Product Description

Plain and simple. American popular culture has embraced a singular image of Amish culture that is immune to the complexities of the modern world: one-room school houses, horses and buggies, sound and simple morals, and unfaltering faith. But these stereotypes dangerously oversimplify a rich and diverse culture.

In fact, contemporary Amish settlements represent a mosaic of practice and conviction. In the first book to describe the complexity of Amish cultural identity, Steven M. Nolt and Thomas J. Meyers explore the interaction of migration history, church discipline, and ethnicity in the community life of nineteen Amish settlements in Indiana. Their extensive field research reveals the factors that influence the distinct and differing Amish identities found in each settlement and how those factors relate to the broad spectrum of Amish settlements throughout North America.

Nolt and Meyers find Amish children who attend public schools, Amish household heads who work at luxury mobile home factories, and Amish women who prefer a Wal-Mart shopping cart to a quilting frame. Challenging the plain and simple view of Amish identity, this study raises the intriguing question of how such a diverse people successfully share a common identity in the absence of uniformity.

Customer Reviews (1)

Fair
This is a fair shortread on the Amish and some of their beliefs, lifestyles, etc.country home body ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

the amish
very interesting, i live just a close drive to the amish,here in PAand this book has informed me of a lot of things i did not know about the amish. wonderful read!

THE AMISH "In their own words"
This is letters to editors from an Amish magazine, "Family Life" from its first 25 years beginning in 1968.Although this is somewhat out of date the subject matter and problems would basically be the same although it would be an interesting to have a sequel up to the current times to compare problems and answers.

These letters are dated and presumably all from amish people.They are candid and somewhate surprising as to the problems they have and the temptations they face.

The book is broken up by letters by subject such as family life, the youth, amish congregations etc.

I believe it is an excellant book to read to better understand all phases of amish life.

From the Heart
You will find this book engaging on several planes. There is a Sadness and a Joy, a Quaintness and a Moderninity. And don't be too surprised if you find yourself thinking there is a little Amish hidden inside yourself.

The Amish
How better to learn about the ways and lifestyle of the Amish than from their own words? Very informative and interesting! I feel all books are priced too high though and for that reason I am giving only four stars!

Honest look inside
We drove into Lancaster Cnty. yesterday to "see the Amish."I picked this book up (for a bit more than it is offered here at Amazon) and breezed right through.It is interesting - to say the least - and quite provocative.It debunks many of the idealized stereotypes I had of the Amish and portrays them as 'normal' people who have deliberately (and sometimes not deliberately) chosen a very separate Christian walk.Very inspiring, too.I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the Amish & Mennonites as well as all Christians.We can learn much from the quiet people in the land. ... Read more

Product Description
A compulsively readable new series that explores a fascinating culture set purposely apart.

In the wooded Amish hill country, a professor at a small college, a local pastor, and the county sheriff are the only ones among the mainstream, or "English," who possess the instincts and skills to work the cases that impact all county residents, no matter their code of conduct or religious creed.

David Hawkins came to the quiet town of Millersburg to escape his demons and unexpectedly found salvation in Amish life-until his English daughter is brutally murdered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

powerful Amish mystery
After spending twenty-five ears in the New Jersey State Prison for rape and felonious assault, Jess Sand is freed having served his full sentence.He heads west stopping in Millersburg, Ohio, a peaceful Amish town in which crime especially violent is rare.Jesse invades a house, but the young woman fought back while calling 911.He kills her as the police arrive.The victim's daughter Amish David Hawkins, encouraged by Pastor Cal Troyer, comes to the jail to forgive Sands, who is scornful until his visitor goes for his throat.

Reporter Eric Bromfield was covering the homicide until he became part of the story when he is murdered.Moody Sheriff Bruce Robertson assumes the father of the first victim has become avenging as well as hostile and killed the journalist especially since Hawkins seems to have vanished.However, Professor Michael Brandon and Pastor Cal also investigate as they believe Hawkins' past before the Amish welcome him to live with them returned to haunt him.

The stars (Brandon, Robertson, and Troyer) of the powerful Amish mystery Blood of the Prodigal return for a fabulous second engagement in a whodunit that tests the moral fiber of each of them.With a fully developed cast and insight into modern day Amish life, the story line remains fast-paced throughout as Sand resides in jail while the sheriff, the professor and the pastor seek the motive behind the murder of the reporter.

Harriet Klausner
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Product Description
Recipes adapted form the kitchens and pantries of Amish cooks. Presented in their historical setting. Beautiful color photos. Delicious, savory recipes.Main Selection Better Homes and Gardens Books Club. Featured by Book of the Month Club ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Amish Cooking
The recipes are for wholesome foods, easily found ingredients, and highly recommended for every day use.

Meals like grandma used to make!!
The recipes in this book are very easy to make and they use ingredients that you would normally have on hand.The meals remind me of the "old fashioned" kind of dinners that grandma would make.Definitely comfort food, nothing fancy or fussy about this book.

Molly's Reviews
The Best of Amish Cooking is a collection of dishes that go back as far as 80 year-old-members of the Amish church can remember or find in old hand scripted cookbooks belonging to their mothers.Some recipes are prepared in old fashioned method, while others are adapted to modern days and products available from the grocery store.The old handwritten recipes were often only a listing of ingredients with no reference to measurement or procedure.Writer Good offers measurements and procedures for the recipes found in this work.Historical notes and asides are included along with recipes for specific dishes.

Good story,Bad recipe book
The stories behind the development of these recipes is very interesting. So if you are looking for the stories behind the way the Amish cook, this book is worth the price. However if you intend to actually USE the book to cook then don't waste your money. The recipies set you up for failure from the beginning. The pie crust on page 117 is dry and does not roll out well. The ratio of flour to wet ingredients is wrong. The chicken pie recipe on page 15 is exceptionally bland and the crust is too wet for rolling. The addition of extra flour helps but it's still a hard dough to work with. I would not recommend this book for people who cook unless you are an experienced cook who can recognize and correct what's wrong by sight and feel before you are finished with the recipe.

Excellent Coverage of Dutch Classics. Cheap.
`The Best of Amish Cooking' by Phyllis Pellman Good is one of the high points of a cottage industry devoted to writing about Pennsylvania Dutch cookery. It is so much of an industry that Good is not only the author of this book, but its publisher as well. And, `Good Books', based in darkest Lancaster County, Pennsylvania publishes several other books on `Pennsylvania Dutch' (Amish and Mennonite) subjects. For the very few of you who may not be familiar with this fact, I quote `Dutch' and the phrase `Pennsylvania Dutch' since the term is actually a corruption of the name for German natives, or `Deutch'. Of course, the `Pennsylvania Dutch' return the favor and label all non-Amish / Mennonites as `English', including French, Poles, Italians, Russians, and Spanish. So there.

As someone who grew up in the bosom of the `Pennsylvania Dutch' cuisine, I have a closer connection to this cooking than to any other. That prejudice aside, I think it is safe to say that the `Pennsylvania Dutch' cuisine is much more coherent, that is, easier to understand from a few paradigms than, for example, Southern cooking, Tex-Mex, or California Cuisine, as the Amish and Mennonite traditions all came from not only from a single European country, but from a single region (North Central Germany). There is a small New World influence in the importance of corn (maize) in `Dutch' cookery. A second condition leading to continuity in this cuisine over time is that roles in the Amish household are clearly defined in that women do virtually all cooking. Men may handle butchering and preserving meats, but women handle everything else connected with food.

The foods for which `American' cuisine owes most to the `Dutch' cuisine would be pretzels, sweet and savory pies (Wayne Harley Brachman calls Lancaster County the American `dessert central' in his excellent book, `American Desserts), sugar cookies, corn relishes, and potato salad. I judge this book's claim to be the `Best', by looking to see if it has recipes for the most common dishes from my past which are associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. And, I am not disappointed.

The touchstone dishes are stuffed pig stomach, corn pie, chow chow (corn relish), hot bacon dressing, and apple dumplings. I am happy to report that not only are all these recipes in place in this volume, but that they are as good or better than our `family' recipes. Yet, these are not what you would consider gourmet recipes. The recipe for pork and sauerkraut is an excellent case in point. In classic terms, this is a braise, yet Ms. Good's recipe does not do the classic braise drill of browning the pork and deglazing before simmering the meat with the kraut. Ever since I took over cooking for my household, I follow a much more French influenced recipe than a classic Pennsylvania Dutch procedure, so I add the sear, onions, wine, and Juniper Berries (a James Beard addition to braised cabbage) to my recipe. I also use a professional pastry chef's recipe for piecrusts instead of the author's crust that includes chicken fat and baking powder. Yet another departure is the recipe for chicken potpie. While I make this often, I follow James Beard's more sophisticated recipe which includes directions for creating the chicken broth and more elaborate instructions for creating the thickened sauce.

Thus, like a lot of books on Southern cooking and lots of other books on Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, this volume is more of an historical document for foodies than it is a source of fine cooking. The irony is that for a select few recipes, this book in fact does have the best recipes for distinctively Dutch preparations. In neither `The Joy of Cooking, `James Beard's American Cookery', or my three books on salads is there a decent recipe for the Pennsylvania Dutch hot bacon dressing. This is a staple on the shelves of Pennsylvania supermarkets, costing close to three dollars for enough to serve two to four people. So, there is much to be gained by learning how to make it fresh. It is a bit more difficult than your typical vinaigrette (and a bit harder on the waistline as well), but for a once a month treat, it's something you really should know. And, with cheap bacon ends, you can make it for half the price of `Wos-Wit' bacon dressing that may have been sitting on the shelves for a month.

This book does have a lot of contemporary value as a source of recipes for sour salads. While Italy and Province have their share of these antipasto dishes, the Dutch have their own twist on the technique, which they developed for exactly the same reason as their Latin cousins. It was the method they used to preserve a lot of produce for the winter.

I have seen many Pennsylvania Dutch cookbooks and, for its size and price, this is clearly one of the best.
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Product Description
Readers are invited to come along with Jim Butterfield as he takes Amish folks on typical drives across Ohio's large Amish country. This book shows their neighborly life, closeness to nature, sustainable homesteads, good humor, and peaceful outlook. Respectful color photos show the land and the Amish community. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Driving the Amish
The author is a Mennonite, technically an outsider, but by virtue of the fact that the Amish have entrusted him to drive them about in his car when they have a pressing need for such a service, he has an intimate insider's view of the Amish people. I found his accounts to be quite fascinating; short and clearly written, they really give one an appreciation for the perseverance of the Amish people in our modern and technological world. Really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants better understanding of what these people are really like.

Driving the Amish
Excellant reading material.
The author included his reader by capturing the mind, taking you on the journey as his co driver.

exactly right
This is a gorgeous book, written by someone who cares about his subject matter. This book has all the charming qualities that make a great memoir. Butterfield obviously is not a writer, but he jumps into the world and makes this unique subculture familiar and beautiful for the reader.

Sensitive, artistic and conversational
While showing respect for the views and privacy of Amish individuals, Doyle Yoder captures the beauty, simplicity, as well as the complexities of their lives and cow paddies. ... Read more

Product Description
More than 5 million people visit Lancaster County every year to experience the culture of the oldest Amish community in the world. This book by the leading scholar of the Amish in North America explains the uncommon lifestyle of these simple-living people who intrigue so many visitors. Mini essays on all aspects of Amish life, from spirituality and dress to horse-and-buggy transport, are accompanied by beautiful full-color photographs. The author also discusses myths about the Amish, their selective use of technology, the current media attention to Rumspringa, and the tragedy at the Nickel Mines school. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A nicely illustrated introduction to the Amish
Donald Kraybill is a noted authority on the Amish and Anabaptists, particularly those living in Lancaster County.This is a nice introduction to the subject.Other books may have more information, but this book is a valuable reminder of why the Amish, far from disappearing, are increasing and thriving.Recommended for anyone who has visited, or plans to visit an Amish community. ... Read more

Product Description
A nostalgic look at farm life during the Depression. The Amish family lived a modest lifestyle until they became Mennonites and acquired electricity and a car. Threshing, butchering, making apple butter and farming with horses are fond memories of the author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Pleasant read
I enjoyed From Dawn to Dusk and found some of my curiosity about the Amish lifestyle and beliefs satisfied. It was repetitive in places, and the pace was somewhat slow, but that is to be expected given the subject matter. I did not, like the previous two reviewers, grow up during the depression, but as a Hoosier, I did see some familiar place names, which was nice.

A Journey into Rural America of the 1930s and 1940s
I loved it. This book should be read by the light of a kerosene lamp next to a potbelly stove that's heating water for a Saturday night bath. Will Troyer transports the reader to a simpler time. His descriptions of life in Amish and Mennonite communities resonate with anyone who grew up in rural America in the 1930s and 1940s. From his colorful commentary about a stubborn horse to the pranks he and his friends played at Halloween, the author skillfully portrays his boyhood. By describing the old swimmin' hole, the excitement of turning on a wall switch and seeing electric lights illuminate the family's home for the first time, and the hardships and good times of his boyhood, Troyer offers a magic carpet ride into the past.

Well written book about Amish life
The author tells it like it was. Having been raised in the same time period and undersimilar circumstances, I appreciated the honesty and straightforward writing style. The very accurate portrayal of the Amish/Mennonite farming community with lack of hyperbole was refreshing.
While the author does not expound greatly on his philosophy, his love of nature and the environment is evident. Also evident is the way his love of nature was nurtured by his early life in a farming community.
A good read for anyone interested rural living as it used to be and a little bit about present farming practices. ... Read more

Product Description
In a book that highlights the existence and diversity of Amish communities in New York State, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner draws on twenty-five years of observation, participation, interviews, and archival research to emphasize the contribution of the Amish to the state's rich cultural heritage. While the Amish settlements in Pennsylvania and Ohio are internationally known, the Amish population in New York, the result of internal migration from those more established settlements, is more fragmentary and less visible to all but their nearest non-Amish neighbors. All of the Amish currently living in New York are post-World War II migrants from points to the south and west. Many came seeking cheap land, others as a result of schism in their home communities. The Old Order Amish of New York are relative newcomers who, while representing an old or plain way of life, are bringing change to the state.

So that readers can better understand where the Amish come from and their relationship to other Christian groups, New York Amish traces the origins of the Amish in the religious confrontation and political upheaval of the Protestant Reformation and describes contemporary Amish lifestyles and religious practices. Johnson-Weiner welcomes readers into the lives of Amish families in different regions of New York State, including the oldest New York Amish community, the settlement in the Conewango Valley, and the diverse settlements of the Mohawk Valley and the St. Lawrence River Valley. The congregations in these regions range from the most conservative to the most progressive. Johnson-Weiner reveals how the Amish in particular regions of New York realize their core values in different ways; these variations shape not only their adjustment to new environments but also the ways in which townships and counties accommodate and often benefit from the presence of these thriving faith communities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Finally
I have been waiting for years for a sociologist to come out with a book about NEW YORK Amish - who are much different from the Anabaptists in other states. Growing up with a camp in St. Lawrence County, the Amish have always fascinated me as community. Karen M. Johnson-Weiner's 25-year study has compiled a brief history of who they are and where they came from; how they have dealt with persecution from the Catholic Church, the Protestants, and national governments; and how they maintain their culture in our modern (dominant) world.

Johnson-Weiner answers all those questions I had a child and an adult. Well done. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1867 edition by William Tegg, London. New edition. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1886 edition by Ernest Leroux, Paris. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1912 edition by B. G. Teubner, Leipzig. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1760 edition by Johann Wilhelm Schmidt, Hannover und Göttingen. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1864 edition by Michel Lévy Frères, Paris. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1895 edition by Wilhelm Friedrich, Leipzig. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1737 edition by Arthur Bettesworth and Charles Hitch, London. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1861 edition by Hodson and Son, London. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1831 edition by the Author, London. ... Read more