Sweet Songs of Zion
by John Betjeman, Edited by Stephen Games
GoodBookStall Review:
In essence, this is a collection of the scripts of 28 radio broadcasts by John Betjeman, all about hymns and their origins, grouped and themed in various ways - by period, locality, theology, and vocation. The original broadcasts were made in the 1970s, and Editor Stephen Green provides a comprehensive and informative introduction, as well a full complement of indexes. The real joys of this book are Betjeman's easy prose and his individual approach to the subject, although his habit of quoting hymns at their full and original length certainly broadened this reader's education on several occasions. It’s a delightful read, and its structure makes it an easy book to dip into or to read in short instalments. As a period piece, it has a certain warmth and cosiness, and brings on a slight nostalgia for a quite recent past when there was something approaching a national culture of hymnody. I kept hoping the next chapter wasn't going to be the last, and I was sorry when I finally reached the end.
Reviewer: Martin Brasier (29/11/07)
In essence, this is a collection of the scripts of 28 radio broadcasts by John Betjeman, all about hymns and their origins, grouped and themed in various ways - by period, locality, theology, and vocation. The original broadcasts were made in the 1970s, and Editor Stephen Green provides a comprehensive and informative introduction, as well a full complement of indexes. The real joys of this book are Betjeman's easy prose and his individual approach to the subject, although his habit of quoting hymns at their full and original length certainly broadened this reader's education on several occasions. It’s a delightful read, and its structure makes it an easy book to dip into or to read in short instalments. As a period piece, it has a certain warmth and cosiness, and brings on a slight nostalgia for a quite recent past when there was something approaching a national culture of hymnody. I kept hoping the next chapter wasn't going to be the last, and I was sorry when I finally reached the end.
Reviewer: Martin Brasier (29/11/07)
