The following reading list of books and publications includes books that are out of print and only available through public libraries. Books marked with an asterisk (*) are available for sale at the Hancock Shaker Village Museum Store. Books can be purchased at the store, or ordered via phone at (800) 817-1137, ext. 246.

High School and above

  • *Abram, Norm. Mostly Shaker from the New Yankee Workshop. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1992.
  • Andrews, Edward Deming. The Community Industries of the Shakers. Albany, NY: University of the State of New York, 1933. Reprint. Charlestown, MA; Emporium Publications, 1972.
  • *Andrews, Edward D. and Andrews, Faith. Work & Worship Among the Shakers. Dover Publications, NY. 1982.
  • *Andrews, Edward D. The People Called Shakers. Dover Publications, NY. 1963.
  • Andrews, Edward Deming, and Faith Andrews. Shaker Furniture: The Craftsmanship of an American Communal Sect. 1937. Reprint. New York: Dover Publications, 1964.
  • Andrews, Edward Deming, and Faith Andrews. Religion In Wood: A Book of Shaker Furniture.Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press, 1966.
  • Andrews, Edward Deming and Faith Andrews. Visions of the Heavenly Sphere: A Study of Shaker Religious Art. Published for the Henry F. duPont Winterthur Museum. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1969.
  • Andrews, Edward Deming and Faith Andrews. Fruits of the Shaker Tree of Life: Memoirs of Fifty Years of Collecting and Research. Stockbridge, MA: The Berkshire Traveller Press, 1975.
  • *Andrews, Edward Deming and Faith Andrews. Masterpieces of Shaker Furniture. New York: Dover, 1966.
  • *Barker, Sister R. Mildred. The Sabbathday Lake Shakers. Sabbathday Lake, Maine: The Shaker Press, 1985.
  • *Becksvoort, Christian. Shaker Legacy. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT. 1998.
  • *Brewer, Priscilla J. Shaker Communities, Shaker Lives. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1986.
  • *Buchanan, Rita. The Shaker Herb and Garden Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1996.
  • Budis, Erin M. Making His Mark: The Work of Shaker Craftsman Orren Haskins. Old Chatham, NY: Shaker Museum and Library, 1997.
  • *Burns, Deborah E. Shaker Cities of Peace, Love, and Union: A History of the Hancock Bishopric. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1993.
  • *Burns, Amy Stechler, and Ken Burns. The Shakers: Hands To Work, Hearts to God. New York: Aperture Foundation, 1987.
  • *Campion, Nardi Reeder. Mother Ann Lee: Morning Star of the Shakers. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1976.
  • *Emlen, Robert P. Shaker Village Views. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1987.
  • *Goodwillie, Christian. Shaker Songs: A Celebration of Peace, Love, and Simplicity. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2002.
  • *Goodwillie, Christian and De Pillis, Mario S. Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2008.
  • *Gordon, Beverly. Shaker Textile Arts. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1980.
  • Grant, Jerry V., and Douglas R. Allen. Shaker Furniture Makers. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1989.
  • *Handberg, Ejner. Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire Traveller Press, 1973.
  • *Handberg, Ejner. Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture, Volume II. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire Traveller Press, 1975.
  • *Handberg, Ejner. Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture, Volume III. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire Traveller Press, 1977.
  • *Handberg, Ejner. Measured Drawings of Shaker Furniture and Woodenware. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire Traveller Press, 1980.
  • *Handberg, Ejner. Shop Drawings of Shaker Iron & Tinware. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire House Publishers, 1993.
  • Humez, Jean M., ed. Mother’s First-Born Daughters: Early Shaker Writings on Women and Religion. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1993.
  • Jackson, Barry. Making Shaker Furniture. East Sussex, England: Guild of Master CraftsmanPublications, Ltd., 1990.
  • *Kassay, John. The Book of Shaker Furniture. Amherst, MA: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1980.
  • *Kennedy, Gerrie, Galen Beale and Jim Johnson. Shaker Baskets and Poplarware: A Field Guide Vol. III. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire House, 1992.
  • Kirk, John T., The Shaker World: Art, Life, Belief. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997.
  • *Koomler, Sharon Duane. Seen and Received: The Shakers’ Private Art. Pittsfield, MA: Hancock Shaker Village, 2000.
  • *Koomler, Sharon Duane. Shaker Style: Form, Function, and Furniture. Hong Kong: Courage Press, 2000.
  • Lassiter, William Lawrence. Shaker Architecture: Descriptions with Photographs and Drawings of Shaker Buildings at Mt. Lebanon, New York, Watervliet, New York, West Pittsfield (Hancock), Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, 1966.
  • Lossing, Benson. “A Visit to the Shakers at Mt. Lebanon, NY.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine July, 1857. (Facsimile reprint), Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1989.
  • McGuire, John. Basketry: The Shaker Tradition. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1988.
  • *Meader, Robert F. W. Illustrated Guide to Shaker Furniture. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1972.
  • Miller, Amy Bess. Shaker Herbs: A History and Compendium. New York: Potter, 1976.
  • *Miller, M. Stephen. Marketing Community Industries 1830-1930: A Century of Shaker Ephemera. New Britain, CT: Dr. M. Stephen Miller, 1988.
  • Miller, M. Stephen. Inspired Innovations Hanover, NH & London: University Press of New England, 2010.
  • *Moser, Thomas. How to Build Shaker Furniture. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1979.
  • *Muller, Charles R., and Timothy D. Rieman. The Shaker Chair. 1984. 1st pbk. ed. Amherst, MA: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1992.
  • *Nicoletta, Julie. The Architecture of the Shakers. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press, 1995.
  • Paterwic, Stephen. Historical Dictionary of the Shakers Lanham, MD, Toronto & Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2008.
  • Patterson, Daniel W. Gift Drawing and Gift Song: A Study of Two Forms of Shaker Inspiration. Sabbathday Lake, ME: United Society of Shakers, 1983.
  • *Patterson, Daniel. The Shaker Spiritual. Princeton University Press, 1979 and New York: Dover, 2000.
  • *Promey, Sally M. Spiritual Spectacles, Vision and Image in Mid 19th Century Shakerism.Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN. 1993.
  • *Richmond, Mary L. Shaker Literature: A Bibliography. 2 vols., Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1977.
  • Rieman, Timothy D. and Jean M. Burks. The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993.
  • Rieman, Timothy D. Shaker: The Art of Craftsmanship. Alexandria, VA: Art Services International, 1995.
  • *Rieman, Timothy D. and Jean M. Burks. The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2003.
  • Rocheleau, Paul and June Sprigg. Shaker Built: The Form and Function of Shaker Architecture. New York: The Monacelli Press, 1994.
  • *Schiffer, Herbert, comp. Shaker Architecture. Exton, PA: Schiffer Publishing Limited, 1979.
  • *Shea, John G. Making Authentic Shaker Furniture: Measured Drawings of Museum Classics. Republication of The American Shakers and Their Furniture. 1971. New York: Dover Publications, 1992.
  • Simply Shaker: Groveland and New York Communities. Text by Fran Kramer. Rochester, NY: Rochester Museum and Science Center, 1991.
  • The Shakers: Pure of Spirit Pure of Mind. Duxbury, MA: Art Complex Museum, 1983.
  • Sprigg, June and Larkin, David. Shaker: Life, Work, & Art. Stewart Tabori & Chang, NY. 1987.
  • Sprigg, June and Jim Johnson. Shaker Woodenware: A Field Guide Vol. I. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire House, 1991. (Oval Boxes and carriers, dippers, sieves, pails and tubs)
  • Sprigg, June and Jim Johnson. Shaker Woodenware: A Field Guide Vol. II. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire House, 1992.
  • *Stein, Stephen J. The Shaker Experience in America. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. 1992.
  • Swank, Scott T. Shaker Life, Art, and Architecture: Hands to Work, Hearts to God. New York: Abbeville Press, 1999.
  • Thrasher, William. Kindred Spirits: The Eloquence of Function in American and Japanese Art of Daily Life. San Diego, CA: The Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art, 1995.
  • *Thurman, Suzanne R. “O Sisters Ain’t You Happy?” Gender, Family, and Community Among the Harvard and Shirley Shakers, 1781 – 1918. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2002.
  • Wergland, Glendyne. Isaac Newton Youngs: One Shaker Life Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2006.
  • Wergland, Glendyne R. “Our Shaker Ancestors,” NEHGS New England Ancestors, 7.5-6 (holiday 2006): 21-27.
  • Wergland, Glendyne R. Sisters in the Faith: Shaker Women and Equality of the Sexes(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2011).
  • Wergland, Glendyne R. Visiting the Shakers, 1778-1849 (Clinton, N.Y.: Richard W. Couper Press, 2007).
  • Wergland, Glendyne R. Visiting the Shakers, 1850-1899 (Clinton, N.Y.: Richard W. Couper Press, 2010).
  • Wetherbee, Martha, and Nathan Taylor. Shaker Baskets. Sanbornton, NH: Martha Wetherbee Basket Shop, 1988.
  • *White, Anna, and Leila S. Taylor. Shakerism: Its Meaning and Message. Columbus, OH: Press of Fred J. Heer, 1905.

Middle School and above

  • Butler, Linda. Inner Light: The Shaker Legacy. Frankfort, KY: Gnomon Press, 1996. (Paperback reissue of 1985 edition)
  • *Coleman, Win, ed. The Shakers. Carlisle, MA: Discovery Enterprises, 1997.
  • *Gaeddert, Louann. Hope. (fiction) New York: Atheneum Books, 1995.
  • Mahoney, Kathleen. Simple Wisdom. Shaker Sayings, Poems and Songs. Penguin Press, NY. 1993.
  • *Miller, Amy Bess. Hancock Shaker Village: The City of Peace – An Effort to Restore a Vision,1960-1985. Pittsfield, MA: Hancock Shaker Village, 1984.
  • *Miller, Amy Bess and Persis Fuller. The Best of Shaker Cooking. New York: Macmillen Publishing, 1970.
  • *Morse, Flo. The Shakers and the World’s People. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1980.
  • *Morse, Flo. A Young Shaker’s Guide to Good Manners. Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press, 1997.
  • *Pearson, Elmer R. and Julia Neal. The Shaker Image. Second and annotated edition. Annotations by Magda Gabor Hotchkiss. Pittsfield, MA: Hancock Shaker Village, Inc., 1994.
  • Wertkin, Gerard C. The Four Seasons of Shaker Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1986.

Elementary School and above

  • *Bessacarr Prints. Look at the Shakers . Doncaster, UK, 1994
  • Ray, MaryLyn. Shaker Boy. NY: Browndeer Press, 1994.
  • *Ott, John Harlow. Hancock Shaker Village: A Guidebook and History. Pittsfield, MA: Shaker Community, Inc., 1976.
  • Sprigg, June. By Shaker Hands. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975.
  • Sprigg, June. Shaker Design. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art in Association with W. W. Norton and Company, 1986.
  • Thorne-Thomson, Kathleen. Shaker Children: True Stores and Crafts. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1996.
  • Thorne-Thomson, Kathleen. A Shaker’s Dozen Counting Book. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999.
  • *Turner, Ann. Shaker Hearts. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1997.
  • *Van Kolken, Diana and Kuhlman, William A. Illustrator. Introducing the Shakers: An Explanation & Directory. Gabriel’s Horn Press. 1985.

Recent Fiction About the Shakers

  • Hinnefeld, Joyce. Stranger Here Below. Unbridled Books, 2010.
  • Woodworth, Deborah.  Dancing with the Dead. New York: Avon, 2002.
  • Woodworth, Deborah.  A Deadly Shaker Spring. New York: Avon,  1998.
  • Woodworth, Deborah.  Death of a Winter Shaker. New York: Avon, 1997.
  • Woodworth, Deborah.  Killing Gifts. New York: Avon,  2001. (set at Hancock, 1930s)
  • Woodworth, Deborah.  A Simple Shaker Murder. New York: Avon,  2000.
  • Woodworth, Deborah.  Sins of a Shaker Summer. New York: Avon, 1999.