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Book notes

by Adolf Ens

The third Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Kultur der Mennoniten in Paraguay appeared in September. This volume focuses on the “Canadian” Mennonites in Paraguay. The bulk of the historical section consists of papers given at a symposium in Loma Plata in June on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Menno Colony. Published by the Mennonite Historical and Cultural Society of Paraguay, the yearbook is available for $8 US. Contact by email. [Is it a sign of the digital age that no postal address is given?]

Ritas Leute: Eine deutschrussische Familiengeschichte (Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, 2002) tells the story of singer Rita Pauls, now of Mannheim, Germany, via Karagnada, Kaskhstan. Descended from the Pauls and Janzen families of Lysanderhöh, in the Mennonite Am Trakt Colony near the Volga, Rita grew up in Karaganda and moved to Germany with her family in 1989. The story, engagingly told by the German filmmaker and historian Ulla Lachauer, brings a liveliness to the narrative that is missing in some more prosaic autobiographies written by modest Mennonites. Pauls has relatives in Winnipeg.

Most Canadian Mennonites who have heard of Joseph W. Yoder will have come to “know” him through his “autoethnography”, Rosanna of the Amish, first published in 1940 when the author was already 68. With almost half a million copies of that book now in print, it must rival the More With Less Cookbook in popularity in modern books of Mennonite origin. The well-known poet and writer Julia Kasdorf has finally produced a biography of this versatile musician, athletic director, and late-blooming author. Fixing Tradition: Joseph W. Yoder, Amish American (Telford, PA: Pandora Press US, 2002; pb. 280 pp, $22.95US) is No. 4 in the C. Henry Smith series.

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