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University of California Press

Amazing Grace

A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn
by James Walvin (Author)
Hardcover eBook
Price: $19.95 / £16.99
Publication Date: Oct 2023
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9780520391833
Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.25
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About the Book

“A compelling story of a hymn rescued from the horror of slavery . . . in the author’s hands, 'Amazing Grace' lands firmly on the right side of history.”―TLS

Journey through the history of "Amazing Grace," one of the transatlantic world's most popular hymns and a powerful anthem for humanity.
 
Sung in moments of personal isolation or on state occasions watched by millions, "Amazing Grace" has become an unparalleled anthem for humankind. How did a simple Christian hymn, written in a remote English vicarage in 1772, come to hold such sway over millions in all corners of the modern world? With this short, engaging cultural history, James Walvin offers an explanation.
 
The greatest paradox is that the author of "Amazing Grace," John Newton, was a former Liverpool slave captain. Walvin follows the song across the Atlantic to track how it became part of the cause for abolition and galvanized decades of movements and trends in American history and popular culture. By the end of the twentieth century, "Amazing Grace" was performed in Soweto and Vanuatu, by political dissidents in China, and by Kikuyu women in Kenya. No other song has acquired such global resonance as "Amazing Grace," and its fascinating history is well worth knowing.

About the Author

James Walvin is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of York. He has published widely on slavery and modern social history. His most recent book is A World Transformed: Slavery in the Americas and the Origins of Global Power.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Illustrations 

Introduction 
1 • The Young Sinner 
2 • Slave Trader Turned Preacher 
3 • Crossing the Atlantic 
4 • America, Music, and “Amazing Grace” 
5 • Music in Slavery and Freedom 
6 • Singing and the World of Print 
7 • Musical Entertainments 
8 • “Amazing Grace” in Folk and Gospel Music 
9 • Music for Troubled Times 
10 • A Song for All Seasons 
11 • Pandemic: An Anthem for Humankind 
12 • With Amazing Grace 

Acknowledgments 
Notes 
Sources and Further Reading 
Index 

Reviews

"A solid and well-researched effort about this famous, often-sung song."
— Library Journal
"His affection for his subject is contagious and his engagement comprehensive, and his account is full of fascinating detail."
— Wall Street Journal
"Walvin's book is a testament to his excellence as a historian. . . . [He] gives us a meaningful survey of a beloved hymn that is well worth the reader's time. It would be of interest especially for those curious about the confluence of history, social change and religion. . . . Amazing Grace delivers an insightful look at the perennial appeal of a cherished classic."
— National Catholic Reporter
"A short but fascinating book."
— The Economist
"A compelling story of a hymn rescued from the horror of slavery to become ‘a bold assertion for humanity’—a song about forgiveness that ends up travelling its own arc of redemption. Indeed, in the author’s hands, “Amazing Grace” lands firmly on the right side of history." 
— Times Literary Supplement
 "It’s a nice story and it is nicely told by John Walvin"
— The Interim
"Walvin’s succinct and lucid cultural history explains how it is that a hymn — first penned in a small rural village in 18th-century England, by a former slave-ship captain no less — could come to have such universal familiarity. . . . Engrossing."
— Post and Courier
"James Walvin's brilliant new book is more than a story about the fascinating legacy of a song written by an eighteenth-century English cleric that today has a unique status in American and indeed British life. It is also a story of cross-cultural translation and travel, of exploitation, adaptation, and commercial interests, and of the power of music-making in the service of humanistic freedom, regardless of faith, nation, or race."—Ben Carrington, author of Race, Sport and Politics: The Sporting Black Diaspora
 
"A detailed and astonishing revelation of the forgotten history behind the seemingly familiar. Passionately written and meticulously researched."—David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Short, Essential History
 
"An illuminating history of the most resounding hymn in African American history. Born of the tortured soul of an English slaver, who found his faith and rejected slavery, 'Amazing Grace' became the soothing hymn that inspired millions. The enslaved cotton worker, the folk singer, the civil rights marcher, the gospel choir, the blues woman, and President Obama, all moved by the sweet sound of this beautiful, historic hymn."—Edward B. Rugemer, Professor of History and African American Studies, Yale University

"This book tells the story of the Christian hymn 'Amazing Grace,' from its creation by English former slave ship captain John Newton in 1772, through its popularization among performers and listeners in the United States, to its function today as a kind of anthem for healing in the US, Europe, and elsewhere in the world. The historical coverage as well as the range of subjects and musical scenes addressed is impressive."—Eric Porter, author of A People's History of SFO: The Making of the Bay Area and an Airport

"A fun read that tracks 'Amazing Grace,' a song that holds much meaningfulness across diverse swaths of society, across various genres and performance styles, and across the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries."—James Padilioni, author of To Ask Infinity Some Questions: San Martín de Porres and the Black Hagiographic Mysteries of Florida