One book which made an enormous impact on the U.S. in the past year was Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe. A Nan Talese/Doubleday imprint It has been on the New York Times best-seller list for nearly a year.

Cahill was born in the Bronx, and following his education at a Jesuit high school, lie entered the seminary. There he earned a pontifical degree and became fluent in Latin and Greek, all of which served him well in his exploration of medieval Europe.

After the success of How the Irish Saved Civilization, the first in series of seven books to be called The Hinges of History, Cahill left his job as religious editor of Doubleday Books to concentrate on being a full-time writer. He is currently working on the second book in the series, The Gifts of the Jews, about the origins of monotheism.

He and his wife Susie have a daughter, Kristen, and a son, Joey. They live in New York City.