POTSDAM -- The obscure and often misunderstood communities of the Amish remain in focus for author and SUNY Potsdam Professor Emerita Dr. Karen Johnson-Weiner.

In a new title released recently, however, Johnson-Weiner draws from a lifetime of study and nationally-recognized expertise to shine light into the history and evolving culture of Amish women in particular.

"The Lives of Amish Women," published by Johns Hopkins University Press, was released yesterday.

Johnson-Weiner, a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of anthropology, felt compelled to highlight the emerging diversity of the Amish world, even as each church-community "responds to the challenge of living in the world while resisting assimilation to it."