| What the Amish Teach Us Donald B. Kraybill 2021, 200 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. Contains twenty-two essays that reflect what the author learned from nearly four decades of research among the Amish. Topics include community, spirituality, education, technology, entrepreneurship, patience, retirement, and many more. |
| The Amish of Lancaster County Donald B. Kraybill 2019 (second edition), 108 pp., Stackpole Books, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield. Short descriptions of all aspects of Amish life in the Lancaster, Pa., community, from dress and spirituality to horse-and-buggy transportation, are accompanied by full-color photographs. Myths about the Amish, their selective use of technology, media attention on Rumspringa, and the tragedy at the Nickel Mines school are also discussed. |
| Simply Amish: An Essential Guide Donald B. Kraybill 2018, 96 pp., Herald Press. A brief introduction to Amish life in America. Includes exquisite color photos. |
| The Upside-Down Kingdom Donald B. Kraybill 2018 (revised), 315 pp., Herald Press. In this 40th anniversary edition, Kraybill not only gives his unique perspective as a sociologist with insight into ancient Hebrew culture, he also incorporates the most recent New Testament scholarly findings in a style accessible to lay readers in the church. Kraybill contends that worldly authorities seek power and prestige, but Jesus’ counter-cultural message is a clear call to turn the social ladder upside-down. Jesus’s kingdom highlights sharing, not hoarding; service, not status; community, not competition, and loyalty to God, not nation. Translated into nine languages, this message calls Christians from many cultures to actively participate in God’s upside-down kingdom. |
| Eastern Mennonite University: A Century of Countercultural Education Donald B. Kraybill 2017, 406 pp., Pennsylvania State University Press. The author traces the socio-cultural transformation of Eastern Mennonite University from a fledgling separatist school founded by white, rural, Germanic Mennonites into a world-engaged institution populated by many faith traditions, cultures, and nationalities. |
| Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers Donald B. Kraybill 2014, 224 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. Renegade Amish explores the origin and history of the Bergholz, Ohio, community, the assaults and the motivations for them, and the criminal investigation, trial proceedings, and sentencing. |
| The Amish Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt 2013, 500 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. The Amish explores not only the emerging diversity and evolving identities within this distinctive American ethnic community, but also its transformation and geographic expansion. Drawing on archival material, participant observation, and hundreds of interviews, the authors provide a definitive portrait of the Amish today. |
| Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites Donald B. Kraybill 2010, 328 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. This book focuses on the more than 200 different 21st-century Anabaptist groups in North America that trace their roots, inspiration, and/or affiliations back to the Anabaptist Movement in Europe during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. The 340 short entries provide a succinct overview of the history, religious beliefs, and cultural practices of these groups, which are found in 17 North American countries. |
| The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher 2010, 288 pp., Jossey-Bass. The Amish Way sheds light on the faith, spirituality, and spiritual practices of the Amish. Using a holistic perspective, the book interprets the distinctive spiritual practices of Amish life in their cultural context and explores their applicability for the wider world. |
| Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher 2007, 288 pp., Jossey-BassThis book examines the Amish understanding of forgiveness and explores how and why the Amish responded to the shooting of ten young girls at Nickel Mines, Pa., with grace. It also asks if Amish practices parallel or diverge from other religious and secular notions of forgiveness, and addresses the matter of why forgiveness became news. “All the religions teach it,” mused an observer, “but no one does it like the Amish.” Regardless of the cultural seedbed that nourished this story, the surprising act of Amish forgiveness begs for a deeper exploration. How could the Amish do this? What did this act mean to them? And how might their witness prove useful to the rest of us? |
| The Riddle of Amish Culture Donald B. Kraybill 2001 (revised edition), 424 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. The Riddle of Amish Culture has become recognized as a classic work on one of America’s most distinctive religious communities. Donald Kraybill explores the riddle of Amish growth: How is it that a tradition-laden people who spurn electricity, the Internet, automobiles, and higher education are not merely surviving but are, in fact, thriving in a postmodern society? The answer, he argues, lies in how the Amish negotiate with modernity—rejecting, accepting, and adapting contemporary views, practices, and technology in order to both survive and thrive. Topics in the book include cultural values, religious beliefs and practices, the rise of Amish schools, Rumspringa, technology, social change, and interaction with the larger culture. Kraybill shows how the dramatic shift away from farming into owning small businesses is transforming Amish culture in many ways. Using the concept of social capital, he demonstrates how Amish recreation and social gatherings have preserved the identity and solidarity of their community. This landmark study of Amish life in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, offers keys to understanding the riddles of Amish culture in other Amish communities in North America. |
| Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites: Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World Donald B. Kraybill and James P. Hurd 2006, 312 pp., Pennsylvania State University Press. In this first-of-its-kind study of the Wenger Mennonites, Kraybill and Hurd—a sociologist and an anthropologist—use cultural analysis to interpret the Wengers in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. They also compare the Wengers with other Mennonite groups as well as with the Amish, showing how relationships with these groups have had a powerful impact on shaping Wenger identity in the Anabaptist world. The authors show how the Wengers adapt to the ever-changing world, making them an invaluable case study of the evolution of religious ritual in the face of modernity. |
| Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits Donald B. Kraybill and Steven M. Nolt 2004 (second edition), 304 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. Amish culture has been rooted in the soil since its beginnings in 1693. But what happens when members of America’s oldest Amish community enter non-farm work in one generation? How will hundreds of cottage industries and micro-enterprises reshape the heart of Amish life? Will traditional eighth grade education still prove adequate? What about gender roles, child-rearing practices, leisure activities, and growing ties with outsiders? Amish Enterprise was the first book to discuss these dramatic changes that are transforming Amish communities across North America. Based on interviews with more than 150 Amish entrepreneurs, the authors trace the rise and impact of businesses in Lancaster’s Amish settlement in recent decades. In this new edition, the authors update demographic and technological changes, and also describe Amish enterprises outside of Pennsylvania in a new chapter |
| The Amish and the State edited by Donald B. Kraybill 2003 (second edition), 350 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. In this updated edition, Kraybill brings together legal scholars and social scientists to explore the unique series of conflicts between a traditional religious minority and the modern state. In the process, the authors trace the preservation—and the erosion—of religious liberty in American life. Kraybill begins with an overview of the Amish in North America and describes the “negotiation model” used throughout the book to interpret a variety of legal conflicts. Subsequent chapters deal with specific aspects of religious freedom over which the Amish and the state have clashed. Focusing on the period from 1925 to 2001 in the United States, the authors examine conflicts over military service and conscription, Social Security and taxes, education, health care, land use and zoning, regulation of slow-moving vehicles, and other first amendment issues. Concluding chapters by constitutional expert William Ball, who defended the Amish before the Supreme Court in 1972 in the landmark Wisconsin v. Yoder case, and law professor Garret Epps assess the Amish contribution to preserving religious liberty in the United States. |
| The Amish: Why They Enchant Us Donald B. Kraybill 2003, 48 pp., Herald Press. This concise and authoritative overview describes both the diversity and common practices of the Amish of North America as well as some of the changes underway in their communities. Kraybill explains many of their puzzling practices and shows how the Amish flourish in the midst of modern society. |
| Who Are the Anabaptists? Donald B. Kraybill 2003, 48 pp., Herald PressThe Anabaptists of North America sport an amazing spectrum of religious and cultural diversity—from communal Hutterites to urban Mennonites, from low-tech Amish to acculturated Brethren. Members with Asian, African, and Hispanic cultural roots add spice and color to traditional Anabaptist ways. Numbering more than 6,000 congregations and 100 different groups, the Anabaptists are known for their strong commitments to peacemaking, service, and community. In this concise text, a leading scholar of Anabaptist communities provides a sweeping overview of their beliefs and practices as well as their similarities and differences. |
| On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren Donald B. Kraybill and Carl Bowman 2001, 350 pp., Johns Hopkins University Press. On the Backroad to Heaven is a unique guidebook to the world of Old Order Anabaptist groups. Focusing on four Old Order communities—the Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren—Kraybill and Bowman provide a fascinating overview of their culture, growth, and distinctive way of life. Following a general introduction to Old Order culture, they show how each group uses a different strategy to create and sustain its identity. The Hutterites, for example, keep themselves geographically segregated from the larger society, whereas the Brethren interact more freely with it. The Amish and Mennonites are more alike in how they engage the outside world, adopting a complex but flexible strategy of compromise that produces an evolving canon of social and religious rules. This first comparative study sketches the differences as well as the common threads that bind these groups together. |
| Anabaptist World USA Donald B. Kraybill and C. Nelson Hostetter 2001, 304 pp., Herald Press. This path-breaking work assembles all the pieces of the Anabaptist puzzle in the United States for the first time. Anchored on a database of 5,400 congregations, it provides an authoritative overview of more than 60 Amish, Brethren, Hutterite, and Mennonite groups. Lively interpretative essays, helpful graphics, photographs, group profiles, and state-by-state summaries make this a key turn-of-the-century reference. Kraybill and Hostetter trace the origins of the Anabaptist movement and relationships between Anabaptist groups. They describe common convictions as well as the colorful diversity. This guide to the puzzles of the Anabaptist world will assist scholars, leaders, and members of the described communities as well as outsiders who want an accessible introduction to the Anabaptist world in the United States. |
| The Riddles of Human Society Conrad L. Kanagy and Donald B. Kraybill 1999, 400 pp., Pine Forge Press. Why does technology enchant us? Why do some people commit suicide? Why are sports so important to Americans? How will the Internet change society? Why do people do good? This short introductory sociology text explores these and other “riddles” to stir students’ curiosity and promote active learning as the sure path toward mastering the fundamentals of the discipline. |
| The Puzzles of Amish Life Donald B. Kraybill 1998 (revised edition), 126 pp., Good Books. “Telephones, taboo in homes, stand at the end of farm lanes. State-of-the-art calculators are permissible, but not computers. These perplexing puzzles are quite reasonable when pieced together in the context of Amish history.” Kraybill provides a way to understand the perplexing puzzles of Amish life. |
The following titles are out of print but may be ordered online from used book sellers such as Amazon or ABE books: Where was God on September 11?; Building Communities of Compassion: Mennonite Mutual Aid in Theory and Practice; Mennonite Peacemaking: From Quietism to Activism;The Amish Struggle with Modernity; Old Order Amish: Their Endearing Way of Life; Passing on the Faith: The Story of a Mennonite School; Facing Nuclear War: A Plea for Christian Witness; Perils of Professionalism: Essays on Christian Faith and Professionalism; Nuclear War and Lancaster County; Mennonite Education: Issues, Facts, and Changes; Ethnic Education: The Impact of Mennonite Schooling; and Our Star-Spangled Faith.