God and Guinness

In the interest of full disclosure, I was sent this book for free in return for this review.

Also in the interest of full disclosure, I used to steal quarters off my dad's desk.

My dad (the one who was always asking, "Where'd all my quarters go?" )  Had a house built on the west coast of Ireland.  He loved to travel there and hang out with the locals.  He also knew that he had to take visitors to all of the tourist spots when they traveled there for the first time.  One of the obvious tourist spots was St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I remember being in this amazing tribute to God and wondering, "Do they really have a gift shop here?  Is that a Guinness key chain they're selling here?"

Yup

We also went to the Guinness factory in Dublin.  Hypocritically they had no God key chains for sale in their gift shop.  If only I'd read this book before visiting the factory. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up this book, but soon found myself drawn into the amazing story of this incredible family. I'm sure I'd be just as impressed if they'd produced ankle socks, but I probably wouldn't have visited their factory.

I read the book wondering what the connection ultimately was with God and Guinness, and I'm not sure this book was completely satisfying in that regard. I think "Guinness and God" would probably be a more accurate title, but that doesn't change the fact that this bit of history was engaging from start to finish. I should also mention that there is quite a bit of history of alcohol and the church beyond Guinness.

You could categorize this book as a history book, a business book, a social responsibility book, or even a biography of sorts.

I've already recommended the book to several friends, one of whom is reading my copy at this very moment... It's definitely worth a read & it's a quick one at that.