Amish Society (Paperback)

by John A. Hostetler (Author) "SMALL COMMUNITIES, with their distinctive character-where life is stable and intensely human-are disappearing..." (more)
Key Phrases: ordained officials, main sermon, preparatory service, Lancaster County, New York, Mennonite Quarterly Review (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The definitive book on one of America's most misunderstood communities." -- Philadelphia Inquirer

"In a class by itself." -- Journal of American History

"The best single book available on the Amish." -- Christianity Today

Product Description

Highly acclaimed in previous editions, this classic work by John Hostetler has been expanded and updated to reflect current research on Amish history and culture as well as the new concerns of Amish communities throughout North America.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 4th edition (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801844428
• ISBN-13: 978-0801844423
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,437 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #12 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Protestantism > Amish
  #12 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Archaeology
  #46 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Rural

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight from the source, February 20, 2001

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

The author is a professor emeritus from Temple University and grew up in an Old-Order Amish family. So in addition to academic credentials, the author has lived the life he describes so well in this book.

While this is not a travelogue for those wishing a tour of Amish Country, it would be a very good thing to read before you go to Lancaster, PA or any of the other Amish-settled areas in the US and Canada. Dr. Hostetler describes attitudes to "the English World", the religious and daily life, and how the Amish merge with their secular neighbors.

The book also describes a bit of the struggle the Amish faced in the 60's when they sought permission to have their own schools and end formal educatiion for their children at grade 8. While he says little about it, Hostetler's own life must have been affected by this attitude to what is required in education; he left the community to become a university professor, and subsequently lived with the Hutterites, another religious society in Canada and Europe.

This is an enjoyable and realistic book with no sentimentality or gloss. If you want to know more about the Amish, this is definitely the book to read.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book for Learning about the Amish, April 17, 2001

By	Maudeen Wachsmith "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I purchased the book Amish Society at Lapp's farm in Lancaster County. A book that even the Amish feel is good enough to sell themselves -- worked for me. I didn't read it until I got home from Lancaster Co., PA but it certainly explained a lot of things to me like why I saw cars in the yards of some of the Amish homes, why I saw Amish teenage boys smoking cigarettes, and how Amish sects differ.

As a grand-daughter of a related sect of plain people, The Hutterities, it was interesting to see how the Amish were similar to the Hutterites and how they differ. In a way it seemed like voyeurism to discover what the private lives of these very private people are like.

This is highly recommended anyone visiting the Amish or wanting ot learn more about them.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Standard Work on the Subject, November 23, 1997

By A Customer

This is a superb, comprehensive book covering most facets of interest in Amish life. Concentrating on the Old Order Amish, it also provides history and perspective on most of the major Amish schisms, touches on the Mennonites by way of their relationships to the Amish, and gives a good overview of Anabaptist history to boot.

The text is very readable and organized by topic. A first time reader would do well to read cover-to-cover, but it can be browsed by chapter once the major terminology and concepts have been learned.

Hostetler grew up Amish. The book is a sociological study, written sympathetically. It would be a slight distortion to say it was written from the Amish point of view, but it does succeed in conveying that point of view. It does so accurately with sufficient examples and documentation to be conclusive.

Not a coffee table book, not a picture book, this is a readable reference work that you will use again. Quoted and used by many others writing about the Amish, the author is a highly respected authority on the subject.