Amish Books
May 12, 2010 by editor · Leave a Comment
We encourage you to learn more about the fascinating Amish. Below are some of the best books we have found concerning the Amish. These books have all been written either by the Amish themselves or by their spiritually close sister church, the Mennonites. For an even larger selection of Amish books, we recommend: Amishbooks.org.
20 Most Asked Questions About Amish and Mennonites
$6.95
This book answers the most common questions people ask about Amish and Mennonites, such as “How long have they been around?,” “Why do they dress differently,” and “Can others join them?”
Paper. 96 pp. $6.95
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Puzzles of Amish Life
$7.95
Anyone who has been around the Amish has no doubt made a number of puzzling observations: They cannot drive cars, but they can pay others to drive them. They allow electricity generated by solar panels, but not if it’s provided by a power company. They are not permitted to have telephones in their homes, but they can use a phone booth located outside their house. They use modern farm machinery – so long as it is pulled by horses.
Although all of these things seem contradictory and arbitrary, in reality there are wise and well-thought-out reasons behind all of them. In this work, Amish expert Donald Kraybill explains the various puzzles that have allowed the Amish to maintain their special way of life for centuries.
126 pp. paper. $7.95
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Living Without Electricity
$7.95
Have you ever wondered how the Amish manage life without many of the inventions most people take for granted? How do you light up a room without electricity? How do you run a machine shop without electricity? What do you do for entertainment without a television. How do you farm without a tractor? How do you get hot water without electricity or natural gas? This book provides an insightful look into Amish life and the ingenious ways they have a good life without many of the modern inventions we take for granted.
156 pp. paper. $7.95
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Amish Women
$8.95
An interesting collection of short, readable personal narratives that introduces readers to the Amish culture and the lives of Amish women. Written by a woman who was raised Amish and who retains enormous respect for the Amish culture. Through this book, she enables “outsiders” to understand and appreciate the lives of Amish women.
Paper. 124 pp. $8.95
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A Quiet and Peaceable Life
$6.95
If the “plain people” of North America are to be understood in terms of their own concerns, we must honor their own expressions and the biblical cadences they echo.
Having maintained, with the tolerance of their society, a simple life as “the quiet in the land,” these folk still prize such passé virtues as modesty, humility, and obedience to God’s will, as interpreted by a disciplined community of faith. Their values, difficult to appreciate in a world bemused by progress, are seldom if ever articulated, except as curiosities, in our mass media. However, in this work, the reader gets to hear the Amish clearly express themselves and explain their values. Includes numerous photos.
94 pp. Paper. $6.95.
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The Amish School
$6.95
This authoritative book on Amish education deals with many questions
1. Why do the Amish have their own schools?
2. What goals do Amish teachers have for their “scholars”?
3. How are teachers chosen?
4. Why do the Amish have their own schools?
5. What goals do Amish teachers have for their “scholars”?
6. How are teachers chosen?
7. How are the parents involved?
8. What curriculum materials are used?
9. What about children with special needs?
Co-Author Sara Fisher writes from her experience as an Amish schoolteacher.; co-author Rachel Stahl writes from her years of extensive research.
91 pp. Paper. $6.95.
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Amish Houses and Barns
$7.95
Amish authority, Stephen Scott, explores the roles the home and barn play in Amish Life. He discusses Amish architecture and the two largest Amish communities in the world: Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Holmes County, Ohio.
Paper. 174 pp. $7.95
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Real People
$8.95
Written by a Mennonite schoolteacher in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Real People answers the most common questions that “outsiders” ask about the Mennonites and Amish, such as their manner of dress, their courtship, wedding and funeral customs, their schools, and their origin.
94 pp. $8.95
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Delicious Amish Recipes
$6.95
Amish families gather around their long kitchen tables for three meals together every day. It may be a routine, but the food they enjoy is beyond the ordinary! Here are some of their favorite recipes: baked corn, chicken roast, meadow tea, potato rolls, shoo-fly pie, cracker pudding, and whoopee pies.
96 pp. Paper. $6.95
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Amish Cooking
$7.95
This Amish cookbook is one of our most popular items. It contains over 1000 recipes contributed by various Amish families.
331 pp. Hardback.
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Amish Quilt Patterns
$14.95
This reliable favorite is newly revised for greater usefulness! With 100,000 copies already in print, this new edition offers increased clarity of 30 popular and often requested patterns.
Here is a selection of quilting templates in the actual sizes needed to make a full-sized quilt. Detailed drawings and diagrams throughout the book lend accuracy to the whole satisfying process.
An excellent pattern book, offering over 30 full-size patterns, step-by-step instructions and color suggestions to recreate the traditional charm of the antique masterpieces. This book also offers a variety of quilting templates to give your quilt that authentic Amish look.” Color photos throughout.
124 pp. Large oversize book. $14.95
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Small Amish Quilt Patterns
$14.95
Anyone who loves the bold colors and patterns of Amish quilts, but finds a full-sized bedcover too big or too time-consuming to make, will love this book. Includes quilting and piecing templates, plus detailed instructions, for 30 traditional Amish quilt patterns.
Color and fabric suggestions, quilting tips, and diagrams throughout the book are included to help recreate, in smaller size, the beauty of Amish quilts. Ideal for creating crib and wall-sized quilts.
124 pp. Large oversize book. paper. $14.95
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Amish Doll Patterns
$16.95
Complete patterns and instructions for both 22” dolls (American Girl doll size) and 15” dolls—and for authentic clothing, worn by the Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For the intermediate seamstress or crafter.
124 pp. Large oversize book. $16.95
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For additional Amish books, we recommend www.amishbooks.org.
Secrets of Amish Farming
May 12, 2010 by editor · Leave a Comment
When most people think of the Amish, they think of farming. Farming and the Amish have always gone hand in hand.
The reason why the Amish are so bound to the land is that centuries ago, their ancestors were severely persecuted in Switzerland (the area from which most of the Amish come). To survive, these people had to take refuge in remote rural areas, where often the authorities left them alone. Living in Zurich or other Swiss cities was not an option. As a result, over the centuries, one of the few occupations available to the Amish was farming.
One of the reasons why the Amish have been so successful at farming is that they possess a profound sense of stewardship of God’s soil. Farming is not simply a job to them. It’s a whole way of life that represents hard work, thrift, and involvement by every member of the family.
Because of their thrift, hard work, and input from the whole family, Amish farmers produce more harvest per acre with less consumption of fossil fuels than their neighbors.
Typical Amish Farm
The typical Amish farm consists of about 40 acres. Amish farmers plant a variety of crops – with alfalfa, corn, and other grains being the primary ones. Amish farmers rarely depend on one crop alone. The Amish practice crop rotation religiously to preserve the fertility of the soil.
Amish Horses
The Amish use heavy draft horses in the fields to pull the farm equipment, such as mowers and shredders. The advantage of horses is that (1) they are far less expensive to purchase and (2) feeding them is far less expensive than “feeding” tractors and combines. In fact, the Amish typically grow their own fuel – that is, food for their horses. What’s more, rather than polluting the air, manure from horses actually benefits the soil. Not only that, horses reproduce themselves. Imagine a tractor that can do that!
Another benefit of horses is that they can perform better than tractors in mud and snow. For that reason, Amish farmers often are able to start plowing their fields earlier in the year than their neighbors who use tractors.
Summary
So those are the basic secrets of Amish farming success. In summary, they are:
- A sense of God-given stewardship of the soil
- The whole family being involved
- Diversification of crops
- Crop rotation
- Using manure as the primary or supplementary method of fertilization
- Using horses as their main power source in the fields
Amish Schools
April 21, 2010 by editor · Leave a Comment
The horrible shooting at the Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, in 2006 made the public painfully aware of the fact that the Amish have their own schools. Many people wondered why the Amish have separate schools. The reason is that Amish life is so different from life in modern American society that public schools cannot adequately teach Amish children the life skills they will need for adult life.
Amish schools don’t overtly teach religion, and they don’t normally have classes pertaining to the Bible or to Amish beliefs. The responsibility for spiritual instruction is with the parents and church. Instead, the goal of Amish schools is to prepare children for usefulness in this life by preparing them for eternity. The Amish concept of an ideal school is one where children’s God-given talents are encouraged to develop and where children will learn the necessary skills for adult life.
In one sense, Christianity is taught all day long at an Amish school. It is taught on the playground, by learning to be fair in dealing with others and to respect them. It is taught in language class by the children learning to express themselves clearly. It is taught in music by the children learning to singing praises to their Creator.
Amish Schools: How Are They Different?
Just as public schools teach the values of modern society (or at least a segment of modern society), Amish schools teach the values of Amish society. Amish dress codes are reinforced. Children are discouraged from developing a highly competitive nature. Cooperation, rather than competition, is encouraged.
Amish children receive many years of education in basic arithmetic, in writing, and in reading. Their English needs are different from those of most children in that English is not their first language. Rather, the first language of most Amish children is low German, often referred to as “Pennsylvania Dutch.” In addition to English, most Amish schools also teach their students how to read and write in German.
Amish Schools: How They Came to Be
For nearly two centuries in America, Amish children attended the same schools as did other children. These were normally one-room school houses (as in Little House on the Prairie) with grades 1 through 8 all in the same room. The schools were within walking distance of home and the subjects taught did not normally conflict with Amish beliefs.
But then in the 1940’s, things began to change. The age of compulsory school attendance was raised in many states. The subjects taught in high school often conflicted with Amish culture and beliefs. Older children were needed on the farm, and high school took them away. As a result, the Amish began to form their own schools so they could preserve their own special way of life.
– Adapted from The Amish School by Sara Fisher and Rachel Stahl
Amish Dress: Why Is It Different?
April 21, 2010 by editor · Leave a Comment
Our dress speaks volumes about ourselves. It may indicate that we want to blend into modern society. It may indicate that we identify with a certain segment of society—conservative business people or rural country society or perhaps punk rockers. So it is natural that people who don’t want to blend into modern society (or any of its sub-groups) dress differently than others.
The Amish are the best illustration of this principle. They live by a set of values and beliefs that are often contrary to modern American society. By their distinctive dress they are making a statement that they are both different from and separate from modern society.
Amish Dress Reflects Modesty
Two hundred years ago, the Amish didn’t dress that differently from other American farmers. Society in general dressed more modestly than they do today. Amish dress reflects the standards of Christian modesty from an era long ago. Since the Bible hasn’t changed, the Amish believe that standards of modesty shouldn’t change either.
So although Amish dress seems so different from modern society, if this were the 1700s, Amish dress would blend in nicely with the dress of rural Presbyterians, Baptists, or Methodists. In other words, it isn’t the Amish who have changed; it’s the society around them.
Other Reasons Why Amish Dress Differently
Modesty is not the only reason why the Amish dress differently. They have purposefully decided to be distinct from the world around them. They want their dress to reflect their Christian values. They want to dress “plain,” rather than fancy or stylish. They want to wear home-sewn clothes rather than clothes sold by the clothing industry. Amish values are unchanging, and they want their clothes to reflect that.
Another reason why the Amish dress differently is that their distinctive dress immediately identifies others who share their same values. As one Amish man said, “Seeing a fellow plain person when far from home is like hearing your own language spoken while traveling in a foreign land. There is an immediate bond of fellowship even though the person might be a total stranger.”
Amish Head Covering
Part of Amish dress is a distinctive hat for men and a distinguishing head covering for women. The hat on Amish men is primarily worn for utilitarian reasons and for distinctiveness from modern society.
The cap that Amish women wear is not only for distinctiveness, but also for modesty and in obedience to the apostolic command in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11. There, the apostle Paul commands that men should uncover their heads when praying and that women should cover their heads when praying. By wearing a cap or head covering at all times, an Amish woman can pray any time she wants and still be in compliance with this Biblical commandment.