AMISH HOME

A talented author-photographer (Corn Belt Harvest, 1991) pays informed tribute to the ``hardworking, productive people'' who place little value on ``worldly goods'' and are known as the ``plain people.'' Respecting their wish not to be photographed (a photo is a kind of ``graven image''; appearing in one is ``prideful''), Bial presents their houses (inside and out), clothes (pegged out on a sunny day), food, horses, carriages, and fields in beautifully composed color photos. The absence of the Amish themselves, in honor of their beliefs, is a powerful statement, reflected in Bial's concise but admirably detailed description of Amish ways—especially the carefully considered reasons they abjure many modern inventions and the compromises they've made (they use gas stoves and refrigeration, but not electricity: radios and TV prevent family interaction). An eloquent, honest book that points out that the Amish, too, have their difficulties but concludes: ``In their world the individual occupies a small place, but is always valued. In the larger culture, the individual is foremost, yet people often feel isolated and alone.'' Bibliography. (Nonfiction. 8+)