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People Called Shakers
A history of the Shakers, tracing their social and religious philosophies and practices from their eighteenth-century origins
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 31, 2024
As this has been the year of the Shakers for me, I end my reading of 2024 with this (pretty exhaustive) look and deep dive into the religious sect. There's much I could write about this group and about this book in particular, but I'll leave it brief.
This particular book was published in the 1950s, giving me an interesting look at the author's perspective from 70 years ago when the remaining Shakers were not yet practically extinct, though they had greatly declined in influence and number at that point. I found this book in Loganberry Books (a favorite bookstore) in Shaker Heights, Ohio, of all places, and I've found the depth and breadth of what it covers to be very useful, interesting, and helpful in getting a better sense of who these people were and what their existence means for the country and world's history.
Interestingly enough, Yolen's novel that I read earlier this year titled Simple Gifts lists this book in its bibliography, though she does mention explicitly that this book's accuracy on some matters was disputed among the remaining Shakers of the 1970s. In fairness, the only things I found in the book that could have been controversial for members of the order itself would be accounts given from some apostates to the faith, who likely were very biased and, in some cases, had it out for the group. The inclusion of that testimony didn't affect my overall experience in learning about them, however, and I found this book to be very informative.
If I'm being honest, I have the ideas for a novel involving the Shakers rattling around in my head. The big question--of course--is when I will be able to sit down to write it, and if it will be a story worth reading. We shall see!
This particular book was published in the 1950s, giving me an interesting look at the author's perspective from 70 years ago when the remaining Shakers were not yet practically extinct, though they had greatly declined in influence and number at that point. I found this book in Loganberry Books (a favorite bookstore) in Shaker Heights, Ohio, of all places, and I've found the depth and breadth of what it covers to be very useful, interesting, and helpful in getting a better sense of who these people were and what their existence means for the country and world's history.
Interestingly enough, Yolen's novel that I read earlier this year titled Simple Gifts lists this book in its bibliography, though she does mention explicitly that this book's accuracy on some matters was disputed among the remaining Shakers of the 1970s. In fairness, the only things I found in the book that could have been controversial for members of the order itself would be accounts given from some apostates to the faith, who likely were very biased and, in some cases, had it out for the group. The inclusion of that testimony didn't affect my overall experience in learning about them, however, and I found this book to be very informative.
If I'm being honest, I have the ideas for a novel involving the Shakers rattling around in my head. The big question--of course--is when I will be able to sit down to write it, and if it will be a story worth reading. We shall see!
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July 17, 2009unread
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews