Ace Collins Books

A must for any Cathedrals fan and a "should have" for lovers of Gospel music.

WOW! As a fan of the Cathedrals, I loved reading about the 2 Sr members. The Lord worked in both of their lives to bring them together to bless us all with their music and their commitment to the call on their lives. If you love the Cathedrals, you will LOVE this book!!!!!!!!!!

A great look at the Cathedrals' history, George Younce and Glen Payne's stories, and the gospel music business in general. A MUST read for anyone who has ever listened to gospel music!

A great book for Cathedral's fans. The lives of these two gentlemen are a true example of what being in God's service is all about. They have touched hearts and lives for decades with their music. My only complaint is that it was too short and I hope someday, the full and complete story of Glen Payne and George Younce will be told.

I borrowed this book from a friend and read it, and now I want to purchase the book for my library. I have managed to get two of the books for two different friends autographed at several of their concerts. This makes the book even more meaningful, especially having Glen's and George's autographs. I would highly recommend purchasing this book and adding to your library.

do you have a boy frin

I'm not the kind of person who likes country music, but when I heard the Dixie Chicks on the radio, I was pleasantly surprised at their music. So I bought this book and it is very interesting to read about all the things the Chicks have been through. They are strong, persistent, and fun loving women that gave modern country music a new look.

This is a fantastic biography of the most famous canine in Hollywood history - Lassie. From Lassie 1 to Lassie 8, this book gives the reader a true history of Lassie, from 1938 to 1993. Full of wonderful photographs. A great companion book to this one is The Legacy of Lassie, An Unauthorized Information and Price Guide on Lassie Collectibles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to read the stories behind many of our best-loved carols and popular Christmas songs. The author recites his stories with a Christian perspective, but I feel that this enhances the stories rather than detracts from them.

I feel it has deepened my understanding and appreciation of Christmas and revealed to me, the contributions of the men and women behind this music.

How each one of them added something special and unique to our celebrations of Christmas.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/07)

One of the toughest challenges for me after moving to the South was - and still is - getting in the mood for Christmas. When one grew up with snow on the ground and chestnuts roasting, it just isn't easy to get used to palm trees and temperatures in the 80s when Christmas comes around. That said, the challenge has gotten bigger in the past years and all of a sudden I stopped looking forward to the holidays. Nothing seemed right any longer, until I discovered the wonderful boxed set of "Stories Behind Christmas," written by Ace Collins.

The set consists of three wonderful collections of stories, two of which deal with the songs of Christmas and one which deals with the traditions of Christmas. Written in a fluid, easy to follow style, the stories touch on 26 traditions and a total of 62 songs, connected to Christmas. The attention to detail, as well as the obviously huge amount of research that went into them, make for pleasant, uplifting reading. With selections as diverse as Silent Night, Ave Maria, Auld Lang Syne, The Little Drummer Boy, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas and more you'll be able to find many of your favorites and learn a lot of surprising facts about them. The majority of the chapters also include the words of the songs, and if you are anything like me, they will be a useful tool to finally decipher some of the more difficult lines.

While I found both Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas and More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas utterly delightful and charming, it was the Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas that stole my heart. Ace Collins managed to include all of my favorites, from holly and mistletoe to nativity scenes and Nutcracker ballet, and definitely not forgetting candy canes, ornaments, stockings, gifts and lights. Any and every question about the symbols and traditions of Christmas that you've ever had - and maybe didn't even realize you had it - is answered in this book. Reading the wonderful vignettes behind each of them put me in the Christmas mood early this year and I have no doubt the spirit will stay around.

This set would make a wonderful Christmas gift, especially for people with children or anybody with a curious mind. Those books are appropriate for most any age and should find their way to the bookshelves of all who celebrate Christmas. And if you are one of those, who - like me - misses a White Christmas, read a couple of stories in "Stories Behind Christmas" and I bet you will see a million tiny crystals sparkling all around you.

I was surprised by this detailed look at the full story behind all of Elvis's #1 hits. Each chapter gives a full account and its a truly facinating read! Thoroughly recommended book.

Did you ever wonder how your favorite Christmas hymns and carols came to be written? Where were they first sung and why? Who are the people behind them? What events in their lives, what discoveries of faith, inspired these beloved songs into being? Ace Collins has complied a lovely little book to help you find out.

For instance, here you will find everything from "Angels from the Realms of Glory" to "White Christmas". (Yes, there are some popular songs sprinkled in among the hymns and carols!). Do you know...

...What favorite hymn was written the Christmas that the church organ conked out? (Yes, I know some of you know the tale, but it is here for those who don't).

...Which one was a faithful Christian's response to the carnage of the War Between the States?

...Which hymn was penned with a visit on horseback to the village of Jesus' birthplace fresh in the writer's memory?

Ace Collins relates the stories, both familiar and fresh. He helps the reader not only wonder as they wander through the holidays but also figure out who Good King Wenceslas was and why he is worth singing about after all these years. Collins is the author of over fifty books including "Turn Your Radio On" and "The Cathedrals". All of these stories are accompanied by the words of the carols and hymns, so you can sing or hum along as you read about them.

This book would be a great devotional book or family conversation starter to use throughout the Advent season, with 31 different stories to inspire your heart and mind throughout the wondrous season. It is small enough to serve as a great stocking stuffer and lovely enough to be a stand-alone gift for any number of people on your Christmas list.

I heard Ace Collins on a radio show talking about his book and sharing some of the stories/origins behind many of my favorite Christmas songs, both sacred and secular. Not only did I want the book for myself, but decided it would make a great gift, especially for people in my life who have EVERYTHING--I'm sure you have some of those people too. I bought two copies at a very reasonable price and the recipients loved them. I plan to buy a few more for next Christmas.

The book and information was wonderful. A very nice read. However - stick to the original size. This miniature edition is a little TOO miniature... only about 1 inch square.

The author should quote his sources, because others in the future may take his statements for fact, when some of the stories are not backed up by other authors / researchers. I have found conflicting information about some of the music both in print and online. A Google search will lead you to different versions and also different background info on "The Twelve Days of Christmas", for example. Also, though I am no musicologist, I would consider a christmas song as being secular, and a christmas carol as being about sacred topics, i.e. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. In contrast, The "Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook" is pretty good about (briefly) explaining the backgound / history of the selections (plus it has the music) and almost every one of the popular songs, but it does not always have all of the verses of the songs.

For someone with 50 books to his credit--as per the dust jacket--Collins is highly sloppy in the research of this book. As has been previously noted, he just presented a common story about the origins of "Silent Night" without necessarily having done any deep research. And the comments about "The Twelve Days of Christmas" come straight from a silly internet piece, with no basis in fact.

This is common throughout this book. It seems more often than not, Collins has just done some cursory internet research and then slapped it all together and called it good.

Some other screw-ups: Irving Berlin was worried that "White Christmas" wasn't really a good song. Actually Berlin, upon introducing it to his office staff and musical secretary, refered to it as "not only the greatest song I've ever written, but the greatest song ever written." Berlin at one point had plans to make White Christmas the main production number in a major Broadway revue. In performing it for Crosby and studio execs, Berlin got nervous with himself and choked in performing it. You can read about this in Jody Rosen's excellent book on White Christmas, called "White Christmas."

As for his assertions about the meaning and origin of the term Merry in merry Christmas, he gets it wrong again. Ten minutes in the Oxford English Dictionary, available at any decent public library, would have given him the answers.

Better Books on this subject are Rosen's afforementioned book and "The Penguin Book of Christmas Carols" ed. Ian Bradbury.

How does Ace Collins manage to slap together a bunch of fairytales and call it history? His book on Christmas carols has a totally fictitious account of the history of "Silent Night" and this Christmas book has a completely fabricated version of the Nativity scene set up by St. Francis of Assisi. Collins wonders if the figures in Francis' Nativity were clay or carved wood. Collins supposes that Francis had figures of shepherds but probably skipped having any animals.

What?!?!?!? According to the two biographers of St. Francis (St. Bonaventure and Thomas of Celano) there were no clay or wooden figures of Mary and Joseph. There were neither shepherds nor kings in the Nativity at Greccio, Italy in 1223. There was a feeding trough (manger), a live ox, and a live ass. According to Thomas, it was beautiful in its simplicity with the manger acting as the altar for the Christmas Mass.

It's time for Ace Collins to do some real research and rewrite his Christmas books instead of foisting fairytales on an unsuspecting public.

As a Christian for 10 years, I realized this year how little I knew about Christmas traditions. When I found this book, I thought it was good enough to use as the basis for an adult (as opposed to children) Sunday School class. Feedback has been very enthusiastic! The book is well written, and an easy and interesting read. Each chapter covers a different Christmas tradition. Chapters are typically 5-7 pages. I highly recommend this book.

I had great fun using this with my children's church class last year. I found items representing Christmas, and was able to tell them the story behind our traditions. Wonderful book.

As a history buff, I fully enjoyed learning new things about the history of Christmas traditions. I found it interesting that Christmas trees were first hung upside down. Ace has written another wonderful book. I have enjoyed reading many of his other treats and he has lived up to his reputation with this one!!

In this book, author Ace Collins traces the history behind various popular Christmas traditions, from caroling and ornaments to mistletoe and yule logs. Collins provides various theories on the origins of each tradition, some of which date back to even before Christ's birth. He also does a nice job of explaining the rise in popularity of each activity as it moved into the mainstream of Christmas celebrations. Finally, the book carries a strong Christian message, as Collins talks about connecting each modern tradition back to its original roots in commemorating Christ's birth. This is a perfect little book to teach children about the history behind Christmas or for adults looking to find greater meaning in this much-commercialized holiday.

This is a great little book. It tells the origins of 65 famous gospel songs as well as inspiring stories about the songwriters. There are no actual music scores or lyrics, but the song titles are all familiar tunes to Christian gospel lovers, young and old. When friends of Albert Burnley would hear his songs on the radio, they would call him and say, "Albert, turn your radio on." Soon, he wrote one of his best loved songs, "Turn Your Radio On"; and hence the title of this collection of stories. If you love gospel music, you will love this book. Stories are told about Andrae Crouch, Dottie Rambo, Bill and Gloria Gaither, George Beverly Shea, Rusty Goodman, just to mention a few. All the great gospel songwriters are here. Order now for youself or as a great gift. Lynn Rouse

In scanning the book's index, I was surprised that there was no reference to Fred Waring and his musical organization, the Pennsylvanians, and their relationship with "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Having been a member of the Pennsylvanians, I know for a fact that it was Waring and his choral arranger Roy Ringwald who are responsible for re-discovering this obscure Civil War hymn and featuring it on one of their Chesterfield Pleasure Time broadcasts in the early 1940's. Singlehandedly, Waring brought this stirring patriotic anthem to the public consciousness, and from that point on he featured "Battle Hymn" as the closing song in all of his live concerts. Yet, there is no hint that these accounts are even mentioned in the book, which makes me doubt the research done by the author. I will pass on purchasing it.

Wonderful little book, a joy to read about all the great hymns.

The stories are accurate and interesting. There is no sheet music and I do not miss it. I have found the stories useful as fodder for comments I make when playing music for audiences. There are several other similar books, all good, but I sure wish there were a lot more by this author. There is one about Christmas music, but two are still not enough.