What does it mean to be Mennonite in the modern world? And what is the witness of a peace church that is always at risk of splintering? C. Henry Smith--son of an Amish family, erudite historian, urbane bank president, and pioneer of Mennonite scholarship--sought answers to these questions in the middle of the 20th century, and his answers reverberate through the church to this day.

In this engaging narrative biography, historian Perry Bush chronicles Smith's childhood in an Illinois farming community, his youthful turn toward intellectual inquiry, and his confidence that Anabaptist...

What does it mean to be Mennonite in the modern world? And what is the witness of a peace church that is always at risk of splintering? C. Henry Smith--son of an Amish family, erudite historian, urbane bank president, and pioneer of Mennonite scholarship--sought answers to these questions in the middle of the 20th century, and his answers reverberate through the church to this day.

In this engaging narrative biography, historian Perry Bush chronicles Smith's childhood in an Illinois farming community, his youthful turn toward intellectual inquiry, and his confidence that Anabaptist...