About the Author

CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL is a columnist for the Financial Times, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and a senior editor at the Weekly Standard. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

“Caldwell compiles his arguments patiently . . . with lucidity and intellectual grace and even wit. . . . He is a vivid writer, and like an action-movie hero he walks calmly away from his own detonations while fire swirl behinds him. . . . Mr. Caldwell’s book is the most rigorous and plainspoken examination of Muslim immigration in Europe to date, a sobering book that walks right up to, if never quite crossing, the line between being alarming and being alarmist. . . . Well-researched, fervently argued and morally serious . . . it may serve as a wake-up call to many of Europe’s liberal democracies.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“Caldwell gives his subject its most sustained and thoughtful treatment to date.” — Fouad Ajami, The New York Times Book Review

“This book is the best on its subject I have read.” —Theodore Dalrymple, National Review

“400 pages of must-reading. . . . A truly rare combination of ground-truth reporting about—and historically and sociologically informed analysis of—the state of Europe today.” —The Weekly Standard

“Caldwell makes [his] arguments unusually well, in a book notable for its range, synthesis of the literature, analytical rigor and elegant tone.” —Claire Berlinksi, The Washington Post

“Caldwell is a bracing, clear-eyed analyst of European pieties. . . . This book pulsates with ideas.” —David Goodhart, The Observer (UK)

“Caldwell knows Europe, especially France, better than most American and British commentators. . . . He is very good at pinpointing denial and flight from reality. . . . If his book sharpens a so far sluggish debate, it will have served an important purpose.” —Martin Woollacott, The Guardian (UK)


“In this book, Christopher Caldwell presents a daring, thoroughly researched and provocative view of the Islamic revolution underway in Europe. It’s a chilling account of how complacency, moral relativism and socialist dogma froze the European imagination while the agents of radical Islam proceeded, sure-footed, to claim Europe neighborhood by neighborhood. There have been many wake-up calls to alert Europeans to the challenges of immigration and the threat of Islam, but if anything should thaw the minds of the European leadership, it is this book.” —Ayaan Hirsi Ali

“Among the many brilliant things Christopher Caldwell has done in Reflections is write a how-not-to book about immigration.  Once again Europe has shown us the way—to go wrong.  Thanks to Caldwell’ s careful reporting and keen analysis we know exactly what we shouldn’t do when new people move to our country.” —P. J. O’Rourke

“In Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, Christopher Caldwell combines an authentically Burkean historical breadth of vision with a reporter’s keen eye for detail. No one can seriously doubt after reading this book that large-scale immigration, particularly of Muslims, is in the process of transforming Europe profoundly. From the strife-torn banlieues of Paris to the multiplying minarets of Middle England, as Caldwell shows, we are a very long way indeed from the merry multicultural melting-pot of bien-pensant fantasy.” —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

Respected conservative journalist Caldwell (senior editor, Weekly Standard) writes with deep skepticism about Europe's future relations with the Islamic world. He most clearly expresses his attitude when arguing that immigration has had unintended consequences, "importing not just factors of production but factors of social change." More specifically, Caldwell is concerned about what he sees as Islam's tendency to "trump" other social identities and ultimately form a single identity contrary to the values of democratic rule; at its peril, Europe neglects religion as the "anchor" of this identity. The values and culture of secular Europe are dependent on "ethical survivals of Christianity," says Caldwell, but the same is not true of Islam, despite the number of European converts. Caldwell also rejects American-style assimilation as a model for European immigrant "integration." Verdict Regardless of one's attitude toward immigration, Caldwell interprets an important European policy debate and illuminates why anti-immigrant sentiment cannot be dismissed as simple bigotry. Recommended for informed readers.-Zachary T. Irwin, School of Humanities & Social Science, Penn State, Erie, Behrend Coll. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"Caldwell compiles his arguments patiently . . . with lucidity and intellectual grace and even wit. . . . He is a vivid writer, and like an action-movie hero he walks calmly away from his own detonations while fire swirl behinds him. . . . Mr. Caldwell's book is the most rigorous and plainspoken examination of Muslim immigration in Europe to date, a sobering book that walks right up to, if never quite crossing, the line between being alarming and being alarmist. . . . Well-researched, fervently argued and morally serious . . . it may serve as a wake-up call to many of Europe's liberal democracies." -Dwight Garner, The New York Times

"Caldwell gives his subject its most sustained and thoughtful treatment to date." - Fouad Ajami, The New York Times Book Review

"This book is the best on its subject I have read." -Theodore Dalrymple, National Review

"400 pages of must-reading. . . . A truly rare combination of ground-truth reporting about-and historically and sociologically informed analysis of-the state of Europe today." -The Weekly Standard

"Caldwell makes [his] arguments unusually well, in a book notable for its range, synthesis of the literature, analytical rigor and elegant tone." -Claire Berlinksi, The Washington Post

"Caldwell is a bracing, clear-eyed analyst of European pieties. . . . This book pulsates with ideas." -David Goodhart, The Observer (UK)

"Caldwell knows Europe, especially France, better than most American and British commentators. . . . He is very good at pinpointing denial and flight from reality. . . . If his book sharpens a so far sluggish debate, it will have served an important purpose." -Martin Woollacott, The Guardian (UK)


"In this book, Christopher Caldwell presents a daring, thoroughly researched and provocative view of the Islamic revolution underway in Europe. It's a chilling account of how complacency, moral relativism and socialist dogma froze the European imagination while the agents of radical Islam proceeded, sure-footed, to claim Europe neighborhood by neighborhood. There have been many wake-up calls to alert Europeans to the challenges of immigration and the threat of Islam, but if anything should thaw the minds of the European leadership, it is this book." -Ayaan Hirsi Ali

"Among the many brilliant things Christopher Caldwell has done in Reflections is write a how-not-to book about immigration. Once again Europe has shown us the way-to go wrong. Thanks to Caldwell' s careful reporting and keen analysis we know exactly what we shouldn't do when new people move to our country." -P. J. O'Rourke

"In Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, Christopher Caldwell combines an authentically Burkean historical breadth of vision with a reporter's keen eye for detail. No one can seriously doubt after reading this book that large-scale immigration, particularly of Muslims, is in the process of transforming Europe profoundly. From the strife-torn banlieues of Paris to the multiplying minarets of Middle England, as Caldwell shows, we are a very long way indeed from the merry multicultural melting-pot of bien-pensant fantasy." -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