The Strange Death of Europe

Disturbing dystopian preview of tidal wave

Douglas Murray gives the background of the wave of immigration, legal and illegal, that has swept Europe. The introduction of new cultures to Europe, when it occurred at a time that European culture was secure, added new ideas, new costumes, and new cuisines to the continent. However, when those arriving have little interest in assimilating, have even less interest in the parliamentary and relatively free economies, and the history and culture of the host countries, we risk a hostile take-over rather than an enriching and diversification. This is the point of this book's grim conclusion.

The first few chapters outline the problem in philosophical form. Then we get the historical numbers, followed by illustration after excruciating illustration of actual real-time happenings.

Much like herd immunity, when most of a population is secure in its beliefs, newcomers add variety in a constructive way. But if the population no longer values its identity and the newcomers have a more robust but antithetical identity and ideology, the newer and more virulent strains will eventually prevail.

Hopefully Murray's jeremiad is exaggerated, but I fear otherwise.

18 of 21 people found this review helpful

A sobering tale

Extremely well written, Douglas Murray presents a cogent, clear and concise treatise on the sad state of affairs in Europe and the betrayal of the European people by their leaders. It is the most bizarre of times where so many are obsessed by race, racism and stamping out fascism. All the while allying themselves with some of the most backwards of ideologies and depraved people of those found in radical Islam. The book doesn't offer much hope, but perhaps offers the best medicine - truth. Something Europe's ruling class and media outlets seem to care little for.

18 of 23 people found this review helpful

Appalling European government crime cover up.

Where does The Strange Death of Europe rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is an excellent book. I can now understand what is going on in Europe and make sense of all the contradictory reports I hear on the news and watch on TV. I am appalled by the government cover up of crime against women in all European countries. I hope Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reads this book and understands what has happened in Europe with respect to immigration and Islam.

What does Robert Davies bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Robert Davies is able to communicate with the tone of his voice again and again facts which seem incredulous to the listener. I found myself shaking my head time and time again.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I don't think Hollywood will be able to find a super hero in this book, and that’s all Hollywood can do anymore.

23 of 30 people found this review helpful

I'm so glad I read this book!

I didn't understand what all the fuss and hostility was about in Europe these days and this book explained a lot. Douglas doesn't waste words he gets right to the point and then thoroughly explains the moving parts affecting each situation. There are plenty of points made in this insightful overview of pertinent recent history. It's funny that we are inundated with news and media but it seems to function as a big sponge soaking up all the happenings and squeezing them into a grey sludge. The Strange Death of Europe is like a lamp that allows you to see the whole shocking picture. With plenty of detail. Yikes. Good luck Europe. We will all miss you if you don't get your shit together.

20 of 26 people found this review helpful

Must read

for anyone who wants to know what's happening to Europe and Europeans in relation to immigration since 1945 but especially in last few years has to read this book
lack of direction and clearly defined policies, delusional and lying politicians, tolerance of immigrants' sadism and primitivism, liberal dictatorship and censorship, masochism and nihilism of Western European populace, complete rejection of religion and much more is tearing the Europe apart and Europeans have only themselves to blame
this was actually an incredible but disturbing read

13 of 18 people found this review helpful

Brilliant! Must read!

This is possibly one of the most critically important books for European and Western culture at this point in history - and I don't think that is an overstatement.

Murray coherently and articulately revisits the immigration policies of post-WW2 Western Europe and describes how the extreme political Left - the Regressive Left - have deliberately eroded national identity and national pride as bourgeois echoes of western imperialism and colonialism, and have instead insisted the Western Europeans wallow in an eternal mud pool of self-doubt, self-loathing, self-mistrust and perpetual shame about its historical, geopolitical and cultural sins. Murray demonstrates how this attack from the anti-nationalist Left has led gradually to a 'cultural malaise' and 'existential fatigue' in Western European societies, where many in Europe can no longer identify or ascribe value to 'European culture and values', nor raise enough existential energy to defend or commend the benefits and positive aspects of that culture to the millions of migrants from outside Europe.

Enter the political and social Left - led by European leaders like Angela Merkel - as self-appointed judges, jury, and executioners of the perpetual social and cultural guilt of Europe and who seem compelled to sentence Europe to worldwide community service for its litany of past sins. These sins can only be atoned for - in the minds of the Left - by taking in any and every migrant from the Third World who claims political or economic asylum, even if these migrants are making claims that cannot be verified. This has led to the gates of Europe being thrown open to anyone from around the world to essentially walk in and walk around to settle wherever and whenever they please. This migration tsunami, of course, peaked with the 2015 migration crisis and continues to this day. Murray discusses the crazy and willful mismanagement of immigration by multiple and successive European governments, epitomized by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Of course, the greatest influx of migrants into Europe over the last decade have been from Islamic countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern/Sub-Saharan Africa. These groups have brought with them outdated views on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, gender equality and the rights of sexual minorities, not to mention a general mistrust, or even open loathing of, the values and virtues of Western, secular liberal democracies - the very nations and cultures that welcome these migrants with open, accepting arms.

Thus in Europe, we have the frightening perfect storm of the mass, uncontrolled migration of peoples who have a very strong sense of their identity, the value of their religious convictions and the value of their native culture and beliefs, into a Europe that is stuck in a cultural malaise of self-doubt, self-loathing, self-mistrust, and shame, not at all convinced or confident that European culture and society has anything to offer of perpetual value these migrants. This - quite obviously - is a recipe for the collapse of weakened, apologetic and self-doubting European society under the sustained pressure from an over-confident and self-assured culture of newcomers.

Murray discusses many other related issues, including the anti-European bias in the political Left which leads to automatic charges of Western imperialism, colonialism, and racism if concerned citizens and politicians speak up and express concerns about unfettered immigration into Western Europe. Murray also tells about outrageous and ludicrous episodes of the failure of police and other authorities to properly deal with, or even act on, criminal activities by migrants such as rape and sexual assault, due to an irrational fear of being accused by the Left of racial profiling and racism.

And in a fascinating and insightful chapter, Murray theorizes about how the loss of identity, drive, and self-confidence may be intricately linked with Western Europe's secularization and the unmooring of itself from its foundational myths and stories (overridingly based in Christianity). Again, when faced with the immigration of those from cultures that still cling strongly and (over) confidently with their own foundational stories and myths, this puts Western Europe at a distinct disadvantage.

Overall, this book is at times disturbing, and at times provokes the reader to anger and outrage. But Murray's book is a clarion call to Europe and the West to wake up to the signs of the times, recognize the bad ideas, cultural masochism and historical revisionism perpetrated by the Regressive Left, who would have us believe that there is nothing good and commendable in Western civilisation and its history, and who would have all national borders, national identity and national pride condemned as evil imperialism and colonialism.

The time is now to take steps in Europe and the West to ensure that Murray's book does not prove to be prophetic.

9 of 14 people found this review helpful

High on Rhetoric, Low on References

This is a good book. It’s well written to be easily understood and absorbed and the performance is on point.

It does rhetoric well, tapping into the narrative that liberals are sowing the demise of western culture and western civic governance by playing identity politics and refusing to examine the facts of Muslim/Islamic immigration honestly.

It does references poorly, in the audiobook anyway. While there may be references galore in the print version, this book “listens” much like a conversation style podcast would; say Joe Rogan Podcast, Waking Up with Sam Harris, The Rubin Report, etc. it’s as though Murray is extemporaneously giving an account of the European immigration crisis in a conversational format. One full of information from polls and events and news stories and death tolls and attacks et cetera et. al., but like a podcast conversation you have to take what’s being said for granted until you look it all up.

As long as you take that into account and know that you’re going to have to do a fair bit of research on the hard claims, then you’re good to go.

The books does make a lot of good points and is worth the money.

12 of 19 people found this review helpful

A very interesting read

Douglas Murray is both a great orator and writer. I very much enjoyed this book even though I don't agree with him on all points (which actually makes it even better).

The only knock against the audiobook I have is the way that the narrator adopts an e.g. German accent to signal that the quotes he's reading is made by someone of that particular nationality. Effing annoying and distracting. Otherwise great narration, but a big time slap on the face for that bit of unnecessary artistic interpretation.

5 of 8 people found this review helpful

Must read, for any Swede!

Best book about Europes situation to date.
Anyone who care about their childrens future should read this book.

10 of 17 people found this review helpful

SO TRUE! Great analysis!

Loved it because it is based on facts, and patterns! The truth of what's happening in Europe, and why!