Fortress Europe

An unflinching study of the human consequences of global inequality and the refugee crisis in contemporary Europe.

“An eye-opening journey around the periphery of Europe, observing humanity on the move and injustice in action. . . . A gripping, troubling, shocking account.” —Philippe Sands, author of Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal

Fortress Europe is the devastating story of how the world’s most affluent region—and history’s greatest experiment with globalization—has become an immigration war zone, where tens of thousands have died in a humanitarian crisis that has galvanized the world’s attention.

Journalist Matthew Carr brings to life remarkable human dramas, based on extensive interviews and firsthand reporting from the hot zones of Europe’s immigration battles, in a narrative that moves from the desperate immigrant camps at the mouth of the Channel Tunnel in Calais, France, to the chaotic Mediterranean Sea, where African migrants have drowned by the thousands. With a new afterword that includes an up-to-date assessment of the refugee crisis, Fortress Europe offers a lucid account of both the broad issues at stake in the crisis and its exorbitant human costs. It is essential reading for anyone who has been riveted by this global nightmare.

“The power of this stirring, authentic account comes from Carr’s ability to capture the refugee experience through his face-to-face interviews and his passionate observation of the current scene, including human trafficking, in which women and minors are forced to choose between deportation and exploitation.” —Booklist (starred review)