It is currently the best book out there in explaining the complex, global nature of what is euphamistically called "The War On Terror" but is really a war for our survival against motivated, confident, and aggressive Islamists.
  
  5 stars. Best-in-class book.
  
  
• How Should Europeans and Americas Deal With Radical Religion?
  By A3JPFWKS83R49V on 2007-03-08
  "America Alone" is an apocalyptic book of sorts that bases its pessimistic predictions not on religious dogma specifically but on the cold, hard facts of the present world in which we live. European nations have some of the lowest birth rates in the world- far below the necessary number of births per woman necessary to sustain the population. European nations (and Canada) have a large number of social programs that will be increasingly difficult to fund in the future as the native population dries up. And the influence of Muslims continues to grow in these countries each day as the nations of Europe continue to accept more and more Muslim immigrants into their borders.
  
  The problems faced by the Western world, according to the book, have these core issues to deal with and finding a quick cure will not be easy. According to this writing, the root of the problem is Western Europe's growing welfare state- a system that redistributes wealth to the detriment of the overall society. Unemployment rates in these countries are very high by American standards and young people no longer want to have children. This, combined with the desire to be culturally sensitive, has led these nations to accept large numbers of Muslims into their ranks, leading to a large percentage increase in the overall Muslim population.
  
  Reading a politically and socially motivated book like this one often leaves the reader wondering about the true motives of the author. Many writers voice strong, ideologically based, subjective opinions that are intended to influence the reader in a specific direction. Other books have a stronger basis that is grounded in fact. Does "America Alone" fit into the latter group? Or, can it be easily dismissed as a bunch of over-the-top alarmist hype?
  
  Starting with the concern about the shrinking populations of native Europeans, what is stated in this part of the book is very true: European nations, as a whole, have very low birth rates and over time, they will see their native populations cut down to size. There is nothing ideological or subjective about this. If the low birth rates do not reverse themselves very soon, the populations will slowly decline until the natives become a minority in their own lands. The book is also correct when it points out the economic problems these nations will face as they try to pay for their massive state- funded welfare system. The only way to have enough workers paying into the system in a country with a low birth rate is to admit more immigrants. And, more than likely, these immigrants will come from the Middle East, bringing their intolerant brand of religion with them. It is highly unlikely that they will want to assimilate into the local culture. They will instead convert the nation to one whose laws are determined by Islamic code. Again, this is not alarmist fanaticism; it is a very likely scenario that will play out if something isn't done to curb the growth of Islamic influence and to increase the declining populations. It could take a very long time, but it is easy to see that the trends are pointing in this direction.
  
  The author of this book feels the Islamic world influence is a grave threat to freedom and our way of life and his fear extends to the United States also. However, here in the USA, the threat is not nearly as bad because our political system, economic system, and lifestyle are in direct conflict with a totalitarian system like that found in the more radical Islamic nations, making a conversion to an Islamic theocracy unlikely in the near future. But the threat is still real and the author feels that Americans should take whatever steps necessary to preserve their culture and liberty. Even though the chances are slim that an Islamic theocracy would take over the U.S. government, the author feels this is something we should take no chances with. We should do whatever we can to make sure this scenario never plays out.
  
  How does the author suggest that we accomplish this task and defeat what he refers to as the "Virus of Islam"? Well, he lists several specific steps to take and most people can at least agree with them in theory. For example, he feels we should strongly support women's rights in the Muslim world. He also feels that we should support political and economic freedom in all Muslim nations; counter the funding of Islamic organizations in the United States and in other western nations; Create a special corps to wage an ideological war; etc. These are good, solid ways to counter the influence and they are actions that most people can agree. However, the book loses me on some of its other points. Among its stated plan of action, the book includes tactics like ending the Iranian regime by force and engaging in military strikes whenever the opportunity arises. This endorsement of military engagements will be met with certain objections by many readers, and this is especially true of the author's apparent desire to strike "whenever the opportunity presents itself", which, I understand to mean striking out even when there is no direct threat (Bush doctrine- style, preemptive attacks). Other points the book makes seem equally questionable, like the assertion that Americans spend too much time in school. According to the author, we should be able to learn and absorb the equivalent of a Bachelor's Degree in much less time than it currently takes and doing so would encourage young people to marry and have kids at a younger age and more frequently, thus eliminating the problem caused by lower birth rates. Hmmm...I can see his point, but I cannot imagine ordinary people taking this seriously.
  
  Overall, America Alone is a good book with an important message about the transformation of Europe and the other nations of the Western world and what needs to be done to reverse this trend toward the new "Dark Ages". Most of it is written with good intentions and it does contain many factual assertions about the gloomy economic picture in Europe. Some of Steyn's solutions to a world plagued by Islamic fanaticism are questionable at best but other things he says make good sense, leading to my rating of this book as three stars and a recommendation. A good number of readers will not agree with everything Steyn says (myself included) but there is enough sensible material here to make the book worth a look.
  
  
  
  
  
• Green Dawn: America Stands Alone
  By A1EEA5ZW5FRY6X on 2006-10-22
  A couple of years ago an acquaintance of mine and her daughter went on a trip to England. While riding on a train, the two happened to sit across from a gentlemen with his family. This gentleman, heralding from the mid-East, said to her in passing that "soon this country will be ours." The statement was made as a boast, but without rancor or histrionics. It was simply presented as a fact, one that some might find disagreeable, but one which would also be dangerous to ignore.
  
  I leave the religious persuasion of the person who made the statement as an exercise for the reader.
  
  "America Alone" is astonishing, frightening, a once a generation book, one that provides a radically different view of the future that only in retrospect (i.e., post 9/11) seems understandable. Once grasped, the near-term the implications are clear enough, Steyn's logic and arithmetic being impeccable, but the implications far-term are far from being understood. Perhaps mercifully so. In presenting a vision of the future utterly original and distinct from what we had come to expect, I know of no other book comparable to it -- with the possible exception of Eric Drexler's "Engines of Creation (1986)." A prime difference of course is in the nature and tone of the predictions. "Engines of Creation," even with the staggering technological dangers it laid out before the reader, was still a book of enormous promise. The elements presented (advanced artificial intelligence, unlimited energy, and assembler technology) in lesser degrees already lived together in nature more or less harmoniously: the human mind, nuclear energy, the complex biology of living organisms. The implication was that this emerging world, which would be firmly in place possibly a generation hence, could work in principle. And if it could be made to work, we would all be greatly better off for it. But Steyn's vision of the unstoppable collapse of the European welfare-states (collectively what he terms "EUtopia") into demographic doom is as bleak as it gets. Nothing good can come from this grimmest of fates, though as a warning as the "lead canoes go over the falls" (a Steyn image), it may have some value in enabling those farther back to save themselves.
  
  And this too will happen within a generation.
  
  I have been reading Steyn for three years now, so his thesis, as it has gradually emerged in articles and essays is familiar to me. Democratic welfare states are simply not sustainable, economically, politically, or socially. As their citizens become increasingly dependent upon state transfer payments (the drug metaphor is particularly apt), they give up on their future, stop reproducing, and within a few decades find themselves facing a demographic cliff. Familiar yes, but to see it all put together in book format is a shock. Freud spoke of the nasty man at the picnic; the picnic is now over. With this one book, Steyn has become the premier social and political commentator of our age. No one else comes close. The world of commentary, opinion, and moral clarity is now Steyn plus debris.
  
  
  Yes, he is a very funny writer, but the humor in "America Alone" is gallows wit.
  
  To spell out the implications: by the middle of the next decade, the century long suicide of Europe that began with WWI will effectively be complete. Though there will be pockets of resistance, possibly strong in Eastern Europe, the fate of Western Europe (England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, etc.), will be sealed. Many, perhaps most, of the young (though some will "revert") will have fled. So too, the rich, the formerly powerful, plus top scientists, technicians, and misc. intellectuals.
  
  The fate of those not in the aforementioned categories, i.e. the aging populations of Europe utterly dependent upon the welfare state and unable or unwilling to immigrate, is best passed over in silence.
  
  I'm going to take a risk here and give two visual metaphors, if you will, that might help in grasping the enormity of what Steyn is describing.
  
  One of my favorite movie guilty pleasures, and a remarkable piece of visionary propaganda, is "Red Dawn" (1984). The film presents a future where Europe especially is indifferent to America's fate and much of the world has turned militarily against us. The chilling words concluding the prologue are: "America stands alone." I have been haunted by that phrase since I first saw the film, and with some minor alterations, surprisingly few actually, this film is close to the world Steyn sees as coming. In the movie, though at enormous cost, America is able to summon the will to fight back and ultimately defeat its enemies. But Steyn wonders if America can do so in the real world, or has it gone down the "EUtopian" road too far itself to turn back? The question remains an open one.
  
  Another movie, one that Steyn himself recommends (and as a movie critic, he recommends very few films), also serves as a visual commentary to the book's thesis: that film is "Serenity" (2005). The central mystery of "Serenity" is the terrible secret of the colony world "Miranda." The Alliance, which is attempting to completely control all colony planets is determined that nobody finds out what went wrong on Miranda, which was supposed to be a model for all the others. Captain Reynolds and the crew of the Starship Serenity are equally "determined to find out what `Miranda' is and what the Alliance is hiding." What they find is a literally drugged world, planned to be a utopia to be sure, but which has gone more wrong than anyone could have imagined. With its population split into two, one part has given up and died or been murdered. The other part has become the cannibalistic, death-lusting "Reavers," who will destroy anyone in their path.
  
  So read the book, think about it, and talk with those willing to discuss the end of the world as we know it.
  
  
  
• Amerabia
  By A2LUN275GRCD96 on 2006-10-02
  With acerbic wit, tongue-in-cheek humor, extremely readable thoughts and comments: altogether Mark Steyn has put together a stunning book that is a magnificent winner by any and all standards.
  
  The content of the book is extraordinary, and extraordinarily necessary. As some reviewers have written, we are in this all together and we need to act with a great deal of consort if we are not going to lose this War here in America.
  
  In this relatively short tome, Mark Steyn covers a lot of ground. While he correctly identifies the problem as beginning with I and ending with SLAM, the other problem he also identifies is the dependency culture that, unfortunately, America did, somewhat unwittingly, help create; that has been on the rise in Europe since the middle 1800s and in America to a, fortunately, lesser extent. As many of us believe, the problem of the enemy within, stated so circumspectly by Mr. Steyn, are those amongst us that believe that all cultures are equal with no knowledge or study to justify their opinion.
  
  The aspect that Mr. Steyn did not cover is how it is the basic teachings in the Holy Qur'an and the statements by the Prophet Muhammad (the Hadith), and how they have been implemented literally, as they were intended to be, that are the true root cause of the problem. Throughout history, Islam has been the single bloodiest political system that has ever existed on the earth. including starting out in a manner similar to Genghis Khan, and continuing on as such for 150 years, and then, beyond that, killing almost 100 million Hindus in several attempted conquests of India.
  
  To cover that in such a short book would be difficult, and Mark Steyn has alluded to that without going into the extensive detail and the additional chapters that that would entail.
  
  We can all hope that Europe has not already surrendered to radical Islam, as the socialists and leaders there, including Tony Blair, seem to have done.
  
  Mark Steyn also did not go into the detail of the enormous problems we have with our own Islamists in this country, such as the 100,000 members of CAIR, who, as their leaders have stated, want the USA to be an Islamic country: that doesn't come without Sharia law. Mr. Steyn does cover a little bit about Sharia law, but the truly horrid manner in which Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc have all lived in under this execrebly set of rules is not covered in great enough detail. The 7,000 to 10,000 active Hezbollah supporters in Dearbornistan, MI, plus the likely 100,000 additional passive Hezbollah supporters is also not mentioned.
  
  Mr. Steyn has some recommendations in the concluding chapter. His recommendation, like many, is that Islam must reform itself internally, and that there are some actions which need to be taken to assist that. The actions to be taken are all good and should be tried, but the belief that Muslims can reform Islam is a misguided belief that has no basis in reality, for in order to reform Islam the basic documents, their Bible-the Holy Qur'an, and the statements, teachings, and actions implementing that in regards to the Prophet Muhammad and his statements and actions, plus the interpretations of those documents and statements for the last 1384 years would all need to refute and deny what Islam teaches, which is to take those statements literally as the final and perfect revelation of God (Allah). In effect, Muslims must deny their own religion for them to reform it. That's a Catch 22 of unbelievable proportions. Perhaps Mark Steyn just wanted to not have all the death threats coming into him, his family, and his coworkers if he had gone into that part of the problem in his book.
  
  That Islam is cowing Americans into not be able to speak openly in regards to Islam and the Prophet is already occurring, as I have had a death threat aimed at me, and folks such as Robert Spencer live in unknown locations for personal safety reasons. This is what America has come to.
  
  A series of questions that Mark Steyn needs to include in his next book are: why are Muslims, if Islam is such a wonderful and attractive religion, unwilling to have an open and honest discussion, without threats of violence, of the precepts, basic documents, and beliefs of Islam, and why the knowledge of the history of the expansion of Islam in a documentably accurate manner is not allowed for public consumption, lest there be global riots? Why, even as espoused by American Muslims, is their sugar coated version the only version that is allowed to be disseminated and discussed publicly?
  
  Mark also doesn't go into detail about what happens after America is Alone. Will Islamist England, France, and Russia threaten America with their nuclear weapons, for since the leaders of Iran have stated they are willing to lose half their population to destroy Israel, what will the Islamists of Europe say? Will Islamist Canada send missiles, nuclear or otherwise, over our 4,000 mile border? Will the liberal dependency culture that is destroying Europe dominate in the USA and force us to surrender to the nuclear blackmail rather than fight? Will just a few US cities get nuked before we surrender? Will there be a second Civil War between the multiculturists that support the Islamofascists plus the Libertarians on the far right against those in America that still believe in America that Mark Steyn lauds in his book?
  
  Overall, accolades to Mark Steyn for an excellent book that needs to be written over and over again by every author that believes in America, democracy of the free, freedom, and the beliefs that our forefathers founded this nation with, but no one will excel with such a readable and cogent work as Mark Steyn has done.
  
  
• Extremely Informative, Ignore At Your Peril.
  By A1IHT31N8RLPN8 on 2007-01-28
  I agree with both David McCune & O. Cabrera's reviews. I lived in Europe & know that the Europeans are slowly aborting themselves out of existence. It also appears that the majority of them show little grit in confronting the threat from "radical Islam." With the cold war over it is clear that they often underestimate the will of the enemy & expect the USA to do all of the fighting while they hypocritically bash us.
  
  Here, Mark Steyn unleashes a torrent of facts that should hopefully end the inane philosophy of political correctness. Which seems to be in complete denial that Samuel Huntington's thesis of a "clash of cultures" is actually happening. The population explosion in most Muslim countries is in sharp contrast to the wests suicidal lack of offspring. He also makes vividly clear that socialism is sterile , unimaginative, & punishes those most capable of adding to & sustaining western civilization. Capitalism has merits, profits are not evil, a handful of greedy lauts should not negatively color the creative opportunities that the system provides its citizenry. He points out how we can & will inevitably triumph. First, the terrorists need a social system to support them so they can breed, kill, & destroy. If we follow the $ we can nip many of the starting points {Madrasa's, & terror cells} off by decimating any flow of funds to them.
  
  Second, Third world countries have always had more offspring than they could adequately provide for. Their archaic & often non-existant infrastructure, government corruption, & generational poverty have yielded disease, destitution, famine, & ample ground for creating those who can be easily lured into terrorism. Therefore, this is a many pronged war that we can certainly win. We have the aptitude & resources. But, our will may not be up to the task? This is excellent food for thought & heated debate.
  
  
• Mark Steyn changed my life
  By A2BOH2SH2K0WW4 on 2006-10-18
  I lived in England for 10 years, and I saw a lot of changes:
  
  An explosion in the Muslim population
  
  A very active muslim population -- including holding signs up in public with such messages as "Kill the Jews"
  
  Muslims assaulting people in my neighbourhood because they were Jewish -- assaults that severely injured or even killed people who were walking down a street or riding the bus.
  
  And a very passive English populace and government, determined to ignore what was happening.
  
  And this was not just England. In France I was verbally assaulted in the street every time I went -- for being identifiably Jewish. The verbal assaults included threats to life and limb.
  
  It is Mark Steyn who put it all together, and made it abundantly clear what Europe has to look forward to. He is a big part of the reason I took my family back to the United States, and have urged all of my friends in the UK to GET OUT as quickly as they can.
  
  Read this book. It is the funniest apocalyptic book you'll ever read. It will go down in history as the most prophetic book of our age.
  
  
• a hot topic for debate
  By A3M6RVUVZOQZLB on 2008-06-20
  Why has Mark Steyn's book "America Alone" been labeled "alarmist" by his opponents? Look at the title: America Alone. Its meaning is obvious, but concerning what? When the Soviet Union fell, America was left standing as the sole super power in the world. But that is not the meaning of America Alone. However, do you remember what Nikita Kruschchev said? America would fall from within, without one shot fired. America would destroy herself through societal softness and the Soviets would walk in and take over.
  
  Steyn states that Muslims have adopted this concept of a country falling from within, beginning in Europe. Through immigration, Muslims are establishing themselves as a stronghold. Belgium, Sweden, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France are on their way to becoming majority Muslim and geo-political. In fact, he says, Eurotopia is fast becoming "Eurabia."
  
  Three events are rapidly leading to Eurabia:
  1. Demographic decline
  2. The unsustainability of the advanced Western social-democratic state
  3. Civilizational exhaustion
  
  Do you remember years ago forecasters urged population control? Europe heeded this warning and now faces two factors that will change it drastically: its population is aging and couples are not reproducing themselves. According to Steyn, these are the statistics of the population under the age of 15: Spain and Germany--14%, United Kingdom--18%, the United States--21%. On the other hand Saudi Arabia's 15 and under is 39%, Pakistan--40%, and Yemen--47%.
  
  Who is reproducing themselves: the US at 2.1 babies per couple, [...] at 7.46, Mali at 7.42, Somalia at 6.76, Afghanistan at 6.69, Ireland at 1.9, New Zealand at 2.11. There are Germany and Austria at 1.3, Russia and Italy at 1.2, and Spain at 1.1. Those with birthrates over 2 are Muslim; those under Caucasian Christian.
  
  With an aging population and declining birthrate and a swelling benefits package supplied by the government, who will pay for this social welfare? Answer: incoming immigrants with high birthrates.
  
  Therein, Steyn says, lies the problem. While people of Europe have abandoned their churches and religious beliefs, Islam immigrants bring with them "a religion, and an explicitly political one." In fact, if a European wants to marry a Muslim, he must convert, or as they call it, revert. Muslims believe that everyone is born Muslim--he/she must find that calling. And no one may leave the religion.
  
  How pervasive are Islam and Muslims in Europe? "Go to any children's store in Amsterdam or Marseilles or Vienna or Stockholm. Look at women in headscarves or full abaya. That's the future" (21).
  
  Remember the Kruschkrev comment? This is what Col. Gaddafi once said: "There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe--without swords, without guns, without conquests. The fifty million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades" (36) Steyn gives example after example of how Islamists are taking over, first neighborhoods, then schools, then city governments, then the country.
  
  For example, in 2003, Abdurahman Alamoudi, helped devise a three-week course taught in California's public schools in which students adopted Muslim names, wore Islamic garb, memorized suras from the Koran, recited prayers and so on. Another place Islamists are targeting is the prison population in America, Australia, and Western Europe, seeking reverts. Where there is a religious void as in prisons and Europe, Muslims seek to fill the void with a rigorous religion.
  
  Steyn quotes Imam Zaid Shakit as wanting the United States to become Muslim; however, he sees it as a country with Muslim civil institutions, sharia, a complete way of life. As a country's population dies out and immigrants replace them, a nation's collective past also dies and is replaced with a new.
  
  In France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden, riots over equal rights have disturbed traditional peace. Women feel safer walking neighborhoods in Muslim garb in order to be left alone by Muslim men. When Muslims take over, they take the land and distribute it to Muslims, creating reverts out of the native people. Because the United States doesn't take land, Muslims consider the US weak and defeatable. As Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore said in 2004, " The central issue is America's credibility and wil to prevail" (176).
  
  Steyn concludes in outlining America's exceptional nature and how it can prevent Muslim reversion of an entire country. It is not too late! Reading this book can provide invaluable information necessary for action.
  
  In the process of reading this book, I met a military family just back from England. The wife verified everything Steyn says in this book. She says England is quickly becoming Muslim and that violence is becoming common. They were very glad to leave when they did.
  
  
  
• have an advanced copy, highly recommend.
  By A3B7WX75ZI4AAS on 2004-12-08
  anyone who likes mark steyn's typical work, which you can read at steynonline, the telegraph and he's syndicated in many newspapers, will enjoy his unparalled wit and debate skills. Why isn't he a tv pundit? they need some with BRAINS
  
  
• Opinions not Facts
  By A344J6OMKI26X2 on 2006-10-18
  This book does a great job of taking half truths and opinions and presenting them as facts. The entire premise of the book can be undermined by looking at one fact; that a large majority of Muslims live in free democratic countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India etc. and not autocratic countries. Freedom and democracy are not unique to the west, people of all religions and cultures cherish them. The Arab countries should not be used as the end all and be all of Islam. There are probably as many Christian countries (For example, in Latin America and Africa) which are not democracies as there are Muslim ones. In all likelihood if America was to step out of the way, the Arab countries would stay busy fighting within themselves.
  
  Regarding all the discussion on birth rates and population growth rates, this is not a function of religion but more so of development and education. As developing countries come up the curve their growth rates drop.
  
  While I typically dislike commenting on other reviewers, I had to point out a couple of things.
  
  To the reviewer who said "Islam has been the single bloodiest political system that has ever existed on the earth" - Really! more than the Christians who almost wiped out the native populations of Latin America, North America and Australia and took over and forcibly enslaved millions of natives of Africa and Asia. Do I also need to point out that the two World Wars were fought by mainly Christian countries. I'm not trying to excuse one with the other, but please don't introduce fake facts in your opinion. You also mention "killing almost 100 million Hindus in several attempted conquests of India" - that must be news to historians, that there were actually a 100 million Hindus in North India in the 15th Century (approx.).
  
  To the other reviewer who mentioned "birth rates", I believed you were trying to talk about Population growth rates, Just looking at birth rates means nothing, because you have to look at the death rate and life expectancy as well. Also look at my comments above on population growth rates.
  
  I'm not saying that we should not be on our watch against fundamentalists and radicals, which we should, but it's important not to loose perspective. People worried about the "disappearance of Western Culture" should ponder as to what "Western Culture" actually means. If it simply means democracy and freedom of thought and choice, rest assured, that will always survive, after all it survived its worst enemy; itself and the Church in the dark ages.
  
  
  
• Get this book if you really want to know what is going on...
  By A2K20KYP8CCU3 on 2006-10-18
  I have recently spent six months in Singapore, and let me tell you, the march is on in Islam to spread the religion worldwide, through ANY means. I was just browsing in a bookstore and found this book, and now, my view on world events has changed dramatically. Steyn writes clearly and intelligently about the role Islam is playing in world events. And the role is huge. Get the book, read it, digest what he says then watch the news. He is right, and the daily reminders of his message are chilling. I highly recommend this book, and don't take it personally when others want to know what is wrong with you since you will seem higher strung than usual. The information in this book is transformational. And I am now a huge Steyn fan.
  
  
• Steyn is brilliant.
  By A1ZIELOV3HCEHF on 2006-10-15
  The book is both chilling in its message and humorous in its treatment of the subject matter. Mark Steyn meticulously documents how the West is committing mass suicide through declining birth rates and weak minded social and political policies. His book may be the last warning we get.
  
  
• Terrible truths told in an amusing way
  By AHD101501WCN1 on 2006-10-25
  Mark Steyn is an outspoken and often amusing cultural critic and political commentator who in recent years has made a reputation for himself as one of the ' best- reads' in the opinion - business. He just keeps the whole thing lively.
  In 'America Alone' he puts together his major theses on the situation of the West and the world and yells out a warning cry about the 'Dar-al -Islam' to come.
  One of his themes is that Europe with its less than replacement- level birth- rates and growing Muslim populations is on the way to its own demise. The social- welfare state has made the Europeans old, fat and selfish, sucking up the benefits of the present and turning a blind- eye to the future. So for instance in France where the rioting now seems to be a daily affair in the poorer Muslim areas, and where the Muslim population is already close to being one out of three of the under - twenties the politicians are already partly paralyzed by the Muslims. Steyn sees not simply the Muslim populations eventually outgrowing the native Europeans in their respective countries but insinuating themselves in the political process so that they exercise real control. Tours and Charles Martel heading Islam off in 732 are according to Steyn going to be cancelled in the Islamic - dominated French society of the late twenty- first century.
  The United States is Steyn's great hope still, though without its major European allies, and with spoilers China and Russia putting a knife in the American back wherever they can, its task is not going to be easy. Steyn is also dismayed by the dumb Left in America and has particular venom for Al Gore who to Steyn is the phony saint of Environmentalism.
  Steyn is not going to make himself beloved of the world's more than one billion Muslims. Wherever there is Terror and Trouble Steyn sees the name Mohammed. This is how he puts it.
  
  "So we have a global terrorist movement, insulated within a global political project, insulated within a severely self-segregating religion whose adherents are the fastest-growing demographic in the developed world. The jihad thus has a very potent brand inside a highly dispersed and very decentralized network much more efficient than anything the CIA can muster. And these fellows can hide in plain sight.
  NOT long after 9/11, I said, just as an aside, that these days whenever something goofy turns up on the news chances are it involves some fellow called Mohammad.A plane flies into the World Trade Center? Mohammad Atta.
  A sniper starts killing gas station customers around Washington, D.C.? John Allen Muhammad.A guy fatally stabs a Dutch movie director? Mohammed Bouyeri.A gunman shoots up the El Al counter at Los Angeles airport? Hesham Mohamed Hedayet.A terrorist slaughters dozens in Bali? Noordin Mohamed. A British subject self-detonates in a Tel Aviv bar? Asif Mohammad Hanif. A terrorist cell bombs the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania? Ali Mohamed.A gang rapist preys on the women of Sydney, Australia? Mohammad Skaf."
  
  Again this kind of writing however witty and engaging is not going to endear Steyn to the millions of Muslims who are not involved in this kind of stuff, but it is going to underline to most of us that there are a lot of followers of Islam who are making much of the big trouble in the world.
  It is hard to believe that anyone reading this book, or having closely and fairly followed world events over the past decade will be able to reasonably disagree with Stein.
  
  What then is his prescription and hope? He talks a lot about the will- power the radical Islamists have, and what he seems to be calling for is for the U.S. and for whatever other parts of the West can manage it to have the will to recognize the hard reality, the will to resist and fight. In this he has some pretty warm words for George W. Bush .
  As for the Iranian problem which seems the toughest state- problem the world is now facing he seems to think that we can manage a regime- change through stirring up the discontented populace, and moving to rebellion. This seems to me a bit of a Utopian prescription and Steyn seems to not want to put himself on the spot by recommending a military solution to the Iranian nuclear problem.
  Steyn again is an extremely clever, amusing, witty writer. But he is telling us terrible things in an amusing way.
  I am not sure he is wholly right, and it may be many of these European socieities will wake up . But he is on to the present trends, and they are deeply troublesome.
  One more point. Steyn touts Australia as the best American ally. And he sees Canada coming around a bit. But I think the U.S. has many friends throughout the world. I know where I live in Israel the United States is admired, and loved. I think too people all over the world including in Iran have much admiration for the U.S. So I don't think that the U.S. is necessarily alone in the struggle though as the world- leader it of course has responsibilities no other country can have.
  Bottom - line. We of the West are all in trouble and we'd better get going if we want our world and Civilization to survive.
  
  
• RIGHT WING DRIVEL
  By A2DB2ZC7G6Z0O on 2007-01-29
  There is a good book to be made about the demographic problems facing the developed world, but this isn't it! There are probably 3 or 4 pages of relevant discussion scattered throughout the book. For the rest, Steyn just vomits abuse on anyone who does not wholeheartedly support the indiscriminate use of American power (a favourite word). Those who oppose American foreign policy are by definition effeminate (a favourite insult), cowardly or loony. He never even considers the possibility that intelligent informed individuals might regard much American foreign policy as stupid, ill-conceived, criminal, self-serving or morally reprehensible.
  He seems never to have heard of the CIA term "blowback": i.e., American policies actually provoke the actions Steyn condemns.
  Europeans are denounced for paying their workers well, looking after the elderly & supplying universal health care. He seems to imply that America's power depends on keeping a significant proportion of the population poor & uneducated so that they will volunteer to be cannon fodder in ill-conceived wars of aggression to steal other countries' resources to further enrich the wealthy ruling elites.
  This book joins a select few that are so bad they belong in the rubbish rather than the recycle bin. Not even worth 1 star!
  
  
• A Necessary Read
  By ASQGWYYORNOTT on 2006-10-23
  This book so clearly reveals the events and trends between Western civilization and Islam, which have been hitherto hidden in plain sight, that it cannot help to be merely elucidating, but unmercifully believable as well because you've been seeing it all unfold right in front of you. Mark Steyn's points come at you hard and fast:
  
  The West's social democratic welfare state, so popular in Europe and inexorably approaching in America, is demographically and economically unsustainable.
  
  The West's multiculturalism propensity is both blind and spineless. It doesn't redefine western identity so much as destroy it, and replaces rationalism with a hopeful -and wrong- belief of the way the world is.
  
  Islam is resurgent and believes strongly in itself. In a clash of civilizations it has the monopoly on the will, while the west, only temporarily, has the monopoly on the means.
  
  The longer the war on terror lasts, the more the demographic trends of a growing Islamic population versus a generally shrinking or soon to be shrinking "western" (in the traditional sense of believing in liberal democratic republics as the political form of choice) favor a slow, unyielding, and stealthy victory for radical Islam.
  
  In Europe, the writing is practically already on the wall, as evidenced by Theo van Gogh's murder, the French riots, 3/11 in Spain, 7/7 in London, etc., and as evidenced by the European responses: Taking down the British flag in jails because it's offensive to Muslim inmates, French obstruction of America's war on terror as fought in Iraq, Germany's attempts at the introduction of a holiday to further Muslim understanding and tolerance, etc.
  
  The west is committing suicide all on its own, and the suicide bombers are just trying to help us along in the process.
  
  America is the sole Western state with a birth rate above demographically static, and has not yet slid down into the European "dream" of massive government pensions, weak military spending, little competition, soft work weeks, declining birth rates, and bureaucratic governance all financed by importing Islamic immigrants that they marginalize and refuse to assimilate, sealing their own fate. Europe is enjoying the party without planning to pay for the bill when it finally comes due.
  
  America alone in a world that is "re-primitivizing" can't last. It's last and only hope, as well as that for much of the world, is to successfully engage the world and spread such concepts as liberal (in the classic sense, not in the conservative vs. liberal political sense) federalist constitutional republicanism and capitalism, things that have made South Korea so much better than North Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan so much preferable to Mainland China, San Diego far nicer than Tijuana, etc.
  
  Unfortunately, Steyn makes a strong case that despite the above trends, the West sorely lacks not only the ability to recognize these trends, but to re-assert itself. This thanks to the self loathing and multiculturalist nihilism that has been the unintentional consequence of the European model nanny state.
  
  Not all is lost though. There is still time for the West to revive itself and Steyn lays out how this could be done in his ultimate chapter, making this not just a doomsday scenario diatribe.
  
  Finally, what makes this book so great is its straight to the point brevity, take no prisoners approach, and the fact that it is absolutely hilarious. You really will be laughing and crying at the same time. It's a must read, and one that can hopefully shock the west out of its self-imposed, morally relativist stupor.
  
  
• Facts are stubborn things...
  By A2Z8N894DNCX66 on 2006-10-11
  It is not often that you see a thesis presented and an argument developed so persuasively by the sheer identification and organization of facts. This book is inherently pessimistic. There is an element of fatalism to it. However, the skill with which relevant demographic, cultural and societal trends are described, dissected and marshaled to support the thesis, is truly impressive. And yet, it is done with a great deal of wit, irony and humor. This book transcends political solutions, and therefore transcends politics and partisanship. The Republicans have no answers at all, when they stumble into a relevant question, and the Democrats aren't even asking the right questions. It is a fascinating and compelling read. I could not put it down. Very highly recommended. I agree, it is very easy to sit back and critique the situation unfolding before our very eyes on the world stage. Steyn does offer some suggestions toward the end, but they are so vague and inconsequential, that they create the impression he put them in the book merely to avoid being condemned as someone who is great at identifying problems, but offers no solutions. The sad claim of the book is that Western civilization is standing in quicksand. There are no solutions. The West is playing for time. A very sobering book.
  
  
• What will happen to Mont St. Michel and Chartres?
  By ARJB4QWFPLI37 on 2006-10-20
  I don't give a d*mn for the French people or any of the European peoples any more since (as Mark Steyn clearly and forcefully points out) they are digging their own demographic graves (while happily damning America and appeasing the jihadists). But I do care for European THINGS, foremost among them great monuments to the human spirit such as Mont St. Michel and Chartres. When Europe becomes Islamic later this century, what will the Muslim rulers do to these cathedrals? Turn them into mosques, as the Ottomans did to St. Sophia when they conquered Constantinople, or turn them into museums, as the Turks later did to St. Sophia, or blow them up, as the Taliban did to the Buddhas?
  
  Mark Steyn, I love you! Thank heaven a voice like yours is heard in the wilderness. I just wish your autograph is more legible :-)
  
  
• Mark Steyn's compelling and chilling look at the future
  By A3CZR6UOXVQSMO on 2006-10-19
  In this book, Mark Steyn builds upon some common themes used in his syndicated columns: The Western world (particularly Europe) is in it's last years, as we currently know it, leaving America as the last outpost of real freedom.
  
  Steyn cites demographic trends that indicate migrant Muslim/Islamic populations will rapidly overtake the aging and childless Europeans. He builds on the basic statistics to paint a portrait of European "old world" countries like France living under Sharia Law - essentially a system where non Muslims are forced to alter many aspects of their day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, sexuality, and social issues to comply with Islamic teachings. Obviously, if this comes to pass we will no longer be able to look to Europe as an ally.
  
  Mark correctly points to the almost inexplicable way in which European countries already have conceded defeat. The examples made of those who dare to criticize Islam, from Salmon Rushdie to Theo van Gogh, and the riots and deaths in the aftermath of the Muhammad cartoons leave little doubt that Europe has no will to fight a culture battle.
  
  The themes in this book are chilling and seem almost unavoidable at this point unless there is a major shift in geopolitical attitudes. A very worthy purchase and read.
  
  
• Laugh your way into the dustbin of history
  By A2NYEEW9O66K46 on 2006-10-08
  Maybe this should have been titled, "The Real Inconvenient Truth". Mark Steyn may just have written the most important book of the century. And I don't just mean the past six years. If this book is ignored and the ongoing apocalypse he describes continues to unfold, it will seem painfully prophetic a hundred years from now. That's if anyone still reads then.
  
  You must buy this book. Better yet, buy ten copies and give them to the people you always end up screaming at during dinner parties. You know, the ones whose cars all run on cooking oil and granola. The "ecochondriacs" (don't you love that word?) who believe the biggest threat we face is some glacier melting in Greenland. It might just clue them into the fact that the threat we face is moving a lot faster than a glacier. Come to think of it, they wouldn't read it. And if they did it wouldn't change their world view. Their innate sense of "tolerance" makes it impossible for them to condemn anyone, even a group whose idea of a religious service is the vaporization of Tel Aviv. Or New York.
  
  Steyn has the rare gift of saying the obvious, and making it obvious, even to those who refuse to see the obvious. And of making it all seem hilarious. But laugh at your own peril. Civilizations much wiser and braver than our own laughed at the thought of a bunch of barbarians destroying their way of life. Where are they now?
  
  
  
• Best book to read about the end of the West
  By A3VY1QHFJF0Y7H on 2006-10-23
  Steyn has done a great job of incorporating the facts of why the West is losing to the latest version of Fascism in this new century. Having lived all over the world, and spending more than half my time in Europe and the Middle East every year, I can say that the issues raised by Steyn in this book have been in play for a long, long, time. The fact that Americans have finally woken up to the fact that the Islamists declared war on the West in the 1970's but we were too arrogant to pay attention is detailed in this book. While Steyn is following in the footsteps of the late Jean François Revel and his book on Anti-Americanism, he has a lot of new material to deal with, even though Europeans and others have made known their hatred of Americans for decades, even going back to the height of WWII when the founder of Le Monde worried about the "dangers" of Americans who were dying by the thousands every day to liberate his country from the Nazis he cowered from for years.
  Steyn is a modern day Shakespeare with the English language, and this book proves it. It is unfortunate that many of his critics will have to learn the lessons of this book the hard way, just as when their grandparents praised Chamberlain when he came back from Munich and delivered "peace in our time."
  The left never learns, it only runs in circles chasing its tail like a mad dog, and Steyn shows to be true page after page in this book.
  
  
  
• global warming has nothing on the global jihad
  By AJ96CFZBZ553Y on 2006-10-28
  Absolutley essential reading.
  
  Mark Steyn has written a brilliant and witty treatise on the very real and existential threat to Progressive Western culture- the moral highpoint of human civilization. The freedoms and humanism that have evolved over the last several centuries has resulted in the great advances in technology and living standards enjoyed in the west and adopted by many worldwide.
  
  Yet european multiculturalism, the continents shrinking birth rate, and large and unassimilated immigration is leading to its inevitable death spiral on the continent. Steyn makes the demographics very clear: european socialistic paternalism cannot last more than another generation or so, as europe doesn't have the birth rate to sustain it; and its progressive values will become compromised as sharia law creeps into european culture before our very eyes as a growing and colonizing muslim minority exert its influence. There may be what Steyn calls a re-primitivization of the west as America finds itself alone, with perhaps Australia, as the torch-bearer of western progressive culture. Or maybe America succumbs too- and the world enters another dark age.
  
  Steyn's warning is stark, clear, and convincing. His prescription; sound, wise, and urgent.
  
  
  
• For every action, there is a reaction
  By on 2006-11-11
  For hundreds of years European powers have invaded, subjugated and usurped other lands and peoples for their own gain. It goes back to Rome. This is why the nations of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the various oligarchies of South America and South Africa exist today.
  
  If Europeans were bold enough to colonize other countries, might people of other countries be so embolden to colonize Europe? Think about it.
  
  Steyn is little more than a well-spoken Rush Limbaugh. He, like many of the 5 star reviewers here, are the token arrogant American conservatives who are of the opinion that Europeans are effeminate, weak, homosexual, godless and philandering. Of course, nothing can compare to the sacred American culture of fast food, sitcoms, Wal Mart, obesity, war movies and country music right?
  
  In regards to Europe "turning it's back on it's Christian roots", there is nowhere in Western Europe where you will find uneducated, moronic Christian groups trying to replace evolution - a scientifc FACT accepted in the greater Western world - with the embarrassingly idiotic concept of unIntelligent Design.
  
  
• great laughs, deadly serious
  By A282HM1QF1N2MU on 2006-10-15
  If you want to laugh and cry at the same time, this book is for you.
  
  Declining birthrates, mindless multiculturalism, and a complete refusal to face reality have placed the West in a very serious position. Time is running out, and there are no easy answers.
  
  Steyn will make you laugh. There is constant humor, which is welcome. The overall subject matter is not funny. Its frightening. One can only hope many will read this wonderful book. One can hope--even nore--many will read it and come to their senses.
  
  
• Being Prescient Is Always To Be Undervalued By The Booksellers Of The Age
  By A2IG2FG7L85RMU on 2006-10-28
  This book predicts the unfortunate triumph of fundamentalist Islamism in welfare state countries which are more interested in congratulating themselves on their current "multiculturalism"(its real purpose to insure an uninterrupted provision of materialist comforts to lazy nationals) than in the likelihood of future survival of the native culture. Such countries have, for this reason, imported apparently unassimilable foreigners either "to do the work the native born won't do," or to live on the dole. Steyn's prophecies have only three features to recommend them: genius, wit and taste. Jonathan Swift said centuries ago that "when a true genius appears, the dunces will be in confederacy against him." Is it any surprise that this book by the irrepressible, undeniably brilliant Steyn, which is vying for number one bestseller in Canada, is pretty much impossible to buy in elite bookstores there? One can only hope that economic self interest in the book business will trump the conformist "lefty" ideology both of so many book orderers with B.A.'s and attitude or of pimply-faced, college-attending sales clerks in displaying new publications, not only there but wherever books are read and sold, so readers can wrestle with arguments of the most unabashed, eye-opening political incorrectness.
  
  
• The incomparable, insightful Steyn pens an extraordinary and important book!
  By A3IPSECQAUAT8V on 2006-11-03
  Most are by now aware of the demographic implosion stalking the West. Fewer have given it the consideration that it deserves. Patrick Buchanan's recent "State of Emergency" is must reading on the topic and with his new book, "America Alone" Steyn enters the pantheon of insightful writers addressing the problem of demographic atrophy plaguing the West. Steyn's analysis goes far beyond a simple statement of the harrowing fertility rates in Western nations. As is his usual wont, Steyn brings to the table an important, unique and fresh perspective intermingled with his usual refreshing wit.
  
  According to Steyn, this book is about "the larger forces at play in the developed world that have left Europe too enfeebled to resist its remorseless transformation into Eurabia and that call into question the future of much of the rest of the world, including the United States, Canada and beyond. The key factors are: Demographic decline; The unsustainability of the advanced Western social-democratic state; and Civilization exhaustion."
  
  Steyn pokes fun at the leftist doomsayers' preoccupation with global warming and resource exhaustion, for which there is little or no hard evidence, in favor of the very real and unequivocably established collapse of Western fertility rates. As Steyn points out, "A people that won't multiply can't go forth or go anywhere. Those who do will shape the age we live in." And guess who those people are who ARE reproducing? Why the Muslims of course.
  
  The Western world has become enervated and overcome by civilizational ennui which should come as no surprise since the "state has gradually annexed all the responsibilities of adulthood to the point where it's effectively severed its citizens from humanity's primal instincts, not least the survival instinct. In the American context, the federal deficit isn't the problem; it's the government programs that cause the deficit. These programs would be wrong even if Bill Gates wrote a check to cover them each month. They corrode the citizen's sense of self reliance to a potentially fatal degree. Big government is a national security threat: it increases your vulnerability to threats like Islamism, and makes it less likely you'll be able to summon the will to rebuff it."
  
  Europe has all but succumbed to the dull opiate of multiculturalism. Caught between the rock of collapsing fertility rates and the hard place of their increasing dependence on a government which has annexed most of the core functions of adulthood, Europeans cannot muster either the will or the babies to resist the inexorable collapse of their civilization. Their plight is compounded by the fact that Islam is providing the babies and the will to fill that vacuum. Europe is for all practical purposes lost.
  
  The central thesis of this book is that demography IS destiny. For without favorable demographics a civilization cannot long survive. And with favorable demographics, even the crude, brutish and largely unproductive can prevail. What single factor led to the civilizational dominance of England in the 1820s? A bursting population brought about by the conquest of infant mortality allowing England to send her sons and daughters to populate America, Australia, New Zealand and countless other outposts as well as civilize many many others. All of mankind owes a debt of gratitude to providence that so benign and beneficial a civilization as that of 19th century Britain first achieved demographic critical mass. Today we face a much more pernicious civilization wielding the demographic sword. That would be the sword of the prophet.
  
  There are two points that Steyn makes in "America Alone" that I take issue with. He says we have one of three options in dealing with Isalm: Surrender; Reform Islam; or Destroy Islam. Steyn says that we must work to reform Islam since the other two options are unthinkable. I believe there is a fourth option: Defeat, contain and isolate Islam. Islam cannot be reformed as history has taught us. Islam is a vicious circle of violence, mayhem and destruction called jihad. Attempts to alter this vicious circle in any way is short circuited by the Koran which asserts that any deviation from the its teachings is punishable by death. This is not a religion in any legitimate sense, but rather a death cult combined with a political ideology. It can be thought of more appropriately as the perfection of the Nazi creed. Could we have reformed Nazism?
  
  Steyn says that we Americans have failed to export our magnificent American political innovation of limited republican constitutional government which theoretically reins in the appetites of the mob. And while I generally agree with this sentiment I think it is important to point out that Americans themselves no longer share a common civilizational vision nor accept the founding tenets of our republic. Steyn believes that to consider an exit strategy in Iraq is tantamount to a shirking our civilizational responsibilities and he points to the British who managed to successfully export their form of government to the world to the benefit of mankind. But, we live in different times, and as I pointed out above, Islam cannot be reformed. Attempts to do so are a foolhardy waste of time.
  
  So, we are left with isolation, containment and the defeat of Islam as a challenge to our way of life. This will require in itself considerable will. And while we do not currently have the will to defeat Islamic supremacism and their desire for worldwide hegemoney that will come. Hopefully sooner rather than later for the longer we wait the further the scales will be tipped in Islam's favor.
  
  This is an exceptional and important book that should be read by anyone interested in the impending civilizational collapse and what, if anything, that can be done to reverse the trend. It is already too late for Western Europe. Hopefully America, civilization's last great hope, can stave off the rot of leftism and multiculturalism.
  
  
  
  
• Don't know whether to laugh or cry
  By A3RHQCQUUNVQ8C on 2006-10-18
  Steyn has written an important book that tells us where we are heading. Can anyone imagine Notre Dame in Paris becoming a mosque? After you read Steyn, you can. If I have any criticism of this book, it is that it is short on solutions. Steyn has convinced me he is right. Now what do we do about it?
  
  
• Death of the west at its leisure
  By A2000DWMMYNIYB on 2006-10-27
  Mark Steyn effectively completes an unplanned trilogy on the decline of western civilization. First, Pat Buchanan showed us how the west was meekly surrendering to other cultures by a lack of births and an even greater lack of will, in "The death of the west." Next, Ben Wattenberg, in "Fewer," showed that the entire world is undergoing unprecedented declines in fertility rates, even the non-western cultures.
  
  Buchanan and Wattenberg were clear, unrelenting, data-driven and relatively humorless in making their points. Steyn is a bit more erudite and philosophical, offers fewer numbers, and writes with a sparkling style and wit. In all three cases, the authors have been and will be accused of being xenophobic, racist, intolerant, and mean-spirited, but none of these monikers stick. The criticism is more likely to be attempts to kill the messenger, but the message is undeniable.
  
  The hard part is to ask, "So what? What can we do?" If over recent history, the western portion of world population has declined from 30% to 20%, while the Islamic portion has climbed from 15% to 20%, can this giant demographic tide be curbed? Most sober readers will agree that it needs to be addressed, at least considered, but the answers are hard to find. Wattenberg and Steyn are pessimistic, perhaps the tide can't be turned, but from Steyn we at least have a clear message to wake up.
  
  Citing sufficient if fewer statistics than Buchanan and Wattenberg, Steyn acerbically notes the often quiet infiltration of the west by Muslims wanting the economic fruits and benefits of the west - from technology to welfare - while outright rejecting the culture, values, and traditions of their hosts (please don't call them `adoptive' countries). Large cities in western Europe teem with restless but well-fed foreign "youths" (the media are often shy to note that perhaps forty percent of them are Muslim), the product of a western society that offers families unparalleled benefits yet expects nothing in return, an almost suicidal act of tolerance and compassion that more often than not results in rejection of the very system that gives these spoiled, radical and disaffected youths a life.
  
  The short-term dilemma is that western Europe in particular has created an anti-child, cradle-to-grave (although they don't much need cradles anymore for the very few European infants), socially an culturally liberal society that needs - and rationalizes its need for - plentiful, young, foreign workers and families to do the jobs Europeans won't do and, in most cases, there aren't enough Europeans left to do the work.
  
  The difference between this migration and past migrations is the total unwillingness to adapt by the immigrants. Sure Italians coming to the USA brought their food, culture and religion, but they came to the USA to be Americans, not Italians in voluntary exile. Immigration meant a new, better, preferred life, not jihad.
  
  Steyn is unrelenting in his criticism of those governments that practice tolerance and disdain cultural traditions, that embrace multiculturalism and dismiss standards and history. It is a dense, deliberate book, filled with Steyn's unique prose. The only person who comes close is P.J. O'Rourke. And the only more depressing book is Melanie Phillips' "Londonistan." Wake up, people of the west! Or soon there will be no west at all.
  
  

• The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
• While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within
• The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate
• Londonistan
• The Face of the Tiger