At the dawn of the 20th century, representations of the Amish were rarely sympathetic and often bordered on caricature; at the beginning of the 21st, the Amish are the objects of fascination and even reverence. In The Amish in the American Imagination, David Weaver-Zercher explores how Americans have "fashioned the renowned sectarians for their own purposes to mark boundaries, express fears, support causes and, in many cases, make a profit." Weaver-Zercher does an especially fine job of revealing how Americans' anxieties about modern technology are demonstrated through their changing cultural representations of the Amish. This is a fine and well-written study, its prose a winning mixture of plain and fancy.
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"Weaver-Zercher does an especially fine job of revealing how Americans' anxieties about modern technology are demonstrated through their changing cultural representations of the Amish. This is a fine and well-written study, its prose a winning mixture of plain and fancy." -- Publishers Weekly
"The Amish in the American Imagination is a scholarly presentation... [that] puts into perspective the puzzling pieces of identity and relationship between Mennonites and Amish and also with their wider American neighbors." -- Harold D. Lehman, Provident Book Finder
"This book is written in an engaging journalistic style and turns many a poetic phrase. It's a pleasure to read. It should help us all to be more self-conscious the next time we see the name Amish attached to some restaurant, furniture store, or other business." -- Marlin Jeschke, Mennonite Weekly Review
"Fascinating... the book challenges all of us to think about the many ways we use other people -- and stereotypes of other people -- for our own purposes and to advance our own sense of self." -- Steven M. Nolt, Christian Living
"The Amish in the American Imagination comes like a breath of fresh air on the scene of writing about Amish. It offers a much more critical and evaluative writing stance amidst a sea of literary dribble about the Amish." -- John W. Friesen, Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage
"The Amish in the American Imagination is a detailed and thoughtful study describing the cultural and religious milieu of representations of the Amish in twentieth-century North America... Using evidence primarily from popular culture, the author exhibits a keen sense of historical context. Everything from Broadway musicals to tourist trinkets becomes interpretive fodder." -- David Rempel Smucker, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
"One has to be impressed with Weaver-Zercher's nuanced and sophisticated interpretations as he offers snapshots of several case studies within the problem of Amish representation... a rich text worthy of contemplation." -- Simon J. Bronner, Der Reggeboge
"The book is well conceived and well crafted... For students of American culture, The Amish in the American Imagination offers much to ponder." -- Theron F. Schlabach, Journal of American History
"[Written with a] sense of balance and nuance, along with detailed analysis of diverse sources, attention to the broader relvance of his examples, and a coherent, persuasive argument." -- Anna L. Peterson, Religious Studies Review
"It belongs in every serious collection about the Amish." -- Philip E. Webber, Utopian Studies
"Weaver-Zercher's thorough research, his inclusion of many historical gems of fact and myth, and his dispassionate, nuanced analyses of the varied appropriations of images of the Amish make this an exceptionally solid and valuable scholarly contribution." -- J. D. Stahl, Journal of Mennonite Studies
"This book should be on the reading list of anyone interested in 'Amish studies.'" -- Susan Biesecker-Mast, Conrad Grebel Review
"By shifting the analytic frame from the Amish to those who have become interpreters of Old Order life, Weaver-Zercher transcends the line of questioning typical of books on the Amish in a way that is fresh and engaging." -- Carl Desportes Bowman, Journal of Religion
"The phenomenon of the Amish as a social icon and cultural manipulative has received little attention, and none as careful as this book. This well-written, carefully researched study offers an original and important presentation of a subject rarely explored: the function of the Amish in American society." -- Steve Nolt, Goshen College
