Second edition improves atlas

This is a significantly revised, expanded and improved edition of the earlier Mennonite Historical Atlas published in 1990. The demand for the first edition was such that there was little doubt about the need for further printing and for various changes. This edition is dedicated to the memory of Menno Simons on the 500th anniversary of his birth.

An atlas such as this one is used repeatedly by many people. Many family and village histories and other works have been published in recent years which have utilized information from this work (often without acknowledgement). One of the attending factors is that there are many people who presume to be experts and can provide information about map details which may not always be correct. The background work for these maps has been thorough and this edition will provide much needed information for many people who wish to explore their family roots or otherwise familiarize themselves with aspects of Mennonite history. As was the case with the first edition, there is no attempt to be comprehensive in the selection of maps. The Swiss/South German stream of Mennonites is largely excluded because of the particular interests and expertise of the authors/cartographers. Likewise the areas where Mennonites have emerged as a direct result of missions in regions of Africa, India, etc. are not dealt with. Some may find such selectivity inappropriate given the title of the work.

The most important difference in the new edition is in the selection of maps. There are more than 40 more maps in the new edition. There is a new section of four maps on the Aussiedler and another section of six maps on Hutterite migrations. Both of these are very helpful additions. There are also more maps on Latin American Mennonites where migrations of Mennonites have continued to alter the Mennonite landscape. Some maps from the earlier edition have been excluded (e.g., only one Halbstadt map). Many of the maps have significant improvements. They are all computer generated and all have borders surrounding them. The orientation of the maps is always with north to the top of the page.

While the improvements are very noteworthy, it is unfortunate that some additional changes were not made. The fairly detailed notes are still in a separate section which is not even listed in the Table of Contents. It might have been more helpful to have introductory notes at the beginning of each of the major sections. The Index, which is very detailed, might have more appropriately used the abbreviation "USSR", as in the previous edition, instead of "Rus". The section on "Sources" could also have been improved somewhat (e.g., the reference to C.J. Dyck's, Introduction to Mennonite History lists the 1981 edition rather than the 1990 edition). This reviewer's preference would also have been to create a new cover, or at least use a different color, to help distinguish this edition from the earlier one.

Those readers who have a copy of the earlier edition will, no doubt, be anxious to acquire this new edition. For those who do not yet have a copy, I highly recommend this new Mennonite Historical Atlas. It is well worth the price.

Abe Dueck is Director of the Centre for MB Studies in Winnipeg.

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