The Old German Baptist Brethren : faith, farming, and change in the Virginia Blue Ridge /

Thompson's book is a welcome addition to scholarship on a wide range of topics. The vector for delivering these contributions is an analysis of the Old German Baptist Brethren community in Franklin County, VA. Aware that few readers will possess adequate economic, geographic, or historic context to understand and appreciate the Old German Baptist Brethren, Thompson (education, Duke Univ.) furnishes both prologue and introduction to explain contemporary conditions in Franklin County and these people's social and economic contributions to that region. Having established that background, the author uses oral history interviews conducted among the German Baptists and their neighbors to explore the challenges that the Brethren confront while attempting to maintain the small farm agrarian lifestyle they perceive as fundamental to practicing their faith. Libraries with collections focusing on Virginia, Appalachia, agricultural history, religious history, and oral history will want to purchase this book. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. B. M. Banta Arkansas State University