Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #186096 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-21
• Released on: 2006-02-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Scholarly and provoking
The unfortunate title of this book renders it easy for some to misconstrue its content as 'racist drivel' as one 'reviewer' has already claimed. (Rather telling that he's not made any specific criticisms of the book and simply cried racism because he has nothing of substance to say since he's not read the book).

Bruce Bawer is not contrary to what some might infer from the title of this book a 'neocon fundamentalist Christian.' Actually Bawer is a gay American literary critic, writer and poet who has wrote in various 'liberal' publications and sharply criticised Christian fundamentalism. This book is relevant to all concerned by the worrying fundamentalism of some sections within Islam - from Salmon Rushdie, the cartoons controversy to the prevalent disregard for civilised values in many Muslim countries - and the exporting of these values to the West there are genuine issues that are of universal concern in the West, especially to moderate Muslims here. Bawer, addresses the issue seriously from a secular, non-racist and pragmatic perspective. A depressing read but an extremely vital message conveying some uncomfortable truths.

Must read for anyone interested in radical Islam in Europe
Before you buy this book, you should ask yourself a simple question: am I interested in radical Islam in Europe and do I doubt the PC "elites" ability to deal with it? If the answer is yes, then you will enjoy this book. This book is not written by a neo-con, nor is it written by an apologist for terrorism. It is written by an openly gay man, who has lost faith in the political left that was supposed to champion his rights. Written from this extremely novel perspective, the author describes his initial fascination with pro-gay, secular Europe contrasting with what is in his opinion at least, the highly religious homophobic USA. However, as he witnessed the excesses of Muslim radicals in Europe, and the spinelessness of the European "elites" to deal with them, he became disenchanted, and as a consequence came to appreciate the more strident stance of Americans. Indeed, a recurrent theme is his disbelief that EU elites can be so obsessed with "dialogue" with terrorists dedicated to their destruction, and he is amazed that the EU can be so contemptuous of the USA when America is the only Western nation with the resolve to deal with radical Islam, and which is actually Europe's protector.

The book also covers a number of harrowing accounts, such as honour killings, the authors own assault at the hands of radicalised youths and descriptions of various Al-Qaeda attacks in Europe, such as the Madrid and London bombings, and the assassination of Theo Van Gogh. He also show cases some of the increasingly bizarre PC platitudes of Europe's political and media "elite" in the face of terrorism, and laments the passive nature of European populations. The author also uses numerous examples from his personal life, from dinner party arguments to surviving attempted muggings to illustrate his frustration further, and add an extremely interesting personal "feel" to the book.

The book does have some weaknesses though. Firstly, the author's referencing system is rather odd, in that rather than use neat footnotes and a reference section, he relies on long verbatim quotes from sources that can be a little long and clumsy. Secondly, the chapters are rather long, and don't seem to follow a logical pattern: indeed, in the chapter "Before 9/11" there are some references to post 9/11 events. One welcome difference this book has from others on the subject is he actually suggests some measures to combat radical Islam and anti-Americanism, as opposed to many other books which are simply long rants that are long on diagnosis but short on "cure" for the problem of terrorism.

This book is an ideal companion to Mark Steyn's "America Alone", Nick Cohen's "What's Left?" and Ian Buruma's "Murder in Amsterdam". The book is highly recommended, but won't win any prizes for political correctness!

Essential reading
As a non-European, Bawer can be free from our European achilles heels (political correctness to the point of absurdity/cruelty, tolerance of everything including intolerance, balanced view to the point of no view at all) and can tell us what we refuse to see for ourselves. Bawer specifically addresses the issue: if new/recent arrivals to the West refuse to assimilate western lifestyles/values, why did they choose the West as their place of refuge at all and what objective do they have? As stated, this book is essential reading for anybody who has asked themselves that particular question.
On the downside, towards the centre of the book Bawer for no clear reason diverges and falls into the trap of persecuted evangelist for "American" values at length, failing to recognise that such values are often the traditional values of original European nation cultures anyway, now under threat (which is what the book sets out to address at the start, and does in fact return to at the end). This is a major weakness assuming the people Bawer is aiming to influence is the "loony left" of the intelligentsia within Europe (which group is the justified target of much of his criticism for Western inaction). This group could well reject his other findings because of this single failing.
If Western readers are prepared to see beyond this single weakness, however, this book tells us in factual evidential terms what we have long needed telling. Read it in conjunction with Ayaan Hirsi Ali's 'The Caged Virgin'. Borrow it, beg it, buy it, but read it.