Robert J. Morgan (1) (1952–)

I always love hymn stories, but this one is less about the hymn stories and more about the hymn writer. I wish the author had used better known hymns. I think the subtitle word "best-loved" may reflect his own position on the hymns rather than that of Christendom in general. Sometimes he used hymns that likely were not sung often even back in my grandmother's days. Many certainly did not appear in hymn books of the last 60 years. I own copies of hymnals prior to this era and did not check show more them, but I've pretty much memorized the contents of several hymnals dating back 50 to 65 years and never heard those. Fortunately he often told you well-known hymn tunes to which the hymns could be sung. It's still a useful book to use in daily devotional thoughts. show less

This is a book of brief devotionals for the Lenten period. Each day includes a hymn, a brief biography of the hymnist, and a Bible verse. At first I thought that the readings were too brief, but I found myself compulsively turning pages so I could discover and enjoy the following day's hymn. In the end, I read this book over two days, instead of the intended 40, and feel very encouraged and blessed for having done so.

Merged review:

This is a book of brief devotionals for the Lenten period. show more Each day includes a hymn, a brief biography of the hymnist, and a Bible verse. At first I thought that the readings were too brief, but I found myself compulsively turning pages so I could discover and enjoy the following day's hymn. In the end, I read this book over two days, instead of the intended 40, and feel very encouraged and blessed for having done so. show less

This beautifully illustrated gift book tells the story of Susan and Anna Warner, sisters who are best known today for the children's hymn “Jesus Loves Me” that first appeared in their novel Say and Seal. While the novel has largely been forgotten, the hymn has not. It is the first song that many children learn, and tiny toddlers will sing it loudly and enthusiastically. The Warner sisters spent most of their lives on Constitution Island across the Hudson from West Point. For many years show more first Susan and then Anna taught Sunday Bible classes for West Point cadets and hosted a dozen or so every Saturday. When they died, they were the first civilians to be buried at West Point. The endnotes and contact information for the Constitution Island Association will lead interested readers to additional resources about these remarkable women and their beloved home on the Hudson. It's a shame that this lovely little book is already out of print. If you happen to run across a used copy in good condition, it would make a nice gift for a Sunday School teacher, a christening or baby dedication, or perhaps even a nursing home patient to rekindle memories from their childhood. show less

Interesting material, but suffers from at least two obvious problems:
1. It needs a decent copy editor to fix errors in word-usage (Mark Twain's famous quote about lightning and lightning bugs definitely comes to mind);
2. It needs citations -- one simply doesn't know how much credence to place in a lot of the stories.