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More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas: Heartwarming Stories Behind Popular Carols
Ace Collins has dug deep to uncover the true stories behind your favorite Christmas songs. Explore how these songs came into being, and discover a deeper appreciation for these melodic messages of peace, hope, and joy that celebrate the birth of Jesus.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2006
About the author
Ace Collins
121 books220 followersCiting his Arkansas heritage, Christy Award winner Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. In that capacity, Collins has authored more than eighty books for 25 different publishers that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, children’s works as well as books on history, culture and faith. He has also been the featured speaker at the National Archives Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted a television special, been featured on every network morning TV show and does college basketball play-by-play. He is married to Kathy Collins, Chair of the Education Department at Ouachita Baptist University, and the couple has two grown sons. Collins lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 21, 2021
I did audio. I wish it had chapter heads to know what song I was on. Since I went days between listens. And wish their was more excitement in the history lessons.
July 24, 2011
Ace Collins "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" is a collection of 30 plus essays givning some back story to, shockingly enough, popular and timeless Christmas carols. The carols featured are not poppy AOR faire but more traditional Catholic style songs. Though Rudolph and White Christmas are well represented. For the most part the stories weren't very exciting nor were they eye opening or have surprises. Mostly stories of happy coincidences that made brought the carol into the culture of the season. I'm sure non-Christmas songs have similar tales. This would be a nice book to have out on a coffee table during the Christmas season. Guests would enjoy getting persepctive or two on a few of their personal favorites. I just don't feel it works well as a Christmas read.
December 16, 2015
This book had some interesting stories, and, while out introduced me to some carols I hadn't heard before, it would have been better if, since I was listening to it as an audio book, The songs would have been included so that I could great the ones I wasn't familiar with. I understand that with copyrights to deal with that would not be at all practical, but it would have drastically increased my enjoyment of the book. The stories for the songs I am familiar with were enjoyable, and I'm glad to have learned one or two more Christmas songs, but for the most part, of I wasn't already familiar with the carol I didn't take the time to look it up.
December 7, 2021
This book was ok. It was fun hearing the stories about the composers and inspirations behind many popular Christmas songs. The author didn't delve behind his white Christian lense, though, which really showed when he talked about the history of o-tannenbaum without really saying anything about the appropriation of fir tree traditions ( he said Christians liked those traditions). I wonder how much was misconstrued or left out by his narrow lense?
December 30, 2021
Some of the stories are interesting, but a little too religiously bent in trying to teach us all the “true” meaning of the season for this author. A portion of the songs like the first book I had never even heard of before and I listen to so many Christmas tunes.
December 2, 2023
THE POPULAR CHRISTIAN AUTHOR’S SECOND (OF THREE) BOOKS ABOUT CHRISTMAS SONGS
Author ‘Ace’ (Andrew) Collins wrote in the introduction of this 2006 book, “When doing the first book in this series… I had as much fun as I have ever had with a writing project… At the time I finished, I had no idea if readers would come to appreciate the stories behind the songs, but I knew that each of those thirty-one chapters deeply enriched my appreciation of the holidays. Well, I soon found out that readers did want to know the stories behind Christmas carols… [This book] embraces the songs of classical history, folk music, and even modern country and jazz… [In this book] we have had the chance to spotlight the wonderful stories behind a new generation of Christmas songs.”
He begins with Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’: “These powerful words, coupled with one of the most awe-inspiring piece of music ever penned, put an unmistakably and unabashedly spiritual exclamation point on each Christmas season… Yet there is an irony in the belief that it can’t be Christmas without Handel’s most famed composition. The song itself was … originally considered to be an Easter offering. And… when he composed his most famous work, the great George Handel was a washed-up had-been… living in abject poverty. While penning what is now widely thought of as the world’s most dynamical musical salute to the birth of the Savior, Handel essentially was reborn himself.” (Pg. 13) He continues, “Handel was a man of deep faith… Even at twenty-five, the composer… had also become the most acclaimed composer in Europe… [He] loved the modern city of London… Behind the scenes, a lingering shadow began to haunt the still-young man… Handel physically began to fall apart. Before he reached forty, he suffered several strokes and was all but crippled by rheumatism… Handel went from riches to poverty…” (Pg. 14-16)
He goes on, “Charles Jennens was a wealthy eccentric whom most folks avoided… Jennens had taken what he felt were the most important biblical stories centering on the Messiah and cut them down to what he viewed as the bare-bones essential passages of Scripture…. Maybe, he thought, [Handel] would be interested… for the first time in years [Handel] was inspired… the composer locked himself in his study… In seven days he created the first segment of his new musical. This is now known as the ‘Christmas’ section of the Messiah… A few months later, Handel brought his newest work to the London stage. All of English society was there… King George II was so moved by the first few notes of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ that he rose to his feet. When the audience saw the king standing, they followed suit… By 1900, the Messiah was so linked to Easter that people began to expect to hear the oratorio each year. Yet soon a group would move 'the Messiah' to Christmas… For millions, the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ is the most powerful way of remembering the reason for the season.” (Pg. 17-20)
He asks, “Why have so many Christian artists now embraced standards such as ‘Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’? Probably because these whimsical numbers don’t just spotlight the childlike wonders of a modern secular Christmas, but they also offer a bit more. Hidden beneath carefree lyrics are secular parables spotlighting the rewards of compassion, and understanding and living life within the bounds of moral rules. Of these numbers, ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ is perhaps the most ‘out front’ with its morality play. Many families try to run from Santa, feeling that his presence obscures the Christian elements of the holiday… In fact, St. Nick was once looked on as an example of the way a Christian should respond to children in need. The jolly old elf…. was directly linked to the church…Nicholas was once a real person… Nicholas was born into a wealthy family just three centuries after the birth of Jesus. At seventeen he gave up his wealth … to serve the Lord as a monk and missionary… he was elevated to the position of archbishop of Myra, an area now in Turkey… the red-coated bishop felt it was his mission to reach the downtrodden, the hungry, the sick, and the oppressed… Nicholas did not limit his ministry to adults… he taught children, as well as giving them special gifts…” (Pg. 34-35)
He says of Christmas trees, “In the dark ages, Christians would cut down fir trees, string them with fruit, and use them in religious plays. These paradise trees represented the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden…. In the midst of hard German winters, the evergreen took on a representation of Christ’s undying love for his people… Using the tree as a symbol, Martin Luther explained the everlasting nature of God’s love… And the candles he placed on the tree represented the light and hope that Christ brought to the world with his birth and his resurrection… the tree evolved into a symbol not just of the first Christmas but of all elements of Christian faith.” (Pg. 41)
He notes that in ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ “The key line in the old carol is ‘We won’t go until we get some.’ This meant exactly what it said. The band of singers would knock on the doors of the finest houses and sing out their demands. If the owners of the homes did not meet the loathsome group’s request, then the men often knocked open the doors and took what they pleased…. The singing of ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’ didn’t just announce the arrival of the unwanted band but gave ominous warnings as well..” (Pg. 58)
Of ‘Carol of the Bells,’ he recounts, “Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych was… a national celebrity in the Ukraine and Russia when he sat down to compose the music for what has become one of the world’s most popular Christmas carols. Yet when he finished his 'Shchedryk,’ it was not yet the holiday song we now know as ‘Carol of the Bells.’ … Twenty years later, another musical visionary resurrected [the] magical composition. Peter Wilhousky… never quit studying the music of Eastern Europe… This … led to his discovering the beauty of Keontovych’s ‘Shchedryk.’ … Soon the composer became convinced that [it] captured the spirit of every bell in the world ringing out in perfect harmony… the American combined the joy found in Leontovych’s ringing bells with an old Slavic legend his parents had told. In 1936, with Wilhousky’s new lyrics and arrangement, the ‘Carol of the Bells’ was born.” (Pg. 170-172)
He says of ‘The Little Drummer Boy, “Katherine Davis … wrote more than one thousand pieces of music. A piano teacher at Wellesley College… Yet while thousands of choirs performed Davis’s cantatas… she is best remembered today for a single song… penned in the months preceding World War II… There can be little doubt that Katherine understood the suffering that was all around her… With these thoughts in mind, Davis… sat down at the piano in 1941, and wrote a very simple song about a very unpretentious Christmas gift… The child who was the focal point of Davis’s song… could have come off the streets of any American town… It was the story that millions knew well in the days of economic chaos and impending war. After all, it was a time when peace on earth seemed like a fairy tale.” (Pg. 174-176)
Of ‘Blue Christmas,’ he explains, “Jay Johnson… [was] a script and commercial-jingle writer for radio… The holiday season was just around the corner … With the success of ‘White Christmas’ and the tremendous impact of blues music during the forties, surely, Johnson thought… A number about a Blue Christmas seemed so natural… Though Christmas is considered a wonderful time by most, it is also a very difficult time for many. Being alone during a holiday period when family and giving are so important would be tough enough without being bombarded at every turn by the happy and joyful nature of Christmas… Jay Johnson’s verses spoke to those forgotten souls who would face the holiday season alone… With its lonesome message and cleverly lyrics, ‘Blue Christmas’ was truly a hillbilly ode. It may have been written on an East Coast commuter train, but when [Ernest Tubb] vocalized it… Tubb had put it on the map and shaped it into a country music standard… [It] became country music’s first true Christmas classic.” (Pg. 191-194)
This book (and the other two in the series) will be of great interest to anyone (particularly Christians) wanting to know more about the background of these songs.
Author ‘Ace’ (Andrew) Collins wrote in the introduction of this 2006 book, “When doing the first book in this series… I had as much fun as I have ever had with a writing project… At the time I finished, I had no idea if readers would come to appreciate the stories behind the songs, but I knew that each of those thirty-one chapters deeply enriched my appreciation of the holidays. Well, I soon found out that readers did want to know the stories behind Christmas carols… [This book] embraces the songs of classical history, folk music, and even modern country and jazz… [In this book] we have had the chance to spotlight the wonderful stories behind a new generation of Christmas songs.”
He begins with Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’: “These powerful words, coupled with one of the most awe-inspiring piece of music ever penned, put an unmistakably and unabashedly spiritual exclamation point on each Christmas season… Yet there is an irony in the belief that it can’t be Christmas without Handel’s most famed composition. The song itself was … originally considered to be an Easter offering. And… when he composed his most famous work, the great George Handel was a washed-up had-been… living in abject poverty. While penning what is now widely thought of as the world’s most dynamical musical salute to the birth of the Savior, Handel essentially was reborn himself.” (Pg. 13) He continues, “Handel was a man of deep faith… Even at twenty-five, the composer… had also become the most acclaimed composer in Europe… [He] loved the modern city of London… Behind the scenes, a lingering shadow began to haunt the still-young man… Handel physically began to fall apart. Before he reached forty, he suffered several strokes and was all but crippled by rheumatism… Handel went from riches to poverty…” (Pg. 14-16)
He goes on, “Charles Jennens was a wealthy eccentric whom most folks avoided… Jennens had taken what he felt were the most important biblical stories centering on the Messiah and cut them down to what he viewed as the bare-bones essential passages of Scripture…. Maybe, he thought, [Handel] would be interested… for the first time in years [Handel] was inspired… the composer locked himself in his study… In seven days he created the first segment of his new musical. This is now known as the ‘Christmas’ section of the Messiah… A few months later, Handel brought his newest work to the London stage. All of English society was there… King George II was so moved by the first few notes of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ that he rose to his feet. When the audience saw the king standing, they followed suit… By 1900, the Messiah was so linked to Easter that people began to expect to hear the oratorio each year. Yet soon a group would move 'the Messiah' to Christmas… For millions, the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ is the most powerful way of remembering the reason for the season.” (Pg. 17-20)
He asks, “Why have so many Christian artists now embraced standards such as ‘Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’? Probably because these whimsical numbers don’t just spotlight the childlike wonders of a modern secular Christmas, but they also offer a bit more. Hidden beneath carefree lyrics are secular parables spotlighting the rewards of compassion, and understanding and living life within the bounds of moral rules. Of these numbers, ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ is perhaps the most ‘out front’ with its morality play. Many families try to run from Santa, feeling that his presence obscures the Christian elements of the holiday… In fact, St. Nick was once looked on as an example of the way a Christian should respond to children in need. The jolly old elf…. was directly linked to the church…Nicholas was once a real person… Nicholas was born into a wealthy family just three centuries after the birth of Jesus. At seventeen he gave up his wealth … to serve the Lord as a monk and missionary… he was elevated to the position of archbishop of Myra, an area now in Turkey… the red-coated bishop felt it was his mission to reach the downtrodden, the hungry, the sick, and the oppressed… Nicholas did not limit his ministry to adults… he taught children, as well as giving them special gifts…” (Pg. 34-35)
He says of Christmas trees, “In the dark ages, Christians would cut down fir trees, string them with fruit, and use them in religious plays. These paradise trees represented the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden…. In the midst of hard German winters, the evergreen took on a representation of Christ’s undying love for his people… Using the tree as a symbol, Martin Luther explained the everlasting nature of God’s love… And the candles he placed on the tree represented the light and hope that Christ brought to the world with his birth and his resurrection… the tree evolved into a symbol not just of the first Christmas but of all elements of Christian faith.” (Pg. 41)
He notes that in ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ “The key line in the old carol is ‘We won’t go until we get some.’ This meant exactly what it said. The band of singers would knock on the doors of the finest houses and sing out their demands. If the owners of the homes did not meet the loathsome group’s request, then the men often knocked open the doors and took what they pleased…. The singing of ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’ didn’t just announce the arrival of the unwanted band but gave ominous warnings as well..” (Pg. 58)
Of ‘Carol of the Bells,’ he recounts, “Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych was… a national celebrity in the Ukraine and Russia when he sat down to compose the music for what has become one of the world’s most popular Christmas carols. Yet when he finished his 'Shchedryk,’ it was not yet the holiday song we now know as ‘Carol of the Bells.’ … Twenty years later, another musical visionary resurrected [the] magical composition. Peter Wilhousky… never quit studying the music of Eastern Europe… This … led to his discovering the beauty of Keontovych’s ‘Shchedryk.’ … Soon the composer became convinced that [it] captured the spirit of every bell in the world ringing out in perfect harmony… the American combined the joy found in Leontovych’s ringing bells with an old Slavic legend his parents had told. In 1936, with Wilhousky’s new lyrics and arrangement, the ‘Carol of the Bells’ was born.” (Pg. 170-172)
He says of ‘The Little Drummer Boy, “Katherine Davis … wrote more than one thousand pieces of music. A piano teacher at Wellesley College… Yet while thousands of choirs performed Davis’s cantatas… she is best remembered today for a single song… penned in the months preceding World War II… There can be little doubt that Katherine understood the suffering that was all around her… With these thoughts in mind, Davis… sat down at the piano in 1941, and wrote a very simple song about a very unpretentious Christmas gift… The child who was the focal point of Davis’s song… could have come off the streets of any American town… It was the story that millions knew well in the days of economic chaos and impending war. After all, it was a time when peace on earth seemed like a fairy tale.” (Pg. 174-176)
Of ‘Blue Christmas,’ he explains, “Jay Johnson… [was] a script and commercial-jingle writer for radio… The holiday season was just around the corner … With the success of ‘White Christmas’ and the tremendous impact of blues music during the forties, surely, Johnson thought… A number about a Blue Christmas seemed so natural… Though Christmas is considered a wonderful time by most, it is also a very difficult time for many. Being alone during a holiday period when family and giving are so important would be tough enough without being bombarded at every turn by the happy and joyful nature of Christmas… Jay Johnson’s verses spoke to those forgotten souls who would face the holiday season alone… With its lonesome message and cleverly lyrics, ‘Blue Christmas’ was truly a hillbilly ode. It may have been written on an East Coast commuter train, but when [Ernest Tubb] vocalized it… Tubb had put it on the map and shaped it into a country music standard… [It] became country music’s first true Christmas classic.” (Pg. 191-194)
This book (and the other two in the series) will be of great interest to anyone (particularly Christians) wanting to know more about the background of these songs.
December 14, 2021
Ace Collins gives readers a fascinating look into the blending of music and history--both recent and distant. Featuring thirty-one song-stories, this seems tailor-made to read one each day throughout the month of December.
For a time, we utilized this book as a family alongside separate devotional Advent readings, reading seven chapters together. It seems to have been written with adults in mind but is certainly appropriate for older youth (older, not due to mature content--there wasn't any--but due rather to the verbosity and inclusion of a plethora of names of recording personnel and other people that sort of bogged down the flow in many of the anecdotes). The kids eventually preferred not to continue, so I finished the book alone. The chapters seem kind of long, and are meticulously detailed. Clearly a great deal of research went into this project.
Learning the backstories to the various carols was really interesting! My favorite selections to read about were "The Hallelujah Chorus" (❤), "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (😱), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (😢), and "The Coventry Carol" (😭).
I did start getting bored during the latter part of the book, where many of the songs highlighted were part of the country music genre--one I don't like and never listen to. So I sort of skimmed those chapters. I did like that the last chapter featured "Auld Lang Syne," and enjoyed that one.
For a time, we utilized this book as a family alongside separate devotional Advent readings, reading seven chapters together. It seems to have been written with adults in mind but is certainly appropriate for older youth (older, not due to mature content--there wasn't any--but due rather to the verbosity and inclusion of a plethora of names of recording personnel and other people that sort of bogged down the flow in many of the anecdotes). The kids eventually preferred not to continue, so I finished the book alone. The chapters seem kind of long, and are meticulously detailed. Clearly a great deal of research went into this project.
Learning the backstories to the various carols was really interesting! My favorite selections to read about were "The Hallelujah Chorus" (❤), "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (😱), "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (😢), and "The Coventry Carol" (😭).
I did start getting bored during the latter part of the book, where many of the songs highlighted were part of the country music genre--one I don't like and never listen to. So I sort of skimmed those chapters. I did like that the last chapter featured "Auld Lang Syne," and enjoyed that one.
December 9, 2021
It was interesting to find out the stories behind these songs, though there were enough of them with which I was not at all familiar. I listened to this one, and even though the author encourages the reader to look up any unknown song, it would have been nice to have even a verse included on the audio version. Not surprisingly, the majority of songs came from a Christian background or emphasis, and the lyricists primarily clung to the hope and peace of Christmas as a means of bringing both to their listening audience. I liked discovering how generous Elvis Presley was during every Christmas season as well as the raucous Mardi-Gras like Christmas traditions of 17th & 18th century which inspired "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", and gives "we won't go until we get some" a whole new meaning. Alfred Burt's contribution to Christmas songs is worthy of admiration, having written at least one new carol every year to place on his Christmas card sent to family and friends. "Caroling, Caroling" is one of his most famous.
December 20, 2024
TLDR: Buy this book if you are eager to discover non-secular Christmas carols.
As a Peruvian who grew up mainly with Latin American carols and the all-time classics, I've always adored the peaceful joy of Christmas music. So when I learned about this series, it was an easy buy.
The second book presents 31 new carols, most of them church songs and a couple of world-famous classics like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Blue Christmas, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
For a non-American, the text is sometimes hard to follow with all the nods to 20th-century American culture, nevertheless, I enjoyed learning about carols I'd never heard about, and gladly welcomed them to my collection, If Every Day was like Christmas and Thank God for Kids are awesome!
At the time of this review, I only read about 10 of the 31 stories, but that's the type of book this is. I'll be skimming through old and new over the years.
As a Peruvian who grew up mainly with Latin American carols and the all-time classics, I've always adored the peaceful joy of Christmas music. So when I learned about this series, it was an easy buy.
The second book presents 31 new carols, most of them church songs and a couple of world-famous classics like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Blue Christmas, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
For a non-American, the text is sometimes hard to follow with all the nods to 20th-century American culture, nevertheless, I enjoyed learning about carols I'd never heard about, and gladly welcomed them to my collection, If Every Day was like Christmas and Thank God for Kids are awesome!
At the time of this review, I only read about 10 of the 31 stories, but that's the type of book this is. I'll be skimming through old and new over the years.
December 18, 2019
Each song receives a few pages exploring the origins of some of the lesser known, or heard songs during the Christmas season. This volume includes Auld Lang Syne for its last selection, as many of us have that as the last song on our lips to conclude the holidays.
Many of the stories have a sadder origin than may be expected for their cheery tunes, and lyrics. I enjoyed discovering the stories.
Many of the stories have a sadder origin than may be expected for their cheery tunes, and lyrics. I enjoyed discovering the stories.
November 30, 2021
What a lovely way to get into the holiday spirit. There are a few songs that I'd never heard of before and I enjoyed looking them up online and listening to them. Other songs I was familiar with but didn't know their histories. The back stories to these songs were all so very entertaining to hear. I highly recommend if you're looking for something to listen to to get into the Christmas spirit.
January 1, 2022
Interesting stories, but unfortunately the library checked the book back in before I had a chance to completely finish it. I was mostly done, and I enjoyed learning more about the Christmas stories! I think this would be a better book to read rather than to listen to, so you can go back and review/refresh!
September 10, 2023
I love the concept of this book and learned a lot! I wish I could give it 5 stars, but the writing was just sloppy in places, like the writer was trying to meet a deadline and the editing wasn't careful. Also it seems pretty ignorant to call other people ignorant in the text (which happened at least twice and is completely off-putting), while also saying things like "Robert Burns was English."
December 9, 2019
I enjoyed this audio book very much. I liked the backstories. Some of the songs I had not heard of so book sent me to research them. I liked that compiler noted the obscure Spiritual emphasis in even the strictly secular Christmas songs. Nice.
December 14, 2021
I enjoyed reading the history behind many Christmas carols and songs such as Carol of the Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Little Drummer Boy, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, Christmas and especially The Hallelujah Chorus.
January 3, 2022
I love this book for its history of how these songs came to be. This was an inspirational book of the holidays from a historical perspective and it gave me another way of looking at these traditional Christmas songs.
December 17, 2023
This one had some Christmas songs I'd never heard of before and had to look up on YouTube to hear what he was talking about. If this book came with a CD of all the original songs or digital versions were included in the audiobook, it would be perfect!
December 11, 2024
Similar to the previous book, Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins, More Stories is a fun, quick read that covers 31 holiday songs. A handful of the songs in this group were unknown to me but it just meant I discovered some new Christmas songs.
December 31, 2019
This book covers some of the newer Christmas songs we know and love. These stories aren't as common as the first book's songs. At times I found the writing a little dry.
March 28, 2020
The writing becomes too formulaic for my taste.
December 23, 2020
Skip a few stories that I'm not familiar with but I like it still.
January 9, 2021
very enjoyable
November 22, 2021
I really didn’t enjoy this unfortunately. The writing about how the songs rose to fame or didn’t on the charts just didn’t have engaging details.
December 23, 2021
Very enjoyable to learn how some of our favorite Christmas songs came to be!
December 26, 2021
I really enjoyed hearing the stories of haw favorite Christmas Carols came to be!!
January 17, 2023
Facinating! Educational!
December 8, 2023
Love reading the stories behind Christmas Songs!
August 27, 2025
only read the info for the songs I was familiar with.... interesting to learn more about those songs.
December 22, 2025
This is a fun little collection of origin stories for a host of Christmas songs and carols, both ancient and modern. A nice read for Christmastime.
Read
December 25, 2025Very interesting facts about many of the popular Christmas songs we hear so frequently at this time of the year.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews