"then sings my soul" by robert j. morgan

Then Sings My Soul (Special Edition) by Robert J. Morgan is a delightful collection of 150 hymns and the stories behind them. This book is a joy to read. Morgan's writing style is welcoming, at times humorous, and certain entries reminded me of Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story. Each hymn gets two pages--one for the sheet music and the other for the hymn's background. In addition to the table of contents at the front, the hymns are indexed alphabetically, by author, and by first line, making it very easy to find whatever hymn you're looking for.

Prior to reading this book, I knew the story behind only two of the hymns: "It Is Well with My Soul" (thanks, Adventures in Odyssey!) and "Silent Night." Now, I know lots of fun facts. For example:

• Handel wrote Messiah in twenty-three days.
• The tune to "Jesus Loves the Little Children" was written as a Civil War battle song. 
• Martin Luther, a monk, married his wife, a nun, because he couldn't find anyone else to marry her!

I thoroughly enjoyed paging through this book. It would make a great Christmas gift for the hymn lover on your list!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review from BookSneeze. 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."