Resources for Book Clubs and Discussion Circles

The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania is a wonderful selection for your book club or discussion circle—especially for groups interested in the history and material culture of southeastern Pennsylvania. 

You will find many resources on this website to facilitate your conversations, including hi-res, color images of artworks discussed in The Word in the Wilderness and episodes of Cloister Talk: The Pennsylvania German Material Texts Podcast that offer further insights into topics covered in the book.  Click the “Contact the Author” tab to inquire as to the possibility of inviting the author to present to your group. 

Copies of The Word in the Wilderness may be purchased directly from the Pennsylvania State University Press at a 30% discount off of the list price.  Learn more here.

Below are links to interactive PDF versions of The Word in the Wilderness Official Study Guide, which you can download in print-ready format or a format designed for viewing in your web browser.


​Image credit: Engraved image found on the “Katalog von schätzbaren Deutschen Büchern, herausgegeben und zum Verkauf bey Georg W. Mentz und Sohn...Philadelphia,” (“Catalogue of Valuable German Books, Published and available for Sale by Georg W. Mentz and Son...Philadelphia”), bound with Johann Arndt, Sechs Bücher Vom Wahren Christenthum..., (Philadelphia: Georg W. Mentz und Sohn, 1834), BR120 A74w, Winterthur Library.