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Mennonites in American Society, 1930–1970: Modernity and the Persistence of Religious Community . By Paul Toews. Mennonite Experience in America 4. Scottdale, Penn.: Herald, 1996. 440 pp. $19.95 paper.

Toews argues that the primary "story of Mennonites in America from 1930 to 1970 is one of moving from the margins of society to more participation in society's institutions, its culture and its values" (342). This is not, however, a story of simple acculturation. Mennonites also tried to hold American culture at bay and the history of these years is thus one of building and rebuilding a distinctive sense of Mennonite peoplehood and "discernible community" in a country where they have felt ever more at home. While the focus is on the "mainstream" Mennonite community as opposed to Old Order Mennonites or Amish, Toews does deal briefly with these more culturally resistant Anabaptist communities. As one might expect, the crucial turning points in Toews's narrative are America's wars and Mennonite reactions to them. At least a quarter of the volume is devoted to developments leading up to, during, and following World War II. The Vietnam War gets a separate chapter. Toews does not try to cover every topic that could be included in this overview of mid-twentieth-century Mennonite life, instead he uses only "some of the main currents" of the movement as instruments for measuring pervasive social and religious transformations. He gives particular attention to Mennonite relations with fundamentalists and evangelicals, Mennonite historiography, programs of service and relief, and changes in peace theology. By contrast, Toews spends little time describing congregational life or local Mennonite folkways. Extensive notes increase the usefulness of the volume.