Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding the Amish

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Unfortunately, despite its accessibility (lots of fancy layouts and textboxes) and self-conciously quirky style (idiot's guide??!!) this is not a book I can recommend to those seeking an understanding of Anabaptist culture and society at anything other than the most superficial level. The book fails to place Amish society in its proper context as a living, evolving culture, and the apparently indiscriminate 'browsing' done by the author in the work of others for her own book's content means that there are some important factual errors in her story. For those who want information about the Amish that does not treat them as a living tourist attraction I would wholeheartedly recommend the book 'Amish Society' by John Hostetler or work by Don Kraybill, both of whom treat Amish culture with respect but without wearing rose-tinted glasses, and who have done their own research.

I am writing this brief review to express my appreciation for the author's thorough and realistic portrayal of the amish and mennonites, their culture and their society.

No group of people is all good, or all bad. One reviewer here stated "this is the only book I've ever read that doesn't portray the Amish in a favorable light." First of all, the statement is not true. While few in number, there are a number of books and articles that present a balanced view of the Amish....neither idealizing them nor demonizing them. Second, if the quoted statement were true, it would only serve to point out all the more the need for a balanced view of the amish; one that shows them in a light that is neither favorable nor unfavorable, a light that shows them as they are.

As a reader, I want to be treated in a mature manner by an author. When I read a book on a subject, I want to be shown the good with the bad. I want accurate insight into the lives of these people. I want to see it the way it is so that I can form my own opinions. I want the admirable and not so admirable aspects. On all accounts this wonderful little book delivers. If you want to understand this important culture, so often misunderstood and idealized, read this book. You won't regret it.

This is the only book I've ever read that doesn't portray the Amish in a favorable light.
The author seems to be a very disgruntled ex-Mennonite. She resents the fact that the Amish are a patriarchal religion. She paints them as a repressive society where members are forced, sometimes through public humiliation, to conform to the rules or face excommunication and shunning. Other authors have treated this process with less obvious derision.
The book includes a rather large section devoted solely to the horror stories of former Amish people. It's full of stories of physical and sexual abuse.
The author is brief where she should be more detailed, and vice versa. There are far too many typos. She refers to other books, yet she says things that are the opposite of what the other books, which were written by recognized authorities, say!
This book is truly a major disappointment!