Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis Is America's, Too

by Claire Berlinski

Book Overview

Old Europe's new crisis. Europe, the charming continent of windmills and gondolas. But lately, Europe has become the continent of endless strikes and demonstrations, bombs on the trains and subways,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400097681
• ISBN13: 9781400097685
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Crown Forum
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Army Officer

Look, if you're already convinced America should be more like Europe, then spare yourself the frustration and stay away from this book, because nothing Claire Berlinski says will change your mind anyway. But unlike the other books on this subject (Bawer, Phillips, & Steyn - all informative in their individual perspectives) Berlinski puts the European mind into context. This book is a wake up call for the fence-sitters. It is well written, insightful, and, to all you Bove followers, splendidly offensive.

Will Europe Survive?

These are not good days for Europe. It has lost its way and seems incapable of recognising the many dangers and threats it is facing. Many Europeans recognise that an ideological, spiritual and cultural malaise has swept over the continent, but they seem unable or unwilling to properly assess it, or to adequately deal with it. Europe certainly has a major, gaping hole in its soul, with its outright repudiation of its Christian heritage. And into this void has rushed various challenges, such as militant Islam, resurgent nationalism (including a revived Third Reich), and rampant anti-Americanism. Claire Berlinksi is an American academic and journalist who has lived and worked in Europe for many years, and she does not like what she is seeing there. She argues that Europe is in the midst of a major crisis, and it is a crisis that will impact America and the rest of the free world. Europe's rejection of its Christian past is only one aspect of this crisis, but it is a significant part. Berlinksi is no religious extremist. She describes herself as a secular Jew. But she is well aware of the consequences of the secularisation of Europe. Radical Islam's attempt to turn Europe into a Muslim stronghold is another major part of the crisis. Berlinski looks at a number of European nations in detail, including Germany, Italy, France, Holland, as well as Britain, and examines how they are coping with their unassimilated and resentful Muslim populations. Consider the Netherlands for example. Berlinksi shows that just as the Dutch attempted to appease the Nazis sixty years ago, they are now capitulating to militant Islam. Sure, the assassinations of two prominent Dutchmen has given them a reality check, but the Dutch tradition of tolerance is still working to undermine the nation. When Bosnian Serbs swept into Srebrenica, pony-tailed Dutch forces didn't fire a shot: they simply stood by and allowed the massacre of 7,000 men and boys. Holland, like the rest of Europe, is "passive, paralysed, and fundamentally in disaccord with American idealism" says Berlinksi. While European diplomats bickered as Yugoslavia burned, it was the Americans who finally intervened. Nation after nation in Europe has simply capitulated to hostile forces instead of standing up for what is of value. Within days of the 2004 Madrid terrorist train blasts, the newly-elected Spanish government pledged it would pull its troops out of Iraq, handing the al-Qaeda terrorists exactly what they wanted,. Neville Chamberlain-style appeasement is being replayed over and over again in Europe, with very few Europeans learning the lessons of history. Demographic trends are also a major concern in Europe. If present trends continue, much of Europe will be losing population in the near future. And this is closely tied in with a disillusioned collective psyche. A nation or a continent that has no reason to exist, has no hope for the future, has no firm set of values to cling to, is not going to want

Read this book

I have only finished the first few chapters of this book, but those were enough to make me recommend this book without hesitation. Perhaps the most gloomy thought arising from the reading was: "Oh no, the Europeans are doing it again." And when I say "doing it again," I mean starting a World War. After all, ever since 9/11 we have known that the majority of the hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. A much more disturbing question is how many of them came via EUROPE. Muhammad Atta, the ringleader, for sure. In this century, more than 350,000 Americans have laid down their lives in EUROPE, trying to keep Europe alive and free. How then can it possibly be true that EUROPE is alive with anti-Americanism, and tolerating large communities of Islamic radicals who have sworn, over and over again, to destroy America? I will single out two items which absolutely defy belief. First, after the murder of Theo Van Gogh, someone painted a large mural in Holland proclaiming "Thou shalt not kill." A local Muslim, incredibly, objected to the mural on the grounds that it was "racist." Even more incredibly, the Dutch authorities capitulated to him and ordered the mural painted over. Even MORE incredibly, someone filming the destruction of the mural had his videotape confiscated and destroyed. Are we in full surrender mode yet, or not?? Second: a top Dutch politician now spends every night in a high-security prison because his security guards cannot vouch for his safety otherwise! He is "allowed" weekly visits with his wife! On the other hand, a man who murdered a top Dutch politician was fined 34,000 Euros and will be out of prison within a few years -- he did not get life imprisonment! So Dutch politicians are forced to spend their lives in prison, while their murderers are fined and released!! Are we in full surrender mode yet, or not?! Buy this book and read it.

Something old, something new, something evil ...

This frequently witty but deadly serious account of Europe today is a type of travelogue in which the author writes from different countries, commenting upon the continental malaise from various perspectives. The compelling narrative blends personal experience and interviews with impressive historical knowledge, psychological insight and political analysis. She reports the opinions of a wide spectrum of individuals, both indigenous Europeans and Muslim immigrants, while interpreting the ominous signs visible everywhere. With reference to the French philosopher Chantal Delsol, Berlinski explains the root of Europe's political and spiritual crisis as the collapse of faith that has led Post-Christian Europe into destructive nihilism. The delusions of postmodernism, relativism and multiculturalism are paving the continent's path towards collapse. The mindset expresses itself in the self-loathing of European elites, the strange passivity of the people and Europe's willingness to bargain with depravity which she calls a "self-extinguishing tolerance." I highly recommend Explaining Postmodernism by Stephen Hicks to understand the mental dynamic at work. The high European suicide rate reflects its cultural, spiritual and ideological emptiness. Anti-Americanism, coupled with antisemitism & antimodernism, is just another pseudo-religious substitute serving as the glue holding the sorry mess together in the absence of anything meaningful. She has noticed its messianic & orgiastic aspects, as did Christopher Hitchens and Julie Burchill. The idea of the European Union has undermined national identity but lacks emotional appeal and is thus no match for the expansionist force of Jihad that has led to riots, the Danish cartoon uproar and the murders of artists and politicians. Berlinski reveals the hidden room in the house of Europe: Bleak lawless ghettos where decidedly non-Western practices like female circumcision are tolerated because of Multiculturalism; Radical preachers inciting their followers against the society that gave them refuge; Alienation amongst even 3d generation immigrants whose grandparents arrived in the 1950s; Violence and the murder of Theo van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn in Holland. This confirms the observations of Bruce Bawer in While Europe Slept. In chapter three where Berlinski discusses the popular novel White Teeth by Zadie Smith, she remarks upon the petty, ignorant and uncritical anti-Americanism of people like Harold Pinter and Margaret Drabble. The projection of the rage and self-hatred of the elites on Israel and the United States will not solve the continent's problems. An exception is the city of Marseille where she finds hope. The local approach directly contradicts the French ideal of republicanism but it works. Ethnicity and religion are recognized and community leaders hold regular meetings where they get to know & respect one another. The city has shown strong resistance to antisemitism and the vandalism rampant

And the beat goes on......

Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis is America's, Too by Claire Berlinski is a chilling and frightful read. Having been a student of history, there are alarm bells galore throughout Menace that are familiar to anyone who has studied the 20th Century. Could europe be on a collision course with military, social, or economic hard times yet again? Berlinski does a masterful job at uniting todays headlines with an up to the minute analysis of the problems facing our cultural brothers and sisters. Why is europe heading this way? Berlinsky makes it clear that europe's problems today are not far removed from the tidal forces that caused so much death and destruction in the last century. It is clear that ghettos, whether Jewish or Muslim are still ghettos and do not make for a stable social fabric. The more I read, the less comfortable I felt. Good analysis.