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Plain Secrets: An Outsider among the Amish | 
 enlarge | Author: Joe Mackall
Publisher: Beacon Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy New: $10.40
You Save: $2.60 (20%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 144692
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 248
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 12.6 x 8 x 1.4
ISBN: 0807010650
Dewey Decimal Number: 200
EAN: 9780807010655
ASIN: 0807010650
Publication Date: June 15, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Plain Secrets tells the story of Joe Mackall's long friendship with his Swartzentruber Amish neighbors, the Shetlers, to create a nuanced portrait of this most traditional Amish sect.
"Mackall does the job beautifully, painting an intimate portrait of the family that leaves the reader feeling humbled by the common thread that's woven into all of us."
?Sarah English, Cleveland Magazine
"Prose as graceful as it is unsentimental . . . Mackall doesn't sensationalize, romanticize, or condescend."
?Brigid Brett, Los Angeles Times
"The book points to a difficult truth: A religious community is bound to be freed. Mackall explores this paradox with rare honesty and insight . . . [and] achieves what he promises."
?Tom Montgomery-Fate, Boston Globe
"Mackall describes the details of family, farming and church life with sympathy, accuracy and good will . . . His particularistic description of one family is a welcome addition to what has often been a sociological literature."
?Levi Miller, Christian Century
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 It isn't a secret anymore. March 8, 2008
Plain Secrets was our choice for our book club this month. It was an informative read. Much info about the Amish of Ohio and a good conversation work.
 Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish March 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very enjoyable read. Mackall uses his sensitivity, humor and vulnerability to tell us a real story about real Amish people. Living next door and making friends with a Swatzentruber (very orthodox & traditional) Amish family, he is there for them in their time of need, and they welcome him in to their lives - to a certain point. Mackall smashes many of the popular, but inaccurate notions we have about the Amish and leaves us a little more informed and thoroughly entertained.
A very good read.. January 25, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As someone who grew up Swartzentruber Amish in the same community as the "Shetler" family I consider this to be one of the best books on the Amish I've ever come across. It accurately tells the real story without being offensive. My only problem with reading it was knowing how private the Amish are I felt like I was eavesdroping! If you are looking for an accurate account of life inside the Swartzentruber Amish community this book is a must read.
 Proves Samuels Point ABout Buggies IMO January 19, 2008
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Good book, worth reading. Honest, interesting.
Joe Mackall ends up proving the Amish points FOR them in the buggy arena. The English are the ones who need to explain those buggy deaths, not Samuel & his brethren. As Mac says, there are virtually no buggy on buggy deaths- yet he blames the buggy-car deaths on... THE AMISH!!! ???? Blaming the victim, the author's cultural imperialism becomes quite clear... He doesn't seem to have much introspection into the choices and sacrifices he has accepted as normal while qualifying the Amish as abnormal. He bemoans the opportunities and education afforded Amish girls as opposed to boys while the maintsream culture he partakes in has done no better and has created a popular culture porno-slut ideal of womanhood.
Engaging, intelligent look at the Amish life January 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Mackall's Plain Secrets is excellent research and memoir combined. It's also great writing, which makes for great reading. Mackall watches and listens carefully to his Amish friends and neighbors, and then examines their beliefs by dissecting his own beliefs about life, family and religion in our modern day. His research is not intended to be a textbook on the Amish, rather, it adds credibility and insight. Combined with his own large capacity for empathy and concern, his research helped him avoid either condemning or romanticizing their way of life. Having read this, I'll view the buggies that pass me with more respect and less cartoonish curiosity; I'll also be more thankful for my access to health care and safe workplaces. But the real reason to read this book is not to learn about the Amish, it is to enjoy an engaging book while learning about people you would otherwise never meet.
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