I feared this would be nothing more than a ‘gift book’, beautifully produced but with not many pages, instead it is a little treasure trove of meditations on many many hymns, often quoting only one verse but referring to others in the following thought provoking piece. Although as Pam Rhodes tells us, a lot of hymns started out as poems, if the words are familiar you will not be able to stop yourself ‘singing’ them as you read, the tunes are so much a part of them. Not only does the author meditate on the hymns but she also tells us about the hymn writers, and this helps us to understand why they have written as they have. I’m so glad this has been published with a durable Flexiback; it will be constantly used for many years to come.