Product Description

This title is the "New York Times" bestseller - now in paperback. In "America Alone", Mark Steyn uses his trademark wit, clarity of thought and flair for the apocalyptic, Mark Steyn to argue that America is the only hope against Islamic Terrorism. Steyn addresses the singular position in which America finds itself, surrounded by anti-Americanism on all sides. He gives us the brutal facts on these threats and why there is no choice but for America to fight for the cause of freedom - alone.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3645 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

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. The future, as Steyn shows, belongs to the fecund and the confident. And the Islamists are both, while the West is looking ever more like the ruins of a civilization. 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. Mark Steyn's America Alone is laugh-out-loud funny--but it will also change the way you look at the world.

From the Back Cover
Praise for America Alone

"Mark Steyn is a human sandblaster. This book provides a powerful, abrasive, high-velocity assault on encrusted layers of sugarcoating and whitewash over the threat of Islamic imperialism. Do we in the West have the will to prevail?" --Michelle Malkin, New York Times bestselling author of Unhinged

"Mark Steyn is the funniest writer now living. But don't be distracted by the brilliance of his jokes. They are the neon lights advertising a profound and sad insight: America is almost alone in resisting both the suicide of the West and the suicide bombing of radical Islamism." --John O'Sullivan, editor at large, National Review, and author of The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister

About the Author
Mark Steyn's writing on politics, war, arts, and culture can be read around the world from the Washington Times all the way to Hawke's Bay Today in New Zealand. In the United States he is National Review's Happy Warrior, and a contributor to the New Criterion. His weekly column appears in the New York Sun, the Orange County Register, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, and other newspapers. In Canada, he writes for the country's biggest-selling news weekly, Maclean's. In addition, his column appears in many other publications from The Australian to New Zealand's leading magazine, Investigate. He is a popular commentator on radio and TV, and has guest hosted such top-rated shows as Hannity & Colmes, Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, and Hugh Hewitt. Born in Toronto, he now lives in New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

"Some light reading for the new Dark Ages"
At least, that's how he signed my copy. I'd call Mark Steyn's essay the single best distillation of the challenge posed to the West by radical Islam that I have ever read.

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".

Important and timely
Mark Steyn, like P.J. O'Rourke, is an extraordinarily insightful and witty communicator who is not only an artist in the tapestry he weaves with words, but who has keen and piercing discernment into one of the most pressing issues of our time: the shockingly rapid and rabid advance of virulent violence in the name of religion.

Thankfully, unlike many lily-livered and wrong-headed authors of today, Steyn does not grant moral equivalency between faiths that promote peace and love, with faiths that promote hatred and terror. Steyn tells it like it is, and focuses on the real, specific threat to us all: the spread of Islamist extremism (differentiated from peace-loving Muslims). This aggressive terror movement quite literally threatens the very existence of Western Civilization and the freedoms of every single person reading this review.

Having been to Europe on several occasions, including recently, I can say that Steyn's observations about the encroaching threat are right on. Recently, French law enforcement officials have gone so far as to call for help, noting that what Islamist extremists and hoodlums are waging against them in France is an actual intifada. The Netherlands, also overwhelmed with angry immigrants who refuse to assimilate, is likewise facing an epic clash of cultures. In the UK, key cities are on the brink of becoming majority Muslim--a frightening percentage of whom believe that terrorism is a viable, moral option.

Could this happen in America? In fact, the seeds have already been planted. If you have been unaware or dismissive of this fact, then you absolutely must get Steyn's book and read it immediately.

This is not a book about partisanship. Whether one is a "conservative" or a "liberal," if you love America; if you love your family; if you love freedom...you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to get informed and get involved.

This is not a book of racism or bigotry. Steyn does not attack an ethnic group or, specifically, those who practice the Muslim faith. In fact, he sheds light on why Islamist extremism is the greatest danger to Muslims in the world today. (It should be noted that more Muslims and Arabs have been killed and persecuted and enslaved by Islamofacism than any other force.)

Some commentators and comedians casually dismiss or minimize the threat that we all face. For those of us who are Baby Boomers and Xers, it is perhaps deeply ingrained into our nature to pooh-pooh any talk of menace or serious threats to our way of life; this faulty mindset is born out of decades of complacency and relative peace. What is looming on the horizon is simply inconceivable to many. But then again, so was Pearl Harbor. And so was 9/11.

For the sake of the world--including moderate Muslims--it is vital that America (and all of the virtues for which it stands) wins in this struggle. It's high time to refute all of the self-loathing America-hating, traitorous professors and pundits here in this country, and the Euro-weenie hand-wringers on foreign shores, who blame the USA for all of the ills on the planet. Say it loud and clear: the USA has been an overwhelmingly postive force for good in this world, and it's survival is crucial for the prosperity of many nations and peoples.

War has been declared and waged against us; we ignore it at our own peril.

Serious, Sober & Funny
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."