Pennsylvania Germans An interpretative Encyclopedia edited by Simon J. Bronner and Joshua Brown

I downloaded time ago a book about Pennsylvania German baking and cooking with great soup recipes (yum!), and I read and reviewed thanks to NetGalley a book about German Baking.

When I noticed this book: Pennsylvania Germans An interpretative Encyclopedia edited by Simon J. Bronner and Joshua Brown published by Johns Hopkins University I couldn't resist.

This beautiful Encyclopedia is born as a new studies about the Pennsylvania Germans for remarking their characteristic identity and expression.

The book, very friendly, a great reading for everyone, I can tell you that, is very interesting and inclusive and starts with a first part dedicated to the Old World, the migration of Germans later in the USA, the reasons why they emigrated, their first communities in the various lands of the States.

The second part, both are cured by various teachers contributors will treat every single segment of American and Pennsylvania Germans, from food to folklore, from agriculture, to textile, from Amish to religion from education to medicine and much more.

Great farmers and workers, in love for agriculture, we can describe the Pennsylvania Germans like great workers, warm, adorable people in love for big houses, big garden, freedom, a good big stove (this one was a distinctive treat of a German family) during the long winter-time.
Their farms, from animals to plants and products rich and productive. One of the main characteristic of the Pennsylvania Germans farms were big colored barns another typical treats of their way of feeling and living in the USA.

Pennsylvania Germans people who loved to plant and to seeing growing any kind of seed.
Their food robust and yummy, passing through their favorite meat the pork one, although in love also for turkeys and chickens as well.
We find cows and many other animals in their farms with, of course, milk and butter of great quality.
They loved to cook many great specialties. Meat, pies, soups very relevant but...

The art of baking one of the most loved activities by the Pennsylvanian Germans women. Most of the American food influenced by their way of baking.

Many cookies baked for Christmas, with a lot of spices. Pennsylvania Germans ladies loved to prepare homemade candies.

Pretzels a very characteristic food in the USA is a German food imported in the USA by this group of people who wanted to keep something of the old world also in the new one.

Textile one of the main activity of ladies during the winter-time, and bed quilts (but you can use them also somewhere else) are one of the characteristic creations of the Pennsylvania Germans ladies, and a characteristic of Amish culture as well. The written words seen in many decorative objects for the house: "Home Sweet Home" spread thanks to them and their colored creations.

Their dresses characteristics, rigorous, large, lovely, precise, dreaming I would add, Pennsylvania Germans are also craftsmen, people in grade to enrich this world with beautiful creations thanks to their hands, some wood and their imagination.
Men loved wood and realized beautiful furniture for every corner of the house. Chairs, tables, chests, but also decorative objects, without to forget other materials like metal, ceramic. Their world populated by colors and a strong identity you could feel in every aspect of their social life.

The Amish are a religious group. They have chosen from their arrival in the USA a distant life from the progress and their world is old-fashioned, their life simpler in comparison with the one of common people but the community very united and in case of difficulty they all help their people in need.
There is a big portion of literature involving the Amish culture for the profound impact that this one has had and has in the USA.

The literature of the Pennsylvania Germans focused mainly about thematic like religion, at first their arrival in the New World, the Amish, without forgetting poetry.

This interpretative encyclopedia talks of diversified topics, for let us discover a world where people considered life very precious and every thing they did was done with great love and without forgetting a religious touch in their daily life. Every plant planted, every cookie baked, every animal they decided to keep, every meal cooked, every quilt completed was done with love. It was a moment of great beauty for the world and we can breath it reading through these pages the normality and beauty of all these families.

This book is also an example of a society in love for themselves and for the others and for the territories where they live in, in love for what they did for the society and for themselves, their houses, their animals, their products. Proud of their origins and friendly, Pennsylvania Germans were and are people with a great heart and industriousity and their impact in the USA as we have seen in various existential sectors is extremely relevant and crucial.

Proud of their origin the group founded also the The Pennsylvania German Society 125 years ago!

This book is highly suggested! to everyone.


I thank Johns Hopkins University Press for the beautiful physical copy of this book.



Anna Maria Polidori