A new book by Folkartist and Hexologist Hunter M. Yoder, His fifth book on the subject of the Pennsylvania Dutch, their Folkart and their magical practices. 420 pages, Black and White interior, many photos of Hex Signs  Selections by Preston A. Barba, Edred Thorsson, Lee Gandee, Don Yoder, Richard Shaner, Russel R. Yoder and much much more...A fascinating collage of art, oral history, folk tales, scholarship and personal, family memory, Der Volksfreund provides unique insight into the mis-named Pennsylvania Dutch, the descendants of immigrants from the Rhine in the Eighteenth Century, to America. The author, an accomplished practitioner of the folk art of those people, and a product of their culture, makes illustrative use of his own work (largely in the form of his Hex Sign paintings and artifacts) and of his family history, and of the work of a number of contributors (including articles by his brother, scholar Russell Yoder, modern folk occultist Edred Thorsson (aka Stephen Flowers), articles from “Deitsch” newspapers from the 40’s (in Deitsch and English), and actual email conversations with fellow folk artists like Natalie Forn). Also included herein, recitations of the surviving versions of culture myth, including tales of the trickster Til Eileschpiggel, a Coyote-like character and depictions of modern sites of witchcraft and haunts.Robert M. JarrellA Cultural Celebration of the Pennsylvania Dutch by an Artist and Descendant A couple of days ago, I finished the reading of "Der Volksfreund - Hex Signs, Folktales and Witchcraft of the Pennsylvania Dutch", the fifth book on the subject by Folkartist and Hexologist Hunter M. Yoder.The 400 page provide a huge material covering most of the areas related to folk magic and hex signs peculiar to Pennsylvania, ranging from ancient local folktales to operative modern practices. Some hard to find and arcane documents also feature, along with many photos of Hex Signs old and new, and major texts.This book is a mine of information and I thank you very much Hunter Yoder for sending a copy to me and for including our conversation and some of my Hex Signs in Der Volksfreund! I feel very honoured." Nathalie Fórn