Acclaimed historian R.F. Foster's latest book, "Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change from 1970," is now available in the U.S. Considered one of the foremost interpreters of Ireland's recent past, Foster has also written a celebrated biography of W.B. Yeats. In this latest book, Foster attempts to explain how the foundation for the Celtic Tiger Ireland of the 1990s was laid. He argues that politics, economics, religion and, yes, a dash of luck turned one of the most sluggish economies in Europe into one of the most miraculous. As we all try to make sense of the massive changes which have taken place in Ireland over the past two decades - from the fall of the church and the end of the Troubles, to the new immigration and the downside of all of that available money - R.F. Foster is probably the place to start. ($29.95 / 228 pages / Oxford University Press)