*The United States Presidential Election * (II)

In this, his first major book, Mark Steyn--probably the most widely read, and wittiest, columnist in the English-speaking world--takes on the great poison of the twenty-first century: the anti-Americanism that fuels both Old Europe and radical Islam. America, Steyn argues, will have to stand alone. The world will be divided between America and the rest; and for our sake America had better win.

From the Inside Flap
It’s the end of the world as we know it…

Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer from a muezzin. Europeans already are.

And liberals will still tell you that "diversity is our strength"—while Talibanic enforcers cruise Greenwich Village burning books and barber shops, the Supreme Court decides sharia law doesn’t violate the "separation of church and state," and the Hollywood Left decides to give up on gay rights in favor of the much safer charms of polygamy.

If you think this can’t happen, you haven’t been paying attention, as the hilarious, provocative, and brilliant Mark Steyn—the most popular conservative columnist in the English-speaking world—shows to devastating effect in this, his first and eagerly awaited new book on American and global politics.

The future, as Steyn shows, belongs to the fecund and the confident. And the Islamists are both, while the West—wedded to a multiculturalism that undercuts its own confidence, a welfare state that nudges it toward sloth and self-indulgence, and a childlessness that consigns it to oblivion—is looking ever more like the ruins of a civilization.

Europe, laments Steyn, is almost certainly a goner. The future, if the West has one, belongs to America alone—with maybe its cousins in brave Australia. But America can survive, prosper, and defend its freedom only if it continues to believe in itself, in the sturdier virtues of self-reliance (not government), in the centrality of family, and in the conviction that our country really is the world’s last best hope.

Steyn argues that, contra the liberal cultural relativists, America should proclaim the obvious: we do have a better government, religion, and culture than our enemies, and we should spread America’s influence around the world—for our own sake as well as theirs.

Mark Steyn’s America Alone is laugh-out-loud funny—but it will also change the way you look at the world. It is sure to be the most talked-about book of the year.
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".


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."

Steyn does his homework. If you like information on demographic trends, certain projects of what the future might be for Europe, Japan, and the U.S. then this is a great read.

It is quite sobering and may even depress you a bit based on how Europe is changing with a massive influx of muslims coming in from Moracco the Middle East and Southeast Asia. There are a few points I would disagree with Steyn on Japan. I do believe the Japanese purposely want their population to go down slowly given the size and resources of their archipeligo nation, it isn't diminishing because of mass infusion of new workers from the Islamic world. For the Japanese, it's a shrewd move on their part.

However, Europe is another issue. It's a mess. The caucasian races are not producing children and to keep their over-inflated social systems in place (something we may have contributed in the formation with the Marshall Plan)... they need new workers, blood, even if it comes from the places vastly different in values to their own. The French city riots that happened a few years ago had substantially large numbers of youth from muslim households. Certain laws in England have been changed to accommodate a more aggressive Islamic population living there. These are only a few of the changes being seen today.

Steyn gives some provocative points and a decent level of raw and refined data to show this demographic shift. The long-term ramifications are what shaped the title of the book... "America Alone." That sense that we might be alone among the nations may happen sooner than we imagine. Although there are some who would say we always have been "alone," and that America has always marched to a different drummer than the Europeans.

Overall, a good read, and definitely a source of discussion for many. I do recommend his work. Admittedly, it focuses on demographics, and I feel Steyn could have expanded this further.

*Buckaroo* wrote:McCain-Jindal?

Brass Monkey wrote:

Invader Zim wrote:AD, go back to surfing for kiddie porn, you banal right wing wanker.

Sir, I salute your suggestion to Allan.

horace wrote:hmn...a clinton - obama team would be a bit of a nightmare for you eh bodyline?

horace wrote:sets a trend for here...you'll have to frock up in your aussie flag and dust off your hanson pamphlets wont you

If you're trying to become the elected head of any country it's a good idea to have friends who think that country's a good not a bad idea, regardless of whether it's true or false.

Neil D wrote:Hillary Clinton comes across as a bit of a Machiavellian evil genius. I keep expecting her to sprout a tail and start carrying a pitchfork.

Then again, Obama comes across as a snot-nosed, skinny little wimp. And of course, John McCain is older than the earth itself.

Dear me, what a choice.

*Buckaroo* wrote:
all the three are incarnate of the devil himself.

*Buckaroo* wrote:weren't both Kerry and Bush members of Skull & bones satan worshipping clique.

I am sure this too is some such contraption. All three of them are agents of Rockefeller.

McCain has also allegiance to Rothschilds.

*Buckaroo* wrote:
this is a life and death struggle for our soul.