This is the only book of its kind written by an observer of the Amana Colonies during the era when the people lived under religious communism.Mrs. Shambaugh made repeated trips to the Amanas and became a lifelong friend of the Amana people. This rare book tells of life in the Amana Colonies at the turn of the century.The Amana people voted in 1932 to live under free enterprise, incorporating their land and businesses as the Amana Society and establishing a separate Amana Church Society. The people brought their own homes and many opened small businesses. With their traditional German family style restaurants, the Amanas today are Iowa's premier tourist attraction.