The Amish

March 18, 2013
In this companion piece to the PBS American Experience documentary of the same name, Kraybill, Johnson-Weiner, and Nolt (professors at Elizabethtown College, S.U.N.Y.-Potsdam, and Goshen College, respectively) present a comprehensive collection of history and modern research on the Amish, whose religion continues to draw converts and grow in number despite its strict doctrine of simplicity and humility. The authors successfully address the seeming exoticism of the Amish without sensationalism. Following a solid grounding in Amish history from its origins in Europe in the 1500s to middle America in the 1950s, the authors frame their expansive work around the “Amish struggle with modernity,” devoting attention to Amish religious beliefs and the way those beliefs are put into practice through ritual and tradition. The authors take care to describe the wide range of Amish practices, from those of more traditional communities living as they might have 200 years ago to others that allow their teenagers to have cell phones and drive cars. Particular attention is paid to debunking myths surrounding the teenage rite of Rumspringa, a time of contemplation before full commitment to the church through baptism. The scholarship is enlivened with quotes and personal anecdotes, and the final section on the future of the Amish raises fascinating questions, even for casual readers.

September 1, 2013

A staunchly simple people coexisting with, yet separate and utterly distinct from, mainstream American culture, the Amish are an object of great curiosity and misunderstanding by "the English" (the Amish term for non-Amish people). This large, tightly organized survey of Amish history, society, and religion, a companion to a 2012 PBS documentary, is a welcome corrective. Kraybill (Distinguished College Professor, Elizabethtown Coll.), Karen M. Johnson-Weiner (linguistic anthropology, SUNY-Potsdam), and Steven M. Nold (history, Goshen Coll.) examine Amish conviction, which is based on Gelassenheit (surrender to God's will) and Amish practice, which is centered on the Gmay (small, local church community) and informed by Ordnung (a Gmay's set of moral guidelines). The authors distill a vast number of primary and secondary sources and their personal interactions and interviews to illuminate the Amish in light of modernity. They correct popular misconceptions about shunning and Rumspringa (the relatively unconstrained teen years), tease out the religious and community-protective basis for apparently odd or inconsistent practices, and demonstrate that there is great diversity among Amish communities. VERDICT More utilitarian than elegant, this hefty study occasionally reads like a textbook, but its respectful, thoroughly researched portrait of the Amish is most valuable. Of interest to students, social scientists, and the countless English who are fascinated by the Amish.--Janet Ingraham Dwyer, State Lib. of Ohio, Columbus

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013
This companion to the PBS American Experience series is organized into 21 chapters under five main subject headings detailing the roots, culture, social organization, external ties, and future of 40 distinctive Amish groups. Maps, tables, and black-and-white photographs accent the interesting narrative. There are copious endnotes as well as a 24-page bibliography and a thorough index. This is a well-written, comprehensive, and insightful book that will make an excellent resource for public and academic libraries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)