There is no other company, industry, or premises more closely alignedOCoindeed almost synonymousOCowith its hometown than GuinnessOCOs St. JamesOCOs Gate Brewery and the city of Dublin. From the companyOCOs modest beginnings in 1759 to its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and its continued strength into the twenty-first century, Guinness has had an enormous influence over the cityOCOs economic, social, and cultural life. In this warm and fascinating piece of history, Tony Corcoran examines the magnitude of the breweryOCOs operation, and the working lives of the thousands of Dubliners who have depended on Guinness for their livelihood, either directly or indirectly. The companyOCOs unusually progressive treatment of its workersOCohealth care, training, and housingOCois revealed in detail, as is the Guinness familyOCOs philanthropy and compassion towards the less well-off residents of the city. Tracing GuinnessOCOs progressive attitudes to their roots, Corcoran also explores the important roles of the strong-willed women in each generation of the Guinness dynasty. Guinness is a labor of love, full of anecdotes, humor, and historical insights into one of DublinOCOs most important and best-loved institutions. Whenever I bleed, I am always surprised to see that my blood is not black. Certainly, when you consider that I was born into two Guinness families, had two Guinness grandfathers and five Guinness uncles, and was on the premises of Guinness before I could walk, I am as much a product of Guinness as the black stuff itself. OCoTony Corcoran"