Publications

The Courts and the Colonies:
The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes
A detailed account of a protracted dispute arising within a Hutterite colony in Manitoba, when the Schmiedeleut leaders attempted to force the departure of a group that had been excommunicated but would not leave. This resulted in about a dozen lawsuits in both Canada and the United States between various Hutterite factions and colonies, and placed the issues of shunning, excommunication, legitimacy of leadership, and communal property rights before the secular courts. What is the story behind this extraordinary development in Hutterite history? How did the courts respond, and how did that outside (state) law relate to the traditional inside law of the Hutterites?

“A good read.”  J. Mark Ramseyer, Harvard Law School, The Mennonite Quarterly Review
 
“Professor Esau blends painstaking research, inspired story-telling, balanced critique, and shrewd commentary in this book.” John McLaren, University of Victoria, Historical Studies in Education
 
“The Courts and the Colonies is an informative discussion ... It is a valuable addition to Hutterite studies specifically ... more generally the book has important things to say about the legal status of all communal religious societies in North America.”  Rod Janzen, Fresno Pacific University, Great Plains Research
 
“Esau has done all of us a good service by documenting the various chapters of this sad saga in a careful yet sensitive manner. This book undoubtedly deserves a much wider reading audience than it will receive.” John W. Friesen, University of Calgary, Utopian Studies.
 
“[The Courts and the Colonies] was riveting, and we found it hard to put down each night when time came to turn off the light and catch forty winks.”  Anglicans Online
 
“Anyone thinking the secular courts can solve a church conflict should read this book before launching such action. It is a sobering cautionary tale.”  Presbyterian History
 
“Esau’s references to these factors in the social and economic context and his understanding of the theological issues supplement his thorough analysis of the legal issues and specifically the question of freedom for religious groups. Together, they make this a most valuable book.”  William Janzen, Ottawa Office of Mennonite Central Committee Canada, Canadian Historical Review
 
“This landmark study explores the irony of pacifist Hutterites using the courts to solve an internal conflict. It is a major contribution to scholarship on Anabaptist communities. Carefully researched and judiciously fair, Esau’s study provides a rare view inside Hutterite life and conflict.”  Donald B. Kraybill, Senior Fellow, The Young Center for Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown College and author of On the Backroad to Heaven
 
“Esau is to be commended for this thorough review and assessment of the complicated story of Hutterites and their lawsuits.” Marlin Jeschke, Goshen College, Mennonite Weekly Review
 
“…this volume is to be warmly recommended.” Thomas Heilke, University of Kansas, Law and Politics Book Review
 
“Esau has made a major contribution to the literature dealing with Hutterites and the legal issues that are inherent in communal life.” John C. Lehr, University of Winnipeg, Canadian Ethnic Studies
 
“…this work is as close to an objective description of the facts as one might ever hope to find of such a rancorous series of events.” Lori Beaman, Concordia University, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
“Esau’s careful and trained eye records this conflict in detail, making it a book one cannot but read page by page.” Royden Loewen, University of Winnipeg, Manitoba History
 
“This is an excellent book that discusses the dangers of legal proceedings for Hutterite theology and institutions.” Rod Janzen, Fresno Pacific University, Journal of Mennonite Studies
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The Gorilla Man Strangler Case
​The hitchhiker seemed harmless. He was dressed in a blue suit and a colorful sweater, accessorized with a grey cap and tan shoes.