Old Order Amish: Their Enduring Way of Life (Center Books in Anabaptist Studies)

Here at last is an authentic portrait of the Amish, in striking photographs and honest accounts of their daily concerns and enduring traditions. Photographer Lucian Niemeyer earned the trust and friendship of Amish families by helping to harvest crops on their farms in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, site of one of the oldest Amish settlements in North America. After "many backbreaking days" in the fields, he gained acceptance in a community that draws sharp lines of separation from the outside world--and has, by tradition, shunned photography. With the encouragement of his Amish friends who welcomed the chance to correct inaccurate accounts of Amish ways, Niemeyer began to assemble this honest and sensitive photographic record. He worked without filters or darkroom manipulations, using only natural light. The results are unprecedented--photographs of families, community gatherings, even the seldom seen interiors of Amish homes and schools. These unique images capture the deliberate simplicity and the natural beauty that characterize Amish life in Lancaster County. 
In the accompanying text, Donald Kraybill--author of the highly acclaimed Riddle of Amish Culture--tells the often surprising story of today's Old Order Amish. His introduction provides a sweeping overview of Amish life in North America and explains how a traditional people have managed not merely to survive but to flourish in the midst of modern life. In thirty-five "vignettes" throughout the book, Kraybill explains Amish views on issues ranging from "Childbirth" and "Women Entrepreneurs" to "The Riddles of Farm Machinery," "Sowing Wild Oats," and "The Politics of Separation." His concluding essay examines why modern observers are so drawn to the Amish and their traditional values.

Arts & Photography

Donald B. Kraybill

Photography & Video

The Johns Hopkins University Press

Since its publication in 1989,  The Riddle of Amish Culture has become recognized as a classic work on one of America's most distinctive religious communities. But many changes have occurred within Amish society over the past decade, from westward migrations and a greater familiarity with technology to the dramatic shift away from farming into small business which is transforming Amish culture. For this revised edition, Donald B. Kraybill has taken these recent changes into account, incorporating new demographic research and new interviews he has conducted among the Amish. In addition, he includes a new chapter describing Amish recreation and social gatherings, and he applies the concept of "social capital" to his sensitive and penetrating interpretation of how the Amish have preserved their social networks and the solidarity of their community.

Riddle Amish Culture Rev Ed

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Johns Hopkins University Press

The Upside-Down Kingdom

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Herald Press (PA)

Perils of professionalism: Essays on Christian faith and professionalism

Phyllis Pellman Good

Herald Press

Mennonite Peacemaking: From Quietism to Activism

The process of modernization levied a dramatic impact on the mode and style of Mennonite peacemaking as shown in this pathbreaking work by Leo Driedger and Donald B. Kraybill. As Mennonites were exchanging plows for professions in the 1950s, theological "brokers" were shaping the transformation of Mennonite peace convictions.

Leo Driedger

What the Amish Teach Us: Plain Living in a Busy World

The Riddles of Human Society

Conrad L. Kanagy

Sage Publications, Inc.

The Upside-Down Kingdom: Anniversary Edition

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Books by Donald B. Kraybill