The Complete Book of Hymns: Inspiring Stories about 600 Hymns and Praise Songs Kindle Edition

This book is a hefty volume at almost 700 pages, but, of course, it covers 600 hymns and praise songs. Each entry averages just over 1 page in length. All the old standards are covered, as well as many less commonly-known ones, including many that I do not know. By far, most of the entries are hymns. Off hand, I'd probably say that around 90% or more of the songs referenced were written before 1950. This book is well-organized. The songs are organized by topic, and there are indexes by title, author, and theme.Here is a sample entry that I opened to randomly: I Need Thee Every Hour. We learn the hymn was written by a 37-year-old Brooklyn housewife while she was busy with her household chores. She could closely feel the nearness of God, and she sat by an open window and wrote out all the verses. When she gave them to her pastor, he wrote the chorus and the music. Evangelist Dwight L. Moody discovered the hymn and began using it in his meetings, which led to it becoming famous. After that background information, we are given several Bible verse references (not the text of the verses themselves) related to the hymn's topic (Psalm 86:1-4, Psalm 109:22, Philippians 4:19), the themes of the hymn (prayer, meditation), and then the lyrics of the hymn.I have a few small gripes with the book. There are several newer praise songs that do not have lyrics included, presumably because they are under copyright and permission was not granted for their use. And, there are a few of these newer praise songs that are rather short that I would have left out, but that's a small gripe.Overall, this is a valuable resource for any Christian. This book is nice for looking up a particular hymn, but also for just browsing through. In that sense, it could be a good "coffee table book," while also being of benefit in personal or family devotions, or church music ministry. It might also be a way to find some new hymns of value. You can always look up a hymn at CyberHymnal to hear the accompanying music! I highly recommend this book.

Outstanding for remembering the hymns and to read the stories behind the writtings. Scripture to go with the hymn also. I've shared this with many. One of my favorite possessions.

This book is excellent, and covers many behind-the-scenes stories regarding all of the ham in this book. This book is a good reference material, and will help you in your relationship with the Lord.

I ended up using this book for family devotions as each hymn story has several Bible passages assigned to it--as every good hymn should draw from Scripture! Every evening at supper time, our family (including three girls ages 10, 8 and 6) take turns in reading Scripture, reading the story and then singing the hymn! The latter presumes the one knows the melody, which, sadly isn't always the case. I estimate that I'm familiar with about two-thirds of the included hymns and I'm in my mid-40s. In general, these are extremely sing-able hymns, so even the kids enjoy the melodies, irregardless of the hymn's age (they're also good vocabulary builders too as older English is often used).If you don't know a hymn melody, I suggest you go to [...] which has the .mp3 tunes available to download for over 4000 hymns! That would make it possible to sing almost every hymn listed in this book.Younger folks who grew up on contemporary music might not recognize many of the songs included in the stories, as they're mostly older ones that are now in the public domain. The more recent songs (in the past 50 years) often ONLY contain the story behind the hymn or the author and don't include the lyrics because of copyright issues. That means you must search for the words elsewhere if you don't already have the song memorized--which is a bit annoying, but not impossible with the internet.My biggest complaint is that a great deal of the text refuses to scale up or down and seems to be a collection of images rather than normal text. That means some sections are tough to read--like the first paragraph in every song introduction.

I love this book, I have had one for years and bought this one to gift to a friend.I feel it gives so much more meaning to the hymns we sing if we know the story behind them, who wrote them and why. Love this book, would recommend!

I bought this book because I want to sing gospel songs but don't know the words. I believe we are supposed to sing to the Lord, so now I can! There are many songs in this book that I remember the tune to, from church when I was growing up. The truth is, I can't sing worth a lick, but God doesn't care! The reading material is great. Very interesting!

Four pages damaged as per photos

Good book to have

Present for my mother who is in a choir. She loves this book covers the familiar and unfamiliar hymns. Book also has stories of hymns. A very welcomed present.

An ideal companion for a Songs of Praise type service. The backgrounds to/stories behind hymns are interesting, enlightening and succinct.

Yes it very good " The Complete Book of Hymns 2 so i give it 4 Stars { Thank-You }