Hymns for Today

Robert Morgan's book Then Sings My Soul, with its hymns and hymn stories, would make a great gift book. It would also be useful to a church songleader who might want to read a story to introduce a hymn sung congregationally. I like the inclusion of many lesser known hymns like "Of the Father's Love Begotten."
The stories took me somewhat by surprise as I confronted how very real and diverse these hymn authors were, men and women, young and old, from different time periods, living through different historical and personal challenges, working in a variety of churches. Sorrow seems the greatest catalyst for creativity, as so many hymns are written by someone who has just experienced loss. A little more passion (on the part of the author) and a little less obscure fact would make this book more inspiring, though perhaps the less emotional take is actually fresher and more versatile. I enjoyed this book and am glad to own it or possibly give it away as a Christmas gift to a lover of history and/or the rich tradition of Christian music.
I received this book from Book Sneeze in order to review it.