Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas
3.3 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
698 reviews.
 |
My husband and I are separated and this will be my first Christmas alone in thirty years. Understandably I have not been looking forward to the Holidays. But I ran across this little book while shopping. It is a delightful quick read. Apparently some of our most beloved Christmas Songs were inspired during times of trial and suffering. Discovering that pain and suffering produces creative inspiration and rebirth actually helped me to begin planning for Christmas. It is a small step but a beginning... A new beginning.
|
|
"Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" by Ace Collins (Website) is a short book, divided into sections, each corresponding to a beloved Christmas song. The book is arranged alphabetically and includes lyrics to most of the songs.
The book tells about 31 Christmas songs and carols including "Do You Hear what I Hear", "G-d Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Jingle Bells', "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" and more. The titles are arrange alphabetically and most of the songs also include the lyrics.
I was looking forward to read "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas", not only to get into the holiday spirit but also because I love this type of books since my childhood. These short stories filled with charming facts and little unknown tidbits were always fascinating to me.
Not to mention a great resource in case I'll be on "Jeopardy" one day.
The premise of this book is quite interesting, that is telling the history of each carol or Christmas song. Mr. Collins is a good writer and makes the stories he writes about engaging and easy to read, but he lacks some serious research. The core fact of what the author is describing are woven with information which cannot be verified (such as putting thoughts in people's heads) or is simply misleading (I did some fact checking and found conflicting information). If the information is not wrong well, the reader is out of luck because there are absolutely no sources at the end.
I will grant the author that most of the stories he tells are legitimate and verifiable when one checks up on them but to mix fact and fiction only undermines the authors credibility.
For example, the author's take on "Good King Wenceslas", he mixes facts and legends into a simple narrative which could easily be taken as all pure fact and worst - be quoted from in the future. The piece about "Twelve Days of Christmas" (which accidentally I happen to look up) was taken out of an Internet page without any reasonable research. The author claims that the "Twelve Days of Christmas" was some sort of coded reference but a 2 second search on Google using the term "Twelve Days of Christmas Origin" brought me to a Snopes page claiming it is false.
For more book reviews please visit ManOfLaBook dot com
|
|
As a musician, I have always enjoyed learning the story behind the song. But this book turns each story into it an inspiation. I started out picking and choosing which songs I to read about. When I realized how much I was motivated by every story, I went back and read about the all the other songs and was moved by them too. Each song story is completely self-contained and are great for reading aloud to friends, family, and children. I bought all the remaining copies at my local B&N to give to friends last Christmas. This is the best "story behind the song" book I have ever read.
|
|
Unfortunately, Ace Collins took a great idea and completely ruined it. Collins used many myths and folklore -- unverifiable -- and stated them as fact. The author needs to go back and take a course on sources, identifying CREDIBLE sources, and citing sources. Many of the stories the author paints as fact, are in fact, myths -- fiction in other words. A good example is "The Twelve Days of Christmas." If a person does a little research on the Internet, that individual can learn that the author used a story that has been proven false on the history of this Christmas Carol. I was very disappointed because I was looking forward to reading the history of many of my favorite Christmas hymns. I'm glad I downloaded the book for free.
|
|
Book was very informative and interesting. Would recommend it highly. Gave out to several people for Christmas gifts.
|
|
Some of the stories were interesting, others were just OK. Not only were they not my "best-loved" songs, an awful lot of them I'd never heard of. They started running together in my mind since the stories of some were not that unique. A random guy wrote a poem, someone else eventually printed it in a hymnal, and if it wasn't for someone else no one would have ever heard of it. It also bothered me that the lyrics were only reprinted for some of the songs. Usually the ones I already knew.Now that I've read deanc's review below I have doubts about what I did retain from the book.
|
|
I thought I was going to love this - I usually do enjoy random trivia like this - but it turned out to be pretty boring. Too bad, there's a lot of potential in the material but it isn't presented in an interesting manner. Least I didn't buy it.
|
|
In 192 pages Collins tells the story behind 31 Christmas songs and carols. They are arranged in alphabetical order, from "Angels From the Realms of Glory" to "White Christmas." He is a good writer and his stories make interesting, easy reading, but the background research is uneven and unreliable. For example, he cites the ridiculous story making the rounds on the Internet about the "Twelve Days of Christmas" being a secret code that persecuted British Catholics devised to teach their children Church doctrines that had been supposedly banned by the Church of England. For example, the "four calling birds" represent the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - as if the Church of England didn't accept the same four Gospels!; and the "six geese a-laying" supposedly represent the six days of creation in Genesis - again, as if the Anglicans would think that heretical!. It's good for a laugh, but unfortunately, telling it in all seriousness - apparently without checking an "urban legends" web site which would have nipped it in the bud - damages the book's credibility.Another example of the author's silliness is his claim that the word "merry" in "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," doesn't mean happy or cheerful, as we always thought it did. No, it actually means "mighty," as in Robin Hood's merry (i.e., mighty) men! Evidently, Collins didn't check his sources too closely if he thought that sounded plausible. However, what he does write is entertaining and easy-to-read. Not surprisingly, there are no footnotes, bibliography or index. That alone could be a tip off that some of the contents should be taken with a grain of salt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wow! This book is so wonderful! I have to admit that there are numerous carols that I will forever look at differently now. This is a truly amazing book.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now that was the best
|
|
If you are a music-lover, a Christmas-lover, or even a history buff - you will likely enjoy this book. Ace Collins gives us the backstories of songs, and shows us how there is a lot more to the seemingly simple carols that many of us have sung for decades. Some were insprited by political beliefs, while others were borne of personal angst. I won't give away but one spoiler, and will share this one just to whet your appetite. I was delighted to discover that "Good King Wenceslas" was based on an actual king, who in fact did have a heart for aiding the poor. I highly recommend this book as a holiday read.
|
|
Through story telling Collins connects verse with composer, lyricist, performer, and audience. The emerging theme: songs of hope born from difficult times.
|
|
|
|
I often wondered about where some of the Christmas songs came from. This book answered that question besides giving very interesting details about the backgrounds of the song's authors.
|
|
|
|
Absolutely wonderful.... As I read the stories I kept hearing the tune in my head and singing it in my heart. When I went to church each song sung took on more significance and produced more gratitude. This book portrays the deeper mystery of this wonderful season. There is a quiet working of the gospel message that is bigger than an individual and reaches out to all in ways man could not begin to orchestrate himself. God is behind and within every song and it's history.
|
|
My kids LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
Explore More Items
