Customer Reviews

The Riddle of Amish Culture (Center Books in Anabaptist Studies)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was inspired to read this book after a 7 day bicycle trip in and around Lancaster, PA. Certainly any cultural group which resists the juggernaut and onslaught of American consumer culture bears study, and this book must be the definitive look at this group. How do you keep people interested in looking different, in downplaying their individuality in favor of the group's needs; in foregoing creature comforts like cars and electricity? And what is even more amazing is that there are many more Amish today than there were 50 years ago; unlike the Shakers, this sect is thriving. I recommend this book highly.RH

Kraybill knows his topic. He's a prof. at Messiah College, a top-drawer evangelial school with Anabaptist/Brethren roots, located near PA Amish country. He has studied and written on the Amish since the mid-80s. He is also a clear communicator, able to summarize complicated material with ease.

He is clearly very sympathetic to most of the Amish distinctives, though he is able to maintain a critical stance.

To me the Amish are more than simply a curious cultural oddity. They offer some insights into ways for Christians to confront and stand apart from Modernity and materialism. Though Kraybill shows, they may be subtly Modernist in their very rejection of Modernity.

The Amish are also important as an example of an extreme Anabaptist tradition. The 16th century European Xianity can be divided into three groups: Roman Caholics, Reformation, and Anabaptist. Surely the latter, while smallest of the three in the 16th cent., has long been ascending in contemporary America. Anabaptist distinctives -- sectarianism, believer baptism, emphasis on piety over intellect, anticlerical, antisacramental, democratic in church polity, etc. -- are now dominant in American evangelicalism. How important then to understand the Amish, as a fairly well-preserved example of the early Anabaptist tradition.

Anyway, wonderful book. Worth repeated readings.

Not your typical photographic essay. Discusses in depth the complexities of the Amish nation's dynamic interelations with the larger English society. Amish life has, apparently, changed greatly in the last century, whether it be gas stoves, business ventures, fiberglass buggies, or toxic chemicals spewn from modern devices pulled by horses, although such details vary somewhat from church district to church district. There are no easy outs for those born into the faith and no easy ins for those born outside. A more truly revealing book on the Amish would have to be written by someone in the inside, which will not happen. However, Kraybill's work is a sympathetic, comprehensive, and revealing work. An informative read also suggested for public and academic libaries.

There is so much we urgently need to learn from the Anabaptists that this book becomes a "must read". With our economy sliding down an ever more slippery slope and the very structure of global society changing uncertainly we can very profitably take some pages from here, to use, to give us a footing in this troubling time. We "English" may have plenty to worry about, but the Amish will simply go on about their business. They will hardly notice if the lights go out, the banks close and fiat money becomes worthless. They have nourished core sociatal values which have been sadly abandoned during the years of our "liberation" and the designation of the US as "the world's consumer". They already keep it simple, their family structures are unusually sound, their children are cherished and safeguarded. They are nonviolent and a persons word is their bond. The barter system as well as doing unto others as they would be done by works very well. They believe in hard work in caring for what they have, and really, caring for the land and the family is really what grows our own roots. Blindly racing after more "stuff" and "toys" has begun to pall with many of us in the "me first" lonely world. Or it has for me. I've a degree in Sociology and have always found the Plain People of prime interest and as the years have passed I have been honored to study them. This book is really one of the best, in my humble estimation. You will learn much about what makes these people do so well, but I also urge you to read this book especially with an eye for enriching your own life in what may be coming in our personal paths. It may make the difference between misery and peace. Several years ago I found a small very conservative Mennonite Church which I visit some 50 miles from me and the round trip is time well spent. They have a delightful bright, sparkling clean school there too. Children could not be more lovingly educated. If anyone thinks that the 8th grade isn't enough, I've got news for you! That entire congregation will give any intellectual out there a real run for their money. They all speak 3-4 languages and are very well traveled. Their manners are as polished as the shining windows of the classrooms without the faintest hint of pride and respectful visitors are most kindly treated. I have found this book to be of endless value in understanding my friends as well as giving new structure and peace to my own life. This book will take you much further than sitting on a tour bus staring at what many barely understand, but on a deeper level long for.

Kraybill's treatment is an necessary extension of the work Hostetler began. Kraybill's book analyzes more specific examples of what "Moderns" see as hypocritical behavior among the Amish and provides the historical and doctrinal framework for understanding the rationale. There are no arbitrary decisions made regarding the prescriptions and proscriptions. As he concludes, the Amish are actually more advanced in their thinking than Moderns give them credit for.

I would have rated this 5 stars, however, I think there are some points where Kraybill restates the same points needlessly; i.e. he will make a point, and then restate it in 2-3 different ways. Then, revisit that point again later in the book within a different context, and restate it again, 2-3 different ways.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the Anabaptists? Or why the Mennonites and Amish have similar customs? Or why an Old Order Amish kitchen might have a gas-powered refrigerator but not an electric one?

It's easy to distinguish the Amish farms in our area: no electrical lines running to the house; no T.V. antenna; and there are usually draft horses hitched to a piece of farm equipment or ambling through a pasture.

One of my questions--how did the Amish emigrate to the middle of Michigan in the latter half of the twentieth century without driving a truck or car--was answered almost immediately by this lively, interesting book: it's okay to ride in an internal-combustion vehicle if a non-Amish ('English' they call us) is driving.

"The Riddle of Amish Culture" isn't merely a thousand-and-one-facts-about-the-Amish guide. It is a sociological expedition into the heart of this religious order's faith and practices. The author also delves into the history of the Anabaptists and their descendants in faith, the Mennonites and most especially the Amish. He tells of a vigorous, albeit reclusive culture, and could almost be accused of serving as this religion's apologist if it weren't for his balanced treatment of Amish educational practices.

This was the most disturbing part of the book for me, as the Old Order Amish do not educate their children past eighth grade. Nor are Amish teachers educated beyond eighth grade, and no science is taught to the children---none at all, much less Copernican astronomy or the theory of evolution. Amish children who stay within the church never become physicians, lawyers, or other lengthily-educated professionals.

Luckily, the Amish have no qualms about hiring these skills from those of us the author refers to as 'Moderns.' Although there are some striking anomalies, the Amish have turned away from technological progress in the name of a peaceful, collective way of life where families and neighbors are bound together from cradle to grave. No computers. No central heating. No power lawn mowers.

However, according to the Amish themselves, "the bottom line shows that they are subsidizers, rather than parasites, of the larger economic system." They pay taxes but refuse government handouts like Social Security or farm subsidies.

Heck, they even pay school taxes even though their own children do not attend public schools.

This book omitted one topic that seemed appropriate for a sociological text: I would have been interested in the author's treatment of the challenge facing the Amish regarding intermarriage within a relatively small gene pool. It is a minor omission in an otherwise in-depth account of the Amish way of life.

My experience with Amish people is limited to having lunch with an Amish family who were neighbors of friends in Ohio. My (ex)wife expressed approval that corn-on-the-cob was being served. The hostess said, "I didn't realize English liked corn-on-the-cob!" My wife (whose name was Ryan) replied, "Irish, not English!" This little vignette is an example of Amish anomaly. If you want to read about the whole thing - why and how, read this book. The most fascinating thing I learned is that the Amish leadership do not apply their rules in a rote fashion. Each modern technology is considered by the criteria of whether or not it will help or hurt the unity of the Amish family and people.

This is a great book. I used it in a reference to my Technology of History class. It is a great product to use to learn abotu the Amish culture and their meanings behind their way of life.

ok.. i get it..if you read this you can figure out that you would or would not make a good amish participant.

This is simply one of the most insightful books ever written about the Amish.