"Steve Turner is a tough-minded poet with an ear for the psalms, an eye for the miracles in the mundane and an understanding of how despair can break the ground for joy to take root. The story of ‘Amazing Grace’ is just that: a gospel song with out any of the big-grinning cheesiness often found in that genre. As a musician, I am often struck by the phrase ‘sweet the sound’as in ‘Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)’. I love to think music can be an instrument of grace...that there might be mercy in melody and that at the very least a great song can fill the silence of indifference we sometimes find in our hearts." -Bono From acclaimed music writer Steve Turner, an unprecedented and illuminating study of this inspirational hymn Behind our most beloved hymn is a fascinating story spanning continents, cultures, and centuries. Inspired by the way this piece of music continues to live and grow, acclaimed writer Steve Turner traces “Amazing Grace” from the composition of its lyrics by former slave trader John Newton, to its current status as the most popular hymn in America. John Newton had been rescued from Africa by a merchant ship when, during an 11-hour storm on the Atlantic, he began his conversion to Christianity. Years later, as a minister, he wrote the hymn for use among his congregation. Through the 19th century “Amazing Grace” appeared in more and more hymn books, and in the 20th century it rose to a gospel and folk standard before exploding into pop music, and has been recorded by artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Johnny Cash, and Destiny’s Child. Amazing Grace closely examines this modern history of the hymn through personal interviews with recording artists. With in-depth research and personal interviews with recording artists, Amazing Grace is a thorough and illuminating musical history—as well as a source of comfort and inspiration at a time when America is rediscovering its spirituality and its tradition. Turner, a respected British music biographer (Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye), divides his excellent book into two almost even halves. Part 1, "Creation," tells the story of John Newton (1725-1807), the lyricist of "Amazing Grace." Part 2, "Dissemination," provides new evidence for the tune's origin, explains how the words and a variety of tunes came together until the familiar match was arrived at, reveals which stanzas are commonly sung, and discusses popularizers like Mahalia Jackson and Judy Collins (who wrote the foreword). Turner's account of Newton's life reads like a good suspense novel: he carefully sets the stage for Newton's conversion from slave trader to abolitionist champion while presenting his experiences as a country clergyman and relationships with poet William Cowper and politician William Wilberforce, among others. The hyperbolic subtitle does not originate with the author, but the book is fully researched and supplemented by useful appendixes, including a discography and a "Who's Who" of performers who recorded the song, as well as up-to-date references to events in 2002. William Phipps's Amazing Grace in John Newton is the most recent comparable title, but it has a more academic slant and focuses more on the person than the song. Heartily recommended for all collections. Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Few songs are as universally known as "Amazing Grace." It represents many things to many people: hymn, musical symbol of the civil rights era, quintessential folk song, and, especially after 9/11, ubiquitous dirge. Turner traces the song's history from the cold December day in 1772 when slave trader turned hymn-spouting minister John Newton wrote down its words in his Bedfordshire vicarage in Olney, England; to the nineteenth century, when it began to crop up in American hymnals; to the twentieth century, in which it became a gospel and folk standard, achieving its current status as cultural icon. Writing musical history, Turner also writes social history. Examining how the song changed over the years, he considers how the cultural climate of the day contributed to these changes. Writing the song's biography, he also writes the life of John Newton and carefully delineates how Newton's deeply felt words crossed the Atlantic to eventually be set to its now familiar tune by a South Carolina singing instructor. Musical history at its entertaining best, for just about every music lover. June Sawyers Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “This carefully crafted and finely probed book will stand as the definitive look at what is perhaps the most popular hymn in American history.” - Publishers Weekly “Turner pens an informative biography of the man who wrote “Amazing Grace” and a comprehensive chronicle of the hymn’s journey to cultural iconhood… A sensitive and thoughtful take on a much-loved song.” - Kirkus Reviews “Turner measures different perspect