"Here was the New World home of the Community of True Inspiration, founded in 1855 by a people who quit the Old World's persecution and ventured west seeking the opportunity to worship God in their own way. Their way was communal--from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. There were 25,000 rich acres, and each member--of German, Swiss, and Alsatian ancestry--handed down his skills from father to son, from mother to daughter, in the Old World tradition. Thus were manned the farms, woolen mills, meat smoking plants, furniture factory, wineries, community kitchens, and other industries. In 1932, by a vote of the people, the Amanas dropped the cdommunal way and took the great step into the system of free enterprise that surrounded them." From introduction, p. vi.