Mennonites in Canada 1939–1970: A People Transformed by T. D. Regehr (review)

206 Canadian Review of American Studies Revue ca.nadienned'etudesamericaines have done greater justice to this prolific, sometimes provocative journalist. It would also have allowed Kammen to concentrate more effectively on explaining the causes and consequences of the cultural transformation which resulted in the disappearance of the critical distinction between high/elite culture and popular/mass culture. Gilbert Seldes moved Krazy Kat from the funny papers to the status of lively art. From there it was only a matter of time before the comics entered the university curriculum-and Shakespeare exited. Kammen's book goes only a short distance in explaining that 'transformation.' Ramsay Cook Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada T. D. Regehr. Mennonites in Canada 1939-1970: A People Transfonned. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996. Pp. 563 + illustrations. This is the third volume in the series, Mennonites in Canada. The first two volumes, written by Frank H. Epp, covered the periods 1786-1920 (1974) and 1920-1940 (1982). The manuscript of this third volume was read and commented on by a reading committee of the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada. While encyclopedic in content and exacting in detail, it is very readable. The book is divided into five parts. The shorter chapter, "The Setting," presents the Mennonites as found in 1939. The second part, "The Crucible of War," is composed of four chapters and addresses the response to, and effect of, the second world war, and the Mennonites' sometimes contradictory response to their ideological and theological base of peace. Part three portrays the "Years of Prosperity," showing the agricultural base and the 1 'lure of the cities. Part four, with five chapters, is an interesting mix of the socialization of Mennonite youth, church, schools (including higher education), the arts, and new leadership. Part five's three chapters are much more theological, dealing with mission at home and the world, as well as peace, justice and social concerns. The book concludes with one hundred Book Reviews 207 and forty-five pages of appendix, notes, and an index. A more complete and extensive bibliography is available at four Canadian Mennonite colleges or centres. This was a wise choice. The writer is to be commended on several levels. Along with its exacting data, it is well-organized and easily read. The uninformed may find the detail overwhelming. For the informed reader the table of contents is true to expectation. The author addresses change in the thirty-two year period in terms of urbanization, education, secularization, and Christian praxis. While Mennonites are said to have been transformed, one is not certain the transformation has reference to change in terms of a better reflection of its roots, a pragmatic adaptation to contemporary times, or a theological adaptation. Undoubtedly, we also find Mennonites in Canada transformed in the post-1970 era. Regehr gives evidence of his bias in that peace, justice, and social concerns ought to be focal for Mennonites. He has limited tolerance with those who take a more evangelical perspective, a stance held by one of the larger Canadian denominations. While the author does well in showing a heterogeneous Mennonite community, he may have represented some of the smaller groups such as the very conservative 'plain' folk and 'Mexican' Mennonites a little stronger. While Regehr does not debate whether Mennonites are a religious, ethnic, or religious-ethnic group, he appears to accept the former position. Throughout the 1960s, hundreds of Mennonites left their religious Mennonite identity and joined conservative fundamental Canadian church denominations . In a sense their 'Mennonite' tradition showed itself in a variety of ways in church leadership, mission, youth work, politics, and business. Regehr avoids this discussion, I expect by choice. The book is a significant contribution to Canadian and Mennonite history. John F. Peters Wilfrid Laurier University ...