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Reviews
Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West by Christopher Caldwell
liberrydude's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of interesting info but at times it's equally fascinating, depressing, and dull. Europe will change/ has changed no doubt due to Islam and immigration but immigration has been more like colonization. At times I wasn't quite sure what the writer's intent or opinion was. He basically explains how Europe got to be in its current position-they never thought the immigrants would stay, but then they gave them generous welfare benefits. The Europe we grew up reading about will soon be extinct. Author goes into some countries in depth and actually compares Sarkozy to Nixon. EU is a manifestation of the Americanization of Europe. We provided their security during the Cold War and have not only imprinted our consumer culture but also our politics-political union of a continent. Surprisingly France offers the best hope for a multicultural nation while the UK the worst. I would have thought just the opposite. Lots of diverse disciplines(philosophy, sociology, anthropology, etc) with fair and balanced viewpoints from both sides of the aisle cited and critiqued by the author. Interesting comparisons with the USA regarding Islam and immigration throughout. Not a book to be read in haste-I don't think you could if you wanted to. It rambles at times but it covers a lot of ground.
sophronisba's review against another edition
2.0
I have read one chapter of this book. I am not finishing it because as best I can tell, it continues to be an obnoxious, stomach-turning screed against not just Islam, but diversity in general, and I have better things to do with my time.
mattyswytla's review against another edition
5.0
Good overview of the history of mass immigration to Europe and an analysis of the effects and pitfalls of this phenomenon, especially regarding the mass immigration of Muslim people from third world countries. Book was published in 2009, so it doesn’t anticipate the severity of the current situation, but the analysis is sound. Especially the varying reactions to the problems of multiculturalism and the rising role of Islam are covered in a very thoughtful and measured way. The author is critical but he doesn’t judge either side, which is an important difference in this dialogue.
His take on integration of Muslims was of particular interest to me, and I wish he would have covered more on this topic, but the book is a great starting point for further research – especially since it leaves the facts to your own interpretation and ask a number of poignant questions. Questions that are very often in the forefront of our lives as we deal with the question of the ‘refugee crisis’ on a daily basis. I for one am for drawing a line between genuine refugees and economic migrants. We can’t take in the poor from the entire developing world, we just can’t. And we aren’t a refugee centre for the Middle East either. It seems people are forgetting Europe went through a severe economic crisis and some countries aren’t doing as well as Germany, so expecting them to take on the burden of housing, educating, and transporting refugees and migrants is just selfish. I’m also for a critical overview of the integration levels of former migrants and their children – more and more are following radical Islam and rejecting Western secular society. The author has some theories and answers regarding that but again, I wish for an even deeper analysis.
It is certainly a very good book, so I recommend it.
His take on integration of Muslims was of particular interest to me, and I wish he would have covered more on this topic, but the book is a great starting point for further research – especially since it leaves the facts to your own interpretation and ask a number of poignant questions. Questions that are very often in the forefront of our lives as we deal with the question of the ‘refugee crisis’ on a daily basis. I for one am for drawing a line between genuine refugees and economic migrants. We can’t take in the poor from the entire developing world, we just can’t. And we aren’t a refugee centre for the Middle East either. It seems people are forgetting Europe went through a severe economic crisis and some countries aren’t doing as well as Germany, so expecting them to take on the burden of housing, educating, and transporting refugees and migrants is just selfish. I’m also for a critical overview of the integration levels of former migrants and their children – more and more are following radical Islam and rejecting Western secular society. The author has some theories and answers regarding that but again, I wish for an even deeper analysis.
It is certainly a very good book, so I recommend it.
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