The Last Days of Europe

"One of the more persuasive in a long line of volumes by authors on both sides of the Atlantic chronicling Europe's decline and foretelling its collapse. Unlike the Euro-bashing polemics of a few of those authors, Mr. Laqueur's short book is measured, even sympathetic . . . The tone is one of resigned dismay rather than grave-stomping glee. This temperate quality makes the book's theme—that Europe now faces potentially mortal challenges—all the more compelling . . . Mr. Laqueur notes that the average European family had five children in the 19th century; today it has fewer than two, a trend that will shrink the continent's population in the next century on a scale unprecedented in modern history . . . Too often Europe has reacted to the growing threat posed by extremists among its minorities with a tolerance and self-criticism . . . Meanwhile, social tensions increase, not least because of high emigration to Europe from Muslim countries and high birth rates among Muslim populations. No one has yet found a good way of integrating those populations into mainstream European society . . . In the economic field, Europe is celebrating a growth rate of 2.5% annually; in the U.S. a similar pace is regarded as a crisis. Meanwhile unemployment remains brutally high and productivity stagnant . . . Mr. Laqueur ponders whether Europe will really surrender to these adverse trends or finally resist . . . Abroad, the U.S. has long surpassed Europe in power, influence and economic dynamism; Asia may do so before long. At home, a profound demoralization has set in, induced in part by . . . a century in which unimaginable violence sapped the regenerative energies of a wearied people . . . in which the luxuries of rapid economic growth produced a false sense of security that cannot be sustained in a global age."—Gerard Baker, The Wall Street Journal Online

"The Last Days of Europe spotlights an uncomfortable reality. Hopefully it will generate greater awareness, more open dialogue, and the courage to take steps to deal with Europe's problems."—Henry A. Kissinger, former secretary of state and national security adviser

"The author, a veteran historian originally from Germany, is worried about Europe's future, which he only hopes will be 'more than that of a museum.' The causes of Europe's troubles, in Laqueur's view, are demographic decline, the failure to integrate new, mostly Muslim immigrants, economic stagnation (due to an overly generous welfare state and an aversion to work), and the stalling of the European integration process. The Last Days of Europe is a good primer on the challenges Europe faces."—Philip Gordon, Foreign Affairs

"An eloquent and eye-opening epitaph for a civilization as much as for a continent—all the more impressive for its depth of historical understanding as well as its illuminating transatlantic perspective. The preeminent historian of postwar Europe has become the prophet of its decline and fall."—Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University, and author of The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West

"Laqueur, who has four-plus decades of experience writing on Europe's recent and contemporary history . . . discusses current trends in three areas: the immigration of Muslims, financing of the welfare state, and the European Union. They dominate European political life today, and as Laqueur addresses how these foci of popular and elite attention manifest themselves country by country, the author drives his treatment toward the conclusion that reform is nigh impossible yet unavoidable. Muslim immigrants, he argues, have not been assimilated, don't wish to be, and are profoundly alienated from their host societies. Europe's munificent social-welfare systems don't add up, as Laqueur illustrates with an array of demographic statistics pointing downward and economic numbers pointing sideways. As for the EU, its centralizing aspirations have halted with recent rejections of a constitution and its inability to create a credible military force. Venturing conditional prognostications on these matters, Laqueur delivers a pessimistic assessment."—Gilbert Taylor, Booklist