Customer Reviews

The New Vichy Syndrome: Why European Intellectuals Surrender to Barbarism

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One of the best books I've read in a long time. Dalrymple is, as a cover review reads, "erudite, witty, unfashionably blunt, and above all, wise." "Unfashionably blunt" is an understatement as he offers diagnosis for much of what is "wrong" in Europe, when the downward spiral started (with lots of examples), the result, and a modest warning for America in the last chapter. New Vichy is a short 155 pages, but is profound, alarming, and instructive. If you like Dalrymple's work, this addition won't disappoint.

The thoughts presented in this book are interesting and logically-presented and this is quite apart from whether you will agree with them or not.

As another review mentioned, the focus is quite loose and really only offers thoughts around the subject matter suggested by the title and doesn't really answer the "why?" in his subtitle conclusively. It is presented as a book but reads more like a collection of essays interspersed with shorter pieces of commentary. Admittedly, though, it is a very speculative subject and perhaps a loose response is more appropriate than a tight, definitive one. To obtain a meaningful version of the latter may be difficult. But, Dalrymple provides you a view from his educated and thoughtful perspective.

I am also not sure about the "barbarism" part, since this is not a "radicalization of Europe via changing demographics" argument like Mark Steyn's "America Alone". In fact, he seems to disagree with this idea. This book is more about how the mental environment in Europe is not conducive to success in an increasingly competitive global market: they reject values of their past and are afraid of formulating concrete statements of truth and fact that would allow them to construct a foundation for future progress.

One thing I like about Dalrymple's style is that he doesn't overdo the references. In books such as these, references can sometimes be a lazy way of making your point, but he uses a lot of thought experiments that you can often test for yourself to make a decision about whether or not he's on the right track. He continues to use this approach here.

Finally, with Dalrymple being such an expert user of the English language, I was surprised to see a significant number of typographical errors throughout the text. His use of the language continues to be excellent, but the errors do break the spell a little bit.

It's a concise book that will make you think.

First, let it be known that I am a Dalrymple fan, as is evidenced by the fact that I read this book days within its appearance. "Culture, what's left of it" was a tour de force. I read it out on the street under the light of a streetlamp, so I could be away from the wife and kids, and concentrate. So, it is hard for me to say, that Dalrymple fans should skip this one. I understand that this is not a book, but an extended essay, and there are nuggets of insight, but they are mostly about Britain, and not European intellectuals. I agree with the thesis that Europe is in decline, and the grand European intellectual tradition does have enough weight to provide resistance to this trend. But, this text loses its focus after the first couple of short chapters. Dalrymple probes for various "causes" - why are we like this? - for this decline, but none of these are probed more than superficially. Perhaps, I will go back one day, to recognize the import of these attempts. At this time, my verdict is that this text is incoherent, and its author appears tired.

Dalrymple is a retired British Physician and writer known for a series of articles and books criticising the modern European Civilization. In this his most recent book, he comments on current trends in Europe, and by extension, the western world.

On the cover, one reviewer notes that Dalrymple is "erudite, witty, unfashionably blunt and, above all, wise." This is a perfect description of the author and cannot be improved upon. It is important to understand the author to understand the book because he writes from a highly personal perspective without the usual citations of sociological works. Some would criticize this perspective, but Dalrymple never claims to be scientific; he only claims to be so self-evidently right that his positions require no supporting footnotes.

So what perspective can you expect from this book then? On page 83, while discussing his dual role as a Brit and as a member of the the European Union he admits "my nation now specializ[es] in the breeding up of charmless drunken screaming vulgarians." That's pretty blunt. He calls tattoos a "savage and stupid form of self-mutilation". He notes that all four groups of Sunni Muslims sentence converts to Christianity to death. (And that's the moderate Muslims?) He condemns political correctness saying we are "pass[ing] laws to preserve sensitive bigots from hurt feelings."

Excellent and forthright sentiments, I know, but this book actually has less of that than his previous books which I found to be better and more straightforward. The author has retired and so has less anecdotes from his suicidal, promiscuous, felonious slackers in his practice making this book drier than his previous efforts.

As you read the current European headlines from the economic troubles of Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Great Britain - and as you read of the re-assertion of Russian control over Eastern Europe with events like the Katyn Forest II massacre that killed nearly every anti-communist Pole, all of whom just happened to be carrying zip drives with the codes allowing Russia to know the location of every single NATO asset - you can only be amazed at the prescience of the author noting the fall of his civilization.

The author notes multiple factors that are making the Europeans surrender just as the Vichy French did in WWII (thus the title). They include demographic changes like unregulated immigration of Muslims and a failing birthrate of the native Europeans, loss of religious belief, loss of nationalism, loss of work ethic, loss of historical perspective, Marxism and the like. None of these are new, but Dalrymple states them with a certainty that avoids trying to not offend every possible reader. Dalrymple is not religious, by the way, but his brand of secular humanism is quite conservative in many ways.

Another aspect that the reader may or may not find interesting is that the incredibly literate author often uses literature from Shakespeare to Bertrand Russell to make his points. Your average college-educated American would be completely lost trying to understand his allusions unless they avoided Psychology 101, Feminist rantings, and Appreciation of Television and actually studied some real literature and humanities.

All in all, not his best book, but certainly thoughtful reading given the current news from Europe.

I was surprised, while reading the beginning of this book, to find a very low-key, friendly critique of Mark Steyn's alarmism in "America Alone." Dalrymple points out that projections are not predictions: what looks like a demographic catastrophe in Europe is by no means a foregone conclusion.

The remainder of the book is filled with excellent points. Dalrymple sees no obvious way to pull Europe out of its self-centered funk, and has no clue as to how anyone can fix Britain's descent into barbarism.

His gloomy view of the EU matches my own, and the Greek debt crisis will bear careful watching. The underlying question is "Can the Euro survive?" --- or, more to the point, "Should the Euro survive?"

Surprisingly, the book ends by calling the reader's attention to the Culture Wars in America, suggesting that this might be the Battle Royal of the 21st century.

I think I agree.

I think that Dalrymple and I would be in total agreement: comparing the England of the 1950's with the England of 2010 is almost mind-exploding. As far as I know, that good old England of hearty breakfasts, a pint of bitter, and afternoon tea is... GONE...replaced by drunken binges and sexual orgies on the weekend.

This is compelling reading!

I love the writings of TD, like many if not all of the reviewers thus far, so I'm distressed to
find so much fault with this book. It's not terrible by any means, just not up to the standards
he set with "Life at the Bottom" or "Our Culture, What's Left of it", or even, "Romancing the Opiates".

It has a bit of a thrown together feel, especially with all the typos and awkward phrases, and
the overall editing leaves something to be desired. On the other hand he still musters up some
insightful commentary on how and why Europe is where it is, and why/why not the U.S. might follow
suit. If you don't set the bar too high you can still enjoy this book, although it's even more negative
than usual, but it's still Dalrymple and you still find yourself enjoying the skewering of a windbag or two.

Read it and enjoy it by all means if you like TD. If this is your first Dalrymple, though, best start with one
of the titles mentioned above.

Dense complex and literary. It will demand re-reading of passages, pages and, for me at some future date, reconsideration as the author packed every sentence with new, complex meanings that merit considered study and not a casual gloss. I can't wait to return to the text.

Dalrymple assails many myths and fallacies but I enjoyed the brutal tear down of the population bomb where a majority posits usurpation by a minority due to disparity in birth rates. The author discredits this view by sighting his own experiences prognosticating in scholarly journals on similar matters, then after a few decades, seeing that the variable changed and the feared outcome never arrived.

Common sense answers to apocalyptic visions of societal change coupled with a deep sense of history and Dalyrmple's own understanding of humanity imbue this work with clarity and, at least in my first take, a sense that the rumored clash of civilizations requires intellectuals to stand up and point out errant practices as such in order to maintain our civil society. Doing so, and necessarily abandoning cultural relativism, will not resurrect aberrations in spite of the specters of colonialism and fascism that populate the history of Europe and the fears of the elite.

i ordered this book as its subtitle 'why european intellectuals surrender to barbarism' triggered my interest. with such a specific question, i expected at least as specific an answer, but the book does not deliver

the book plays around with a number of thoughts that may (or may not) answer the question posed in the subtitle. its tone wanders between personal and professional. it reminds me more of the works of literary critics than of political scientists, with sentences beginning like 'it is obvious that...' (p57) without the slightest indication of why the statement that follows should be so blatantly obvious. the reader wonders how much credit he should advance to the author, and whether the author wanted to contribute to the field of literature or science

the book is interesting, gives ample food for thought, but as a book cataloged as 'history' and 'political science', i think it is just simply not researched, written and edited well enough

Dalrymple points out "there is a pervasive sense of impending doom...in Europe" (p 2).

No kidding. Europe currently has 35 elderly people on pensions for every 100 working adults.

By 2050 there will be 75 elderly people sucking up government pension money for every 100 people of working age. And in Spain by 2050 there were be a one to one ratio.

Good luck sustaining the welfare state, and those pensions, with that ratio.

So there is no doubt about it. European society is headed for a severe downturn for a very long time. And likely something even worse.

And why is this happening? Dalrymple examines the role of secularism, but to my mind he doesn't go far enough.

A recent study shows that among Austrians who call themselves Catholics (and this is a pretty loose, European style of Catholicism) the birth rate is 1.32; among those who profess atheism it is 0.86

In Great Britain, over 40% of the children are illegitimate, marriage is vanishing, and relationships are as fragile as soap bubbles. Children raised apart from their biological father have a 200% higher rate of ending up in jail. They are less well educated, have more emotional problems, are far more likely to commit suicide, take drugs, and suffer from lifelong depression.

Dalrymple states that that God is dead in Europe. True enough, but the consequences are going to all fall upon the children. They are the ones harmed by the lack of stable marriages. They are the ones the looming financial woes will tumble upon.

Mark Steyn wrote "We are living through a remarkable period: the self-extinction of the races who, for good or ill, shaped the modern world. Much of what we loosely call the Western world will not survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most Western European countries....Europe by the end of this century will be a continent after the neutron bomb: The grand buildings will still be standing, but the people who built them will be gone."

And before anybody snips at me about my title--it was a joke. Really. Although...

Length:: 8:51 Mins

From this English master. I admit to being a massive fan and would probably enjoy anything he writes. This fits in well with his oeuvre.