Magnum photographer Larry Towell has spent much of the last 10 years photographing Mennonite communities in rural Ontario and Mexico. Starting with a friendship he made with a Mennonite family whom he met near his own home in Ontario, he has had unique access to their lives, gradually being introduced to the wider community and making trips to visit the colonies in Mexico. Mennonite culture does not usually permit photography, so his comprehensive study represents an unprecedented and ground breaking photographic survey of their way of life - one that may very soon have changed beyond recognition. In addition to the photographs, Towell's own accompanying text tells, in descriptive detail, poignant anecdotes of his experiences. With an artist's eye he paints a striking picture of the intriguing lives of these people: the harshness and poverty of their rural life, the disciplines and contradictions of their religion, their hunger for land, for work, and for the freedom to live the way they choose. The photographic content is of the highest quality and would easily justify a book of images alone. The text moreover - very atmospheric in the tradition of Steinbeck - makes the book an unusually successful and complete portrait of an entire and a vivid way of life: it signifies far more than just a photography book. This definitive collection of Towell's most important work - 10 years in the making - has been eagerly anticipated by his followers. The book was awarded the Citation of Excellence, Best Documentary at the Photo-Eye Awards in 2000.

Larry Towell first encountered the Mennonites near his home in Ontario, Canada, and his friendship with them gained him unique access to their communities.  Rather than compromise their way of life, Mennonites have continually been forced to migrate around the world to maintain their freedom to live as they choose. Towell photographed Mennonites in Canada and Mexico for over ten years, and his own texts tell in detail his experiences with their communities: the harshness and poverty of their rural existence, the disciplines and contradictions of their religion, their hunger for land and work, and the constant struggle to keep the modern world at bay. This second edition, re-edited and re-sequenced includes forty new images from the photographer's archive.

"Originating in Europe in the sixteenth century, the Mennonites are a Protestant religious sect, related to the Amish. Rather than compromise their way of life they have continually been forced to migrate around the world to maintain their freedom to live as they choose. The greatest number of them are now to be found in Mexico, and many also live or regularly migrate to work in rural Canada. Magnum photographer Larry Towell first encountered the Mennonites near his home in Ontario, Canada, and his friendship with them has gained him unique access to their communities. He has been photographing Mennonites in Canada and Mexico for over ten years, creating a unique and intimate portrait of their way of life. In addition, Towell's own fascinating text tells us in poignant and descriptive detail of his experiences. With an artist's eye he paints a picture of their lives: the harshness and poverty of their rural existence, the disciplines and contradictions of their religion, their hunger for land and for work, and the constant struggle to keep the modern world at bay."--Front bookflap. "155 photographs of Old Colony Mennonites in rural Ontario and Mexico. Includes photographs from Lambton, Kent, Elgin, and Essex Counties (Ontario) and Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Durango, and Tamaulipas (Mexico). --