A dismissive take on immigration

Published by Bloomsbury, £18.99

There are two books lurking between the covers of this one, says Clive Davis in The Times. The first is a cogent and persuasive summary of how, over three decades or more, elites across western Europe turned a blind eye to the failures of integration and the rise of Islamism.

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Sadly, the second is a diatribe about mass immigration and our continent's alleged death wish "which is so lurid it reads like a Breitbart editorial". Murray's framing of post-war immigration is "relentlessly negative", linking migrants to "criminality and social tensions". Overall, "there is a lofty, dismissive tone to his view of ethnic minorities that evokes a Peterhouse don sweeping aside the great unwashedwhile sipping a good port".

If Europe is in mortal danger, Murray has few concrete suggestions for what to do about it, says Gaby Hinsliff in The Guardian. He proposes "tougher curbs on immigration and suggests refugees should be given only temporary refuge and be sent home when it's safe" although, to his credit, he agrees that Europe is "probably doing the only thing that a civilised people can do in rescuing such people, welcoming them and trying to give them safety".