I have always loved hymns. At the ripe old age of 24, they stir my heart like few contemporary worship songs can. There's something very special about singing words that generations before me have sung, somehow knitting us all together through song. So, when I saw this book on BookSneeze, I was very excited to read it.I curled up with this book, and promptly got nearly every song stuck in my head. The book is set up very simply - the hymn on the left page, and a one-page story/synopsis on the right page corresponding to it. For the most part, this setup works beautifully. It helps the reader to see where original lines have been changed (would "Angels We Have Heard On High" have been as popular if they had kept it "Harken All, What Holy Singing?"), and lyricists versus composers ideas for tunes.
What is most intriguing, though, are the backstories of the hymns themselves and the people who wrote them. Most touching, I think, is the story of Philip Bliss and his wife, Lucy, which is told throughout a few hymns. Knowing what writers were going through when they wrote the hymns also gives the words a new depth and meaning (i.e. Horatio G. Spafford wrote "It Is Well With My Soul" after unspeakable tragedy lead to the death of all his children).
My only criticism of the book is slight - I wish in some cases that there was more than one page per hymn to tell the history of the song. It feels as if you're scratching the surface of the story, but just as you're about to go deeper, the story ends, leaving you wishing for more. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves hymns and wishes to know more about their origins.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
