If I had to recommend one book to persons wanting to learn about Sacred Harp singing it would be Buell Cobb's masterful memoir. The only way to top this book would be to have it made into a movie complete with singing. Highly recommended.

Harry Eskew, co-author of "Sing with Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology."

I just finished your new book, and it was WONDERFUL!  I always tell people that stories are my "lens to the world", and I can see that your world view is likely similar.  Obviously, I loved all the Sacred Harp parts of the story, but I also felt a powerful understanding of that part of the world and that time (over the decades.)
 
I've made more highlights in this book than any other I've ever read, and will be revisiting it often!

Mairye Bates

I know some of the people written about in this book, and I have encountered the author many many times at Sacred Harp singings. So when the announcement came that his long-awaited book was available on Kindle, I sprained my fingers rushing to amazon.com to download it. I am *not* disappointed. Cobb says that he aims to write as if speaking and that is the perfect style for this kind of book. I can "hear" him as I am reading. I've long admired Cobb's skill at noticing and observing the people and activities around him. He then takes these noticings and observations and mixes in his storyteller's ability to put us right there with him. For those who were not privileged, as he was, to experience and encounter the people doing Sacred Harp in the 1970s to the present, Cobb has revealed who they were, what they were like, and why he (and now we) will never forget them.

K. E. Willard

I downloaded the Kindle version of this book on Saturday night. I finished reading the book Monday night. That's the kind of book it is, especially if you love Sacred Harp.

Buell Cobb is the master chonicler of Sacred Harp music. And this book is an essential and wonderful experience.

If you already know Sacred Harp music, stop reading this review right now, and go buy the book. You absolutely won't regret it.

If you don't know much about Sacred Harp music, this book may be a little bit like diving into the deep-end of the pool. You will probably get caught up in the excitement, the warmth, and the passion of this peculiar music and its adherents. This book is very much the story of Buell's personal journey through Sacred Harp and the wonderful people he has encountered along the way. But if you're new to Sacred Harp you may be missing some context. In which case I heartily recommend Buell's first book, The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music.

Like Cords Around My Heart is one of those books you will pull out to re-read passages that were particularly striking to you, or made you laugh out loud. And often you will find yourself re-reading these passages aloud for the pure pleasure of hearing the rhythm and music of Buell's words.

Reading this book is much like sitting around with Sacred Harp singers after a particularly good singing convention and listening to stories of singers past, of amazing leading, of foibles and kindness, and of a shared love.

William H. Waddington