Sign-In
Cart
Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn
Audio Book
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
Published: Oct 31 2023
Language: English
A fascinating journey through the history of one of the transatlantic world's most popular hymns
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 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. Behold a compelling story of music and social change.
2 different editions
Also available
Also in
Musicians
Dolly Parton Songteller: My Life in Lyrics: My Life in Lyrics
Oermann, Robert K.
Parton, Dolly
Hardcover
A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond
Thayil, Kim
Tepedelen, Adem
Hardcover
Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other--And the World
Windolf, Jim
Hardcover
The Little Guide to Dolly Parton: It's Hard to Be a Diamond in a Rhinestone World
Hippo! Orange
Hardcover
A Life in Lyrics: The Official Creative Legacy of Freddie Mercury
Mercury, Freddie
Austin, Mary
Hardcover
Mahalia Jackson, Moving on Up a Little Higher: The Story of an American Civil Rights Pioneer
Williams, Mary D.
Tyson, Timothy B.
Hardcover
Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (and Rock 'n' Roll)
Hyden, Steven
Hardcover
Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days
Whitfield, Bill
Beard, Javon
Hardcover
P Fkn R: Bad Bunny Y La Música Como Un Acto de Resistencia / P Fkn R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance
Díaz, Vanessa
Rivera-Rideau, Petra R.
Paperback
David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God: A Spiritual Meditation on His Music and Creativity
Ormerod, Peter
Hardcover
With a Little Help from Their Friends: The Beatles and the People Who Made Them
Maconie, Stuart
Hardcover
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
Charnas, Dan
Paperback
Little Book of Elvis Presley: Inspirational Quotes from the King of Rock 'n' Roll
Croft, Rod
Hardcover
What Do You Do When You're Lonesome: The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle
Bernstein, Jonathan
Hardcover
Bust a Move: Matt Dike, Delicious Vinyl, and the Hip-Hop Hits That First Conquered Pop
Relic, Peter
Hardcover
Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton (Large Print Edition)
Ackmann, Martha
Hardcover
Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles
Emerick, Geoff
Massey, Howard
Paperback
Dolly Parton: The Stories Behind the Songs: The Very Best Tracks, Explored and Explained
Zaleski, Annie
Hardcover
Lessons & Lace: Everything I Know about Dreams, Heartbreak, and Magic I Learned from Stevie Nicks
Brodsky, Rachel
Hardcover
3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
Kaplan, James
Paperback
Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008
Payne, Chris
Paperback
It's No Wonder: The Life and Times of Motown's Legendary Songwriter Sylvia Moy
Christian, Margena A.
Hardcover
Beyoncé-One of One: History Lessons, Love Letters, and Affirmations from a Cultural Icon
King, Antonia Jade
Hardcover
Keep It Beautiful: Inside the Funkyverse of Shock G and Digital Underground
Mbassa, Alexis Wolfe
Jacobs, Gregory E.
Hardcover
The Silver Snarling Trumpet: The Birth of the Grateful Dead--The Lost Manuscript of Robert Hunter
Hunter, Robert
Paperback
What Happened to Your Hair?: How We Played Loud... Loved Proud... and Never Backed Down... Together
Nelson, Gunnar
Nelson, Matthew
Hardcover
Jazz, TX: A Love Letter to Live Music, Community, and the Little Club That Could
Watkins, Doc
Hardcover
Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N' Roll
Harmon, Sandra
Presley, Priscilla
Paperback
The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership That Rocked the World
Guralnick, Peter
Hardcover