(Ebook) Writing The Amish: The Worlds Of John A. Hostetler (Pennsylvania German History & Culture) by David L. Weaver-Zercher ISBN 9780271026862, 0271026863

(Ebook) Writing The Amish: The Worlds Of John A. Hostetler (Pennsylvania German History & Culture) by David L. Weaver-Zercher ISBN 9780271026862, 0271026863

Born into an Old Order Amish family in 1918, Hostetler came of age in an era when the Amish were largely dismissed as a quaint and declining culture, a curious survival with little relevance for contemporary American life. That perception changed during Hostetler’s career, for not only did the Amish survive during these decades, they demonstrated a stunning degree of cultural vitality―which Hostetler observed, analyzed, and interpreted for millions of interested readers.

Writing the Amish both recounts and assesses Hostetler’s Amish-related work. The first half of the book consists of four reflective essays―by Donald Kraybill, Simon Bronner, David Weaver-Zercher, and Hostetler himself―in which Hostetler is the primary subject. The second half reprints, in chronological order, fourteen key writings by Hostetler with commentaries and annotations by Weaver-Zercher.

Taken together, these writings, supplemented by a comprehensive bibliography of Hostetler’s publications, provide ready access to the Hostetler corpus and the tools by which to evaluate his work, his intellectual evolution, and his legacy as a scholar of Amish and American life. Moreover, by providing a window into the varied worlds of John A. Hostetler―his Amish boyhood, his Mennonite Church milieu, his educational pursuits, his scholarly career, and his vocation as a mediator and advocate for Amish life―this volume enhances the ongoing discussion of how ethnographic representation pertains to America’s most renowned folk culture, the