In this fascinating series         of narratives, many voices of Jeff Gundy's Amish and Mennonite forebears         trace their paths and chronicle their lives. Women and men speak in these         pages, telling their stories and linking themselves to each other, the         past, and the present. Gundy demonstrates that who he is--who we all are--is         shaped by a past peopled with those who worked, loved, dreamed, and died.         By sharing his community of memory, he makes us desire to seek out our         own.       Using family photos, records,         recollections, and historical research, Gundy follows seven generations         through time and space: from Bavaria and Alsace to Ohio to Illinois in         the 1830s; from frontier dwellings with dirt floors to homes with refrigerators.         He also follows them intellectually, from a strict to a broader interpretation         of religious doctrine in the 1870s, which led to a schism within the already         small Mennonite community; from a long-standing position on pacifism and         conscientious objection to some questioning of this stance during World         War II.