The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World
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Product Description
The history of Guinness, one of the world’s most legendary brands, reveals the noble heights and generosity of a fantastic family tree and an innovative business.
It started in Ireland in the late 1700s. The water in Ireland, indeed throughout Europe, was famously undrinkable, and the gin and whiskey that took its place was devastating civil society. It was a disease ridden, starvation plagued, alcoholic age, and Christians like Arthur Guinness-as well as monks and even evangelical churches-brewed beer that provided a in excellent health alternative to the poisonous waters and liquors of the times. This is where the Guinness tale started. Now, 246 years and 150 countries later, Guinness is a global brand, one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The tale that unfolds during persons two and a half centuries has power to thrill audiences today: the generational drama, business adventure, manufacturing and social reforms, deep-felt faith, and the beer itself.
“Frothy, tasty, enthralling and nutritious! No, I’m not talking about Guinness Stout-I’m talking about Stephen Mansfield’s fabulous new book…The incredible and right tale of how the Guinness family tree used its wealth and influence to touch millions is an absolute inspiration.” – Eric Metaxas, New York Times best-selling leader
“It’s a rare brew that takes faith, philanthropy and the frothy head of freshly-poured Guinness and combines them into such an inspiriting narrative. Cheers to brewmaster Stephen Mansfield! And cheers to you, the reader! You’re in for a treat.” – R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., Founder and editor-in-chief of The American Spectator
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After salivating re: the title, and enjoying all the factoids this book is frontloaded with, I was incredibly disappointed in the remainder of the book. The leader said small to nothing worth printing, though he used plenty of christian-ese (some of it couched in “Church Inclusive” language).
He references a number of worthwhile tomes on the various aspects of Guinness – the beer, the company, Arthur(s), and family tree / associates. But it would be much more enjoyable to digest persons works than this one.
I couldn’t determine an audience for this work. Conservative christians? no. They get thrown off at the title. The rest of christianity? No, the writing is far too featureless and church-speak-ish for them. The rest of the world? Too much christian-ese. Perhaps the audience may be additional out-of-touch mainstream christian preachers looking for something “appealing” to share with their congregation. That’s my best guess.
Pick up the book, look at the bibliography and read persons books as a replacement for.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
I don’t like beer. I really don’t like beer. I don’t like the taste of it, I don’t like the smell of it, I don’t like its ever present publicity and, most of all, I loathe what the abuse of beer has regularly offered up to me…
Beer is a barracks hallway full of vomit on a Saturday morning at Ft. Bragg. Beer is a room too scary or smelly to come home to at night. Beer is bloody noses and broken teeth on a woman who just keeps on putting up with it, over and over again. Beer is the idiot at that Vikings playoff game against the Cowboys years ago who hit a referee in the head with a beer bottle and utterly ruined our moral high ground after the ref’s screwed up a pass interference call. Beer is my dad’s ancient coworker Larry leaving his wife to deal with a leukemic son alone. Beer is a Moose Lake convict whose life first started to go off track at a beer kegger as a young man. Beer is a drunk driver and dead boys in Montevideo who will never, ever gloriously scream Maynard Ferguson tunes on the trumpet again. Beer is a bleary-eyed, filthy man repeatedly coming to the church for “bus fare.” Beer is many, many, many a ruined life. I despise beer. I really despise beer. My result to beer and, increasingly, any alcohol consumption whatsoever, is nearly visceral.
I know I can’t make much of a biblical case for these reactions. I know it is not beer, but its abuse that colors my views. I know the Bible does not teetotal – reasonably the contrary. I know some studies say a small beer each day might really be excellent for you, although to hear Mansfield quoting studies from the University of Wisconsin on this issue does cause me a cynical chuckle! But aside from some very legitimate and vital “stumbling block” considerations, like nearly everything used in moderation, beer really shouldn’t be an issue for believers. I know these things. I’ve taught these things to others. I judge these things to be right.
But I just don’t feel these things. Not even a small bit. I’ve lived a very different beer experience. And since now it seems my “dry” perspectives on beer and alcohol are very distinctly uncool and out of fashion even in the church, I chose to read and review Stephen Mansfield’s book about the Guinness family tree in Ireland – a biography of the beer that changed the world.
On the one hand, the book is fascinating. The history is very vital. It is vital for guys like me to be reminded beer was originally considered something of a health drink. With water wildly impure and additional forms of alcohol abuse very destructively out of control, beer was a healthy choice encouraged and loved by Christians. And the Guinness people certainly made excellent beer and used much of their resulting income well. The virtuous tales of this fascinating family tree make for very appealing reading. Their social responsibility, careful stewardship and profound faith is truly a model for all of us to consider. I suspect many of the virtuous attitudes modeled in the book may well be one of the reasons God allowed this family tree to rise to the summit of a very competitive industry.
But as a guy with serious beer biases, as a guy repeatedly questioned to clean up alcohol hurt of one sort or another, I wish there would have been at least grudging admission, somewhere in the book, that the abuse of beer has been a significant problem all over the world. I wish there would have been some sort of reliable consideration of the Apostle Paul’s Romans 14:21 admonition, “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”(NIV) As Christians, we are constantly in the business of graciously building these “stumbling block” adjustments in our lives for the excellent of others around us – why in the world should beer now be an exception? Yet Mansfield is so very intent on his beer agenda, these things are never once thoughtfully discussed. I establish that very disappointing – a disturbing mark on an otherwise fascinating and worthwhile tale.
This book is a excellent read for beer bigots like me who need to be reminded not to judge unfairly and ungraciously. But I would never, ever recommend it for anyone with even the slightest family tree history of alcohol abuse. This book tosses stumbling block concerns completely to the wind and opens wide the doors to destruction. Why give such blatant promotion to something so very many people have such a terribly hard time handling responsibly? I will not.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
I confess that the package from Thomas Nelson sat on my desk for a few days. I had a tinge of regret in agreeing to review this book, which is why it remained unopened. But, once I opened up the book I was hooked.
Now, I knew Stephen Mansfield is a excellent writer. I have read his fleeting biography of Winston Churchill, which was excellent. Also, I have met Stephen. I was on the management team at Derek Prince Ministries when we hired Stephen to write Derek’s biography.
And his writing skills are clear in this book. His style draws you into this tale of the incredible Guinness family tree; the faith of Arthur Guinness, his legacy and how their faith translated into action. There are hardships; family tree struggles, disappointments and tragedy but you see God’s grace a work in this tale, a tale which is not that well known outside of Ireland.
Even the chapter on how beer was ‘learned’ is so well told that you are fascinated. If only some of the major corporations in our day would take a fraction of the approach of Arthur Guinness and the example he left behind, the business world would be turned upside down and inside out.
A fun, informative, well written and enjoyable read.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
I also loved reading about Ireland and the history of the country and about Arthur Guinness. He did some fantastic things for all. He was certainly a caring person. Quote from page 32: “The truth is that most post-Reformation Christians believed as their first-century fathers did – that drunkenness is a sin but that alcohol in moderation is one of the fantastic gifts of God.”
I learned a few things from this book. What I establish most appealing was the information about Martin Luthur (not to mention all the additional legendary reformers) who was supposedly a beer lover (German beer like in this house). And that his wife Katie was a skilled brewer before they married.
Brilliant read!
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
Stephen Mansfield sets out to combine biography with business and religion in his book The Search for God and Guinness. Ostensibly a biography of the Guinness family tree and the family tree business I establish this book flat and not particularly to my liking. Perhaps its Mansfield’s style and tone which I establish to some extent patrician or the observation that the book has no central thesis or thought that is pulling it together. The book mentions but does not take up the issues of poverty, the rise of the Irish state, religion, etc that are mentioned in the description.
There are additional things I establish missing in the book, but rather than pile on I will just say it was not to my taste and I cannot recommend it as either a biography, or a business book or a book on religion. If you are looking to read a book that combines all three relatively well please consider The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5