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In writing for the City Weekly, I never have the space to fully develop a real review that deals with all the issues a book will present. This is especially true of The William E. McLellin Papers. It's a great book, but I only had enough space to barely get started. I would prefer to write a more comprehensive, academic review - so stay tuned for where that may occur, but until then enjoy my shorty, punchy review.
Richard L. Bushman: Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism
Bushman's first JS bio.
Richard Lyman Bushman: Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Award winning biography from a Columbia University emeritus professor of history.
Dan Vogel: Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet
A pious/fraud interpretation from a detailed scholar.
Linda King Newell and Linda Avery: Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith
Great biography of the first wife of JS by two excellent scholars.
Fawn M. Brodie: No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
A seminal classic that began the serious study of JS life.
Big Love - The Complete First Season
The HBO series following the lives of modern polygamists in Utah.
B. Carmon Hardy: Doing The Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy : Its Origin, Practice, and Demise
An amazing collection of original sources relating to the practice and belief in polygamy, with commentary and introductions by the author.
Todd Compton: In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith
An award winning book providing the biographies of 33 of Joseph Smith's wives.
Brian C. Hales: Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism
An detailed study on Mormon fundamentalist polygamy in the 20th century.
Richard S. Van Wagoner: Mormon Polygamy: A History
A good introduction to polygamy from Joseph Smith to current practices.
Irwin Altman: Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society
How do modern polygamists live? This book will give some answers.
B. Carmon Hardy: Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage
A well written study of the history of Mormon polygamy.
Sarah Barringer Gordon: The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America
An award winning study about polygamy and the legal issues that resulted.
Will Bagley: Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows
The best recent study of MMM. An excellent book that is challenging and honest.
Judith Freeman: Red Water: A Novel
An amazing novel about the aftermath of the MMM seen through the eyes of the wives of John D. Lee.
Juanita Brooks: The Mountain Meadows Massacre
The groundbreaking book that changed Mormon history. A classic that every thinking person should read.
Dallas, glad to see you're back. I've always enjoyed your insights, and really enjoyed this article. It definitely taught me something I didn't know. Keep it up, and let me know when you write more articles, especially if they are mormon-related. I don't usually pick up City Weekly.
Posted by: Mormon Heretic | April 18, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Thanks for the review! My father actually gave me (and the rest of my family) copies of this book for Christmas last year. I wish I had more time to read stuff like this...
Posted by: adamf | June 07, 2008 at 11:43 PM