Singing for Freedom: The Hutchinson Family Singers and the Nineteenth-Century Culture of Reform. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. 2007. Pp. xi, 312. $45.00.

Mark M. Smith
University of South Carolina

In this book, Scott Gac offers a fresh, insightful, and persuasive account of a surprisingly overlooked component of the antebellum reform movement: the Hutchinson Family Singers, arguably the most popular musical troupe of its day. Gac’s book is a powerful study of antebellum “music, careerism, reform,” the history of religion, communication networks, nineteenth-century consumerism, “and the transformation of American culture” (p. 18). Read the rest of this entry »

Singing for Freedom: The Hutchinson Family Singers and the Nineteenth-Century Culture of Antebellum Reform.(Book review).Matthew Warner Osborn. Journal of the Early Republic 28.3 (Fall 2008): p488(4). (1036 words)

Full Text:COPYRIGHT 2008 University of Pennsylvania Press
Singing for Freedom: The Hutchinson Family Singers and the Nineteenth-Century Culture of Antebellum Reform. By Scott Gac. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. Pp. 328. Cloth, $45.00.)

If Elvis Costello is right that talking about music is like dancing about architecture, Scott Gac shows that music nevertheless provides a fascinating window into American cultural history. Read the rest of this entry »

Catch the recent review of Singing for Freedom in the Journal of American History.

Scott has teamed with the Book Club Cookbook. You can now invite Scott to your bookclub’s discussion of Singing for Freedom! For more details click here.

See soon-to-be reviewer Paul Harvey’s first impressions of the Singing For Freedom.

My heartfelt thanks to George, a reader of Singing for Freedom in New Hampshire.  George’s keen eye unearthed several errors (gasp!) in the book that will be corrected whenever the paperback version is issued.

Read this wonderful entry from blogger Turquoise Waters on her discovery of the Hutchinson Family Singers. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out new articles on Singing for Freedom in the Boston Globe and the Nashua Telegraph.

Listen to the Viewpoints segment on Singing for Freedom and the Hutchinson Family Singers.