“What a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of a respected editor in the Mennonite Church! Along the way we get an insider’s view on church politics, wry comments on matters large and small, funny anecdotes, and theological musings. I probably averaged two chuckles a page.”
—Steve Shenk, Director of Communications, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

“Here Dan Hertzler tells about life—his life, congregational life, and institutional life in the Mennonite Church. In his off-hand yet direct style Hertzler lets us in on the fascinating, occasionally messy, yet richly rewarding story of his adventures from a Depression farm boy to the inner reaches of the Mennonite Church.”
—Wayne North, Retired Pastor, Harrisonburg, Virginia

“Dan mentored a generation of us into writing for denominational publications and hence into deeper commitments to the church, thereby extending his editorial impact beyond what any one person could accomplish alone.”
—Keith Graber Miller, Professor of Bible, Religion, and Philosophy, Goshen (Ind.) College

“Wryly Hertzler admits that ‘editorials, like sermons and the evening news, are eminently forgettable,’ yet he hopes his editorials may have moved readers along. This book will also move readers along in understanding Mennonite journalism”
—Katie Funk Wiebe, Professor Emerita, Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas

Summary: Where does an editor come from? Daniel Hertzler grew up during the 1930s on a hard-scrabble farm in eastern Pennsylvania. He went to college after a World War II-era farming interlude, where he learned editing while working on the Eastern Mennonite College Yearbook. Though he never took a formal course in journalism, Hertzler refined his editing abilities with a wide-ranging education and long-time service in many editing roles at Mennonite Publishing House. In this engagingly offbeat and often humorous memoir, Hertzler tells of his editing years, his larger life story, and how his theological and philosophical positions have come to place him just "a little left of center."

Shelving: History—memoir, Anababaptist, Mennonite; Editing; Publishing. BISAC: Autobiography; RTM: 170 Autobiography.

Market: Anyone interested in a wise and witty recounting of one editor's life and publishing experience.

The Author: Daniel Hertzler, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, has been office editor of Mennonite Community Magazine and editor of Christian Living, Builder, Gospel Herald, and a variety of Christian education publications. He is now an instructor for Unit II of Pastoral Studies Distance Education and editor for Pandora Press U.S.

Publisher: Pandora Press U.S. (copublished and codistributed by Herald Press)
Imprint: DreamSeeker Books
Publication date: August 31, 2000
Approximate Pages: 184
Price: $13.95 ($20.95 in Canada)
Format: 5 3/8 x 8 1/4 trade paper
ISBN: 0-9665021-7-5

A Little Left of Center orders:

• Pandora Press U.S. Online Order Form
• Pandora Press U.S., Herald Press, and other order options
• Credit card orders through A Little Left of Center page, MennoLink Online Bookstore