OS GUINNESS


Wash Dulles/Nat'l



OS GUINNESS


Born in China, educated in England, as a writer and a speaker


Os Guinness is an author and speaker who lives in the Washington DC area. Great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer, he was born in China in World War Two where his parents were medical missionaries. A witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford.

Os has written or edited more than twenty five books, including The American Hour, Time for Truth, The Call, Invitation to the Classics, and Long Journey Home. His latest book is Unspeakable: Facing up to the challenge of evil, which was published by Harper San Francisco in January 2005.

Previously, Os was a freelance reporter with the BBC. Since coming to the United States in 1984, he has been a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. From 1986 to 1989, Os served as Executive Director of the Williamsburg Charter Foundation, a bicentennial celebration of the First Amendment. In this position he helped to draft the Williamsburg Charter and co-authored the public school curriculum Living With Our Deepest Differences. From 1991 to 2004 he was a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, and a frequent speaker and seminar leader at political and business conferences in both the United States and Europe.

As a European visitor to this country and a great admirer but detached observer of American culture today, he stands in the long tradition of outside voices who have contributed so much to America’s ongoing discussion about the state of the union. He lives with his wife Jenny in McLean, Virginia.

What another said about his recent visit:

Now that our inaugural event has been held, and I look back and evaluate how well we kicked off our newly founded Edwards Lectureship Series, I can’t think of a better person we could have had to come and speak other than Os Guinness. It was a tremendous event, and one reason it was such a special time was Os. His delightful personality combined with his brilliant mind and gifted speaking ability made his time here at Manhattan Christian College a very special time in the life of our college. He is a rare find of someone who can not only brilliantly analyze the need of the time he can also eloquently verbalize what he knows. Our crowd consisted of young and old alike, and almost to a person, he blessed them all. I would highly recommend both Os and Ambassador Speakers Bureau to any and all who would give them consideration. They will definitely not be disappointed.
J. Kevin Ingram
President
Manhattan Christian College
Manhattan, KS