"The Amish on the Iowa Prairie, 1840 to 1910 tells the story of how the Amish integrated themselves into a mid-American society, even as they preserved their own culture, Steven D. Reschly traces the Amish in Iowa from their initial settlement in the 1840s, through the community's experiences at the close of the nineteenth century when the rural economy of the United States had matured, and into the early part of the twentieth century.".

"Throughout The Amish on the Iowa Prairie, Reschly develops intricate portraits that illustrate aspects of the portable community, such as innovative agricultural practices, specific migratory patterns, and the Amish practice of distancing themselves from the wider society. He also examines gender and family relations, land ownership and inheritance, and participation in the Civil War, and includes an analysis of the dreams of Bishop Jacob Swartzendruber and the visions of "sleeping preacher" Noah Troyer.

What emerges is a depiction of the Amish in Iowa that contradicts the common view that Amish communities are static and resist change."--BOOK JACKET.