Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Advanced
Title details for Amazing Grace by James Walvin - Wait list

Amazing Grace

by James Walvin
Steven Crossley
Audiobook
Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
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.
Expand title description text
Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc. Edition: Unabridged

OverDrive Listen audiobook

  • ISBN: 9798890594761
  • File size: 198954 KB
  • Release date: October 31, 2023
  • Duration: 06:54:29

MP3 audiobook

  • ISBN: 9798890594761
  • File size: 198981 KB
  • Release date: October 31, 2023
  • Duration: 06:57:26
  • Number of parts: 7

Formats

OverDrive Listen audiobook
MP3 audiobook

subjects

Biography & Autobiography Music Nonfiction

Languages

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.
Expand title description text
Biography & Autobiography Music Nonfiction