The Amish of the Bluff Country by Deborah Morse-Kahn   (Spring 2004)

The Amish in Wisconsin by Richard Lee Dawley    $16.95 PB 2003

Richard Dawley's 300+ page anecdotal journal of his travels among 42 Wisconsin Amish communities  in the 1990s is a welcomed contribution to studies of the Amish in the American Upper Midwest.  Written as personal observation narrative, Dawley offers detailed observations of the three-hour church services, weddings, Sunday night sings, and the busy auctions that draw the Amish to mingle among their English neighbors. Thirty black-and-white photographs and thoughtful line drawings accompany the text. The author later journeyed to Amish, Hutterite, and Mennonnite communities beyond the Upper Midwest and offers his thoughts on these settlements as well.  An extensive, informal bibliography concludes the book.  For orders ($3 shipping) please contact the author:

            Richard Lee Dawley
            Amish Insight
            2249 South Calhoun Road
            New Berlin WI  53151
            dawley@voyager.net

 

The Amish of Harmony by Drucilla Milne     $10.95 PB   1993

The first book ever written on an Old Order Amish community in the Upper Midwest by a long-time English resident of the historic farming community of Harmony, Minnesota.  Her friendships among her Amish neighbors earned their trust and she writes of the daily life of these Plain people.

Nicely illustrated with b/w photographs and line drawings. Available only through area shops, please contact Michel Amish Tours, Harmony..

On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish and Brethren

by Donald B. Kraybill and Carl F. Bowman   $16.95 PB 2002  

One of the finest books written on the Plain peoples of America. The authors are eminent scholars in the field of religious studies and have written a tremendously engaging, interesting and thoughtful book on these special communities.

Nicely illustrated with b/w photographs and with a first-class bibliography.  

 A Quiet Moment in Time: A Contemporary View of Amish Society

                            by George M. Kreps et al        $8.95 PB    1997

A modest, straightforward guide for the new student of Amish culture and life.   The authors explain in clear and simple terms the many choices the Amish have made in worship, travel, farm technology, clothing, and community life.  

Well illustrated with b/w photographs, the concluding sections include popular recipes and home remedies of the Plain people.

Anabaptist World USA

by Donald Kraybill and C. Nelston Hostetter  $24.95 PB   2001

This is the reference book on the Plain Peoples for any scholar's bookshelf. Chock full of national studies on the Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, Bruderhoff, Brethren, all. Filled with charts, graphs, statistical studies and lists. Not a bedtime read but rather an outstanding reference work that, already five years since printing, can be considered a bit out of date due to the rapid expansion of the Amish populations in the Upper Midwest but still one of the finest works of its kind. The predecessor to Kraybill's Backroad to Heaven.

Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish  by Sue Bender   $15.00 PB 1989

A beautifully written study of an Englisher woman's life as an invited guest among Iowa Amish families. Wonderfully illustrated with line drawings, slip-covered in a full-color reproduction of an Amish quilt.

A best-seller when first published, this book continues to draw new readers every year.

 

Out of This World: A Woman's Life Among the Amish    by Mary Swander     $11.95 PB  1996

The author seeks sanctuary from illness in a country life and finds herself remodeling an old one-room schoolhouse in the midst of an Iowa Amish community.  The book is a narrative of the author's journey to health and to understanding her remarkable neighbors.  

Mary Swander is a much-published gardening and fiction writer.  

Sarah's Seasons:  An Amish Diary and Conversation    

 by Martha Moore Davis    $12.95  PB  2000 (1997)