'The Pope's Children' to Arrive in American Bookstores in February 2008

John Wiley and Sons to Publish Irish Best Seller in United States. Author David McWilliams Explains How the Irish Economy Has Drastically Changed in the Past 30 Years - Controversial in Ireland Due to Stereotypes It Proposes. 'The Pope's Children' Will Completely Change Americans Perception of Ireland - Irish Author David McWilliams to Visit New York City in March 2008.

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 19, 2008 -- "Ireland has arrived," proclaims economist David McWilliams in the opening chapter of "The Pope's Children"(Wiley, $24.95, 291 pages, Hardcover). Ireland is more than just the origin of Bono, Guinness, and St. Patrick; today it is a country where entrepreneurs are on the rise, where there is a steady increase in jobs, and where the Gross Domestic Product per capita is the second highest in the EU.

"Ireland receives more direct foreign investment from the United States than China," says Mr. McWilliams, "and is on the top of lists as a place to live. In fact, many Irish-Americans are now returning to Ireland." In what The Sunday Tribune describes as "the definitive guide to the Ireland we live in," "The Pope's Children" examines the factors that contributed to the rise of the little green isle.

Author Photo - David McWilliams

It is the only country in the world that has outpaced Asian growth rates, while maintaining an American lifestyle. If you want to understand globalization and the rapidly changing world, you have to understand modern Ireland.

"The Pope's Children"is not another dry economics book, but an entertaining description of a society and culture transformed beyond recognition. "Ireland is an outstanding success story of globalization," explains Mr. McWilliams. "It is the only country in the world that has outpaced Asian growth rates, while maintaining an American lifestyle. If you want to understand globalization and the rapidly changing world, you have to understand modern Ireland."

"The Pope's Children" remains a controversial bestseller in Ireland for the witty, incisive and amusing way in which Mr. McWilliams breaks down Irish society.

• He introduces the concept of Wonderbra economics, the so-called blurring of classes that present a strong upward social mobility as well as a compression in the middle.
• He defines the Kells Angels, those out-of-town commuters who are the cutting edge of the new prosperity.
• He points at the Hibernian Cosmopolitans who, in an effort to distinguish themselves from the vulgar, materially-obsessed Decklanders, are trying to fuse deep Irish heritage with their newfound cosmopolitan values - sometimes with hilarious results.
• He criticizes the Commentariat, Ireland's gloomy opinion mongers, forever seeing the glass half empty when it is in fact three-quarters full.

Mr. McWilliams maintains that while Ireland and America have been divided by the Atlantic for centuries, today the two countries are much closer than ever. But while in the past the Irish came into the U.S. to find work, they now flood in to find cheap Marc Jacobs bags. Many parts of Ireland have become so American that the place resembles Connecticut with brutal weather. The Irish are borrowing, spending, shopping, eating, drinking, and taking more drugs than any other nation on earth. "We are the most decadent Irish generation ever," Mr. McWilliams writes. "Ireland is a microcosm of America."

• The Irish are America's primary supplier of Botox, Viagra, collagen and silicone implants, and Americans remain the primary consumers of Irish whisky.
• Like Americans, the Irish are getting fatter. 30% of Irish women and 50% of Irish men are overweight, spending $721 million on soda alone, more than twice what they spend on milk.
• The property boom in Ireland has raised house prices 350% since 1997 but now that the market is beginning to wobble, America's subprime difficulties might be just around the corner.

""The Pope's Children"is about this connection. It tells the story of how the Irish became American and how the American Dream migrated across the Atlantic. "The Pope's Children"is a celebration of the ambition and motivation that has taken over Ireland in the past 30 years," Mr. McWilliams explains. "It's a celebration of success."

About David McWilliams:
In 1986 David McWilliams was just another Irish immigrant washing dishes on Bleecker Street in Manhattan. In 2008 he was nominated by the World Economic Forum in Davos as one of two hundred young global leaders who are "likely to have a profound impact on global thinking" in the years ahead.

He is Ireland's best selling non-fiction author. In the past few years he has presented award-winning TV and radio shows, interviewing some of the leading power players such as Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Mikhail Gorbachev. He writes two weekly newspaper columns, and has written an award-winning documentary.

Before falling into the media, Mr. McWilliams spent ten years in banking. He first worked as an economist with the Irish Central Bank, where he helped draft the Irish Submission to the Maastricht Treaty and advised the authorities during the 1992-93 exchange rate crises. He then moved to UBS, where he was appointed the youngest Director ever at the age of 27. He was the first economist to predict the 1990s boom in Ireland which later became known as the 'Celtic Tiger'. He moved from UBS to BNP where he was Head of Emerging Markets Research. He lives in Dublin with his wife and two small children.

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