Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change, 1970-2000

Roy Foster is one of Ireland's leading historians, the author of the much acclaimed two-volume biography of Yeats as well as the definitive history Modern Ireland, which has been hailed as ""dazzling"" (New York Times Book Review) and ""elegant, erudite, wise, witty"" (Irish Times). Now, this brilliant writer offers a ""short and combative"" account of Ireland's astonishing transformation over the last three decades. Has there really been an ""economic miracle""? Where does the explosion of cultural energy in music, literature, and theater come from? Has the power of the Catholic Church really