Walvin, an emeritus professor of history at the University of York, encountered the hymn during his study of the Atlantic slave trade, and in “Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved ...

As we look at another New Year’s Day, it’s a good time to reflect on a song that unites rather than divides us: the Rev. John Newton’s hymn “Amazing Grace.” The hymn first appeared in ...

Now more than 250 years after Newton introduced “Amazing Grace,” the song remains one of the most powerful hymns and anthems and has been covered by everyone from Willie Nelson, Sister Rosetta ...

In Amazing Grace: A Cultural History ... John Newton's hymn "Amazing Grace" was published in the 1779 collection Olney Hymns. Newton, a former slave trader, became a pastor and abolitionist.

AMAZING GRACE: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn. By James Walvin. University of California Press. 216 pages. $19.95. When President Obama sang “Amazing Grace” at the funeral of the Rev ...

The Rev. John Newton's hymn "Amazing Grace" has become a national hymn, uniting people of all walks of life and reflecting the Christian view of man as a fallen creature who can do nothing to save ...