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Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish
Rumspringa To Be or Not to Be Amish
Author: Tom Shachtman
Rumspringa is Tom Shachtman’s celebrated look at a littleknown Amish coming-of-age ritual, the rumspringa—the period of “running around” that begins for their youth at age sixteen. During this time, Amish youth are allowed to live outside the bounds of their faith, experimenting with alcohol, premarital sex,...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780865477421
ISBN-10: 0865477426
Publication Date: 5/29/2007
Pages: 304
Edition: Reprint
Rating:
  • Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
 15

3.1 stars, based on 15 ratings
Publisher: North Point Press
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

sunalso avatar reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
A fascinating, if sometime overly sympathetic, look at Amish life. The author's narrative primarily moves forward through "case studies" of Amish youth. These young people make varied choices, that either lead them back to the Amish fold, or out into the larger world. To me what was amazing was the decision process that lead these young people back to the Amish Church and way of life after being out and experiencing mainstream life.
skywaywaver avatar reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on + 148 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
An inside look into the lives of modern Amish teenagers faced with some tough decisions. This book had a little too much sociology/anthropology/psychology than I felt was needed to compare Amish teens with non-Amish teens.
shiner716 avatar reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on + 34 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
The beginning was interesting; the middle lagged; the end was boring and repetitive. I was expecting so much more from this book and somehow the author dropped the ball.
logdweller avatar reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on + 37 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Started out good but midway I started to lose interest. Seemed somewhat repetitive at times. Could serve well as an added read in a sociology class.
reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I was expecting more stories from Amish themselves and what their lives were like. This book included lots of studies done on the Amish lifestyle. Still a good read but hard to trudge through at times.
Read All 16 Book Reviews of "Rumspringa To Be or Not to Be Amish"

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reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on
I wasn't really impressed with this book. Not sure what I expected but nothing exciting really jumped out and grabbed me. I didn't even finish it. If a book doesn't snag me with the first couple of chapters its not for me.
mountainspirit avatar reviewed Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish on
To me this was a difficult book to read - it felt too much like I was reading a textbook. While it was very informative, I felt like the author was a little pretentious and thesaurus happy in his wording - some parts were hard to understand. The stories of the different youth's passages were interesting.


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TagsAmish