A Peculiar People


Book Description

Now back in print with a new essay, this classic of Iowa history focuses on the Old Order Amish Mennonites, the state’s most distinctive religious minority. Sociologist Elmer Schwieder and historian Dorothy Schwieder began their research with the largest group of Old Order Amish in the state, the community near Kalona in Johnson and Washington counties, in April 1970; they extended their studies and friendships in later years to other Old Order settlements as well as the slightly less conservative Beachy Amish. A Peculiar People explores the origin and growth of the Old Order Amish in Iowa, their religious practices, economic organization, family life, the formation of new communities, and the vital issue of education. Included also are appendixes giving the 1967 “Act Relating to Compulsory School Attendance and Educational Standards”; a sample “Church Organization Financial Agreement,” demonstrating the group’s unusual but advantageous mutual financial system; and the 1632 Dortrecht Confession of Faith, whose eighteen articles cover all the basic religious tenets of the Old Order Amish. Thomas Morain’s new essay describes external and internal issues for the Iowa Amish from the 1970s to today. The growth of utopian Amish communities across the nation, changes in occupation (although The Amish Directory still lists buggy shop operators, wheelwrights, and one lone horse dentist), the current state of education and health care, and the conscious balance between modern and traditional ways are reflected in an essay that describes how the Old Order dedication to Gelassenheit—the yielding of self to the interests of the larger community—has served its members well into the twenty-first century.




A Peculiar People


Book Description

In 1893 almost 500 Australians set out by ship to plant a communist utopia in the heart of Paraguay. Led by socialist journalist and activist, William Lane, their aim was to realise the cherished Australian principles of equality and mateship. It was not to be. Expulsions and secessions began early; in mid-1894 Lane himself seceded with a loyal minority and founded Cosme, some forty-five miles south of the original settlement, but two years later the new colony had deteriorated and dwindled. Acclaimed historian Gavin Souter unravels the history of the New Australia movement, exploring the motivations and motives of its members, its organisation, the conflicts and dissension and the final disillusionment. He suggests a number of factors contributing to the venture’s failure, not the least being William Lane’s contradictory personality. Meticulously researched and based on countless interviews with descendants of the original settlers, A Peculiar People is a work of literary as well as historical value. Winner of the Foundation of Australian Literary Studies award, it brings the fascinating story of idealism, courage and human fallibility to vivid life. Reviews of A Peculiar People ‘The most complete, objective and altogether satisfying account – by turns ironic, sardonic, compassionate, frequently evocative and finally haunting.’ Australian Book Review ‘An excellent book, lively in its narrative and judicious in its interpretations.’ The Age ‘Souter … writes with admirable clarity and can make a story, period and cast of people come alive – exciting, absurd and gallant by turns.’ The Bulletin




A Peculiar People; or, Reality in Romance


Book Description

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.




The Wonderful Land of Bed-Time Stories


Book Description

Put your little ones to a snuggling sleep or go back yourself to the world of dreams and dreamers, magic, fairytales, legends and fantasy - with the greatest bed-time classics by e-artnow. _x000D_ Contents:_x000D_ Dragon Tales_x000D_ My Father's Dragon_x000D_ The Reluctant Dragon_x000D_ The Book of Dragons_x000D_ Animal Tales & Fables_x000D_ The Tale of Peter Rabbit_x000D_ The Tale of Benjamin Bunny_x000D_ The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies_x000D_ The Tailor of Gloucester_x000D_ Adventures of Peter Cottontail_x000D_ Mother West Wind Series_x000D_ The Burgess Bird Book for Children_x000D_ The Burgess Animal Book for Children_x000D_ The Velveteen Rabbit_x000D_ Uncle Wiggily's Adventures & Other Tales_x000D_ Little Bun Rabbit_x000D_ Mother Goose in Prose_x000D_ Lulu's Library_x000D_ The Jungle Book_x000D_ The Second Jungle Book_x000D_ Just So Stories_x000D_ The Call of the Wild_x000D_ White Fang_x000D_ Black Beauty_x000D_ The Story of Doctor Dolittle_x000D_ The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle_x000D_ Doctor Dolittle's Post Office_x000D_ The Story of a Nodding Donkey_x000D_ The Story of a Stuffed Elephant_x000D_ The Nutcracker and the Mouse King_x000D_ The Panchatantra_x000D_ Aesop Fables_x000D_ Russian Picture Fables for the Little Ones_x000D_ The Russian Garland: Folk Tales_x000D_ Fairy tales & Fantasies_x000D_ Complete Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen_x000D_ Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm_x000D_ Complete Fairy Books of Andrew Lang_x000D_ Peter Pan_x000D_ Five Children and It_x000D_ The Phoenix and the Carpet_x000D_ The Story of the Amulet_x000D_ The Enchanted Castle_x000D_ Alice in Wonderland_x000D_ Through the Looking Glass_x000D_ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Collection_x000D_ At the Back of the North Wind_x000D_ The Princess and the Goblin_x000D_ The Princess and Curdie_x000D_ Wonder Book_x000D_ Tanglewood Tales_x000D_ The Happy Prince and Other Tales_x000D_ A House of Pomegranates_x000D_ All the Way to Fairyland_x000D_ The Blue Bird for Children_x000D_ The King of the Golden River_x000D_ Rootabaga Stories_x000D_ Knock Three Times!_x000D_ The Cuckoo Clock_x000D_ Friendly Fairies_x000D_ Raggedy Ann Stories_x000D_ Raggedy Andy Stories_x000D_ Russian Fairy Tales From the Skazki of Polevoi_x000D_ Old Peter's Russian Tales




A Peculiar People


Book Description




A Peculiar People


Book Description

Rodney Clapp asks and answers the question, How can the church provide a significant alternative to the culture in which it is embedded?




Report of the Annual Meeting


Book Description