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13th out of 33 books
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66 voters
Secrets and Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy
What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists--not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBO's Big Love? We've seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts o...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published January 1st 2011)
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I had much higher expectations from this book than it reached, but still glad I read it. Bhattacharya managed a great deal of access to several of the organised polygamous groups around Utah and the US desert, and with a journalist's appreciation for who, what, when, where and why, his outline of the details of the groups and their relationships with each other alone makes the book worth reading.
It focuses mainly on the smaller groups - one of my frustrations was my interest in the AUB, which B...more
It focuses mainly on the smaller groups - one of my frustrations was my interest in the AUB, which B...more
Sanjiv more than anything, in my experience, connected. I appreciate this more than I can thank him for. Most writers, looking into, or escaping Mormon fundamentalism or polygamy, seem to have that big axe to grind or chop with. I'm fascinated by the way he looked into my own issues, since the whole story is sorta mine. He sorted it out for me. A cathartic experience I might add. Better than therapy. Sanjiv brought his own parallel quest into mysticism with hilarious, colorful, perspective to th...more
Fascinating look inside the the hidden world of US Mormon-based polygamy. This isn't the vanilla world of Sister Wives, or at least the little bits of that show I've managed to sit through. These are the groups that have 'compounds', entire towns, family trees that don't fork. Oh, and secrecy. The author spends a lot of time with hardcore believers to get inside their heads, and brings back a frightening, irreverent mix of notes about power, patriarchy, religious belief, freedom, and control.
Th...more
Th...more
I found this book fascinating but also quite depressing knowing this underworld exists. It rambled a bit too much and could have had a much heavier editing hand.
Bhattacharya, an atheist, sets out to try to comprehend the fringe elements of the LDS and presents to us the story of plural marriage as he understands it. Being East Indian, and an outsider, he stood out most places he went to research this book and encountered more than his share of closed doors. The doors he did get to open were allo...more
Bhattacharya, an atheist, sets out to try to comprehend the fringe elements of the LDS and presents to us the story of plural marriage as he understands it. Being East Indian, and an outsider, he stood out most places he went to research this book and encountered more than his share of closed doors. The doors he did get to open were allo...more
One of my favorite reads of the year, and a fresh take on a subject which has been nearly wrung-dry in most media. Some people will never get enough of the autobiographical "I escaped polygamy" genre, but I did, and the subset of those books which wind up with the author finding Jesus makes me cower in apprehension of the sequel, when the victim escapes their new cult.
But "Secrets and Wives" isn't like any of those books, nor like any non-fiction tome I've hefted on the subject. It's a personal...more
But "Secrets and Wives" isn't like any of those books, nor like any non-fiction tome I've hefted on the subject. It's a personal...more
I am enjoying the tone and pace of this book. WHile the subject is serious, one gets the feeling that the author does not take himself too seriously.
I just finished this book. It was a little daunting, the number of people that one had to keep straight, got to me at points in the reading. I also was a bit overwhelmed by the Mormon and fundamentalist Mormon doctrine.
The thing that sets this book apart for me, as a person who has read many works of nonfiction about Mormon polygamists in America,...more
I just finished this book. It was a little daunting, the number of people that one had to keep straight, got to me at points in the reading. I also was a bit overwhelmed by the Mormon and fundamentalist Mormon doctrine.
The thing that sets this book apart for me, as a person who has read many works of nonfiction about Mormon polygamists in America,...more
This is an excellent book but it's hard to say "liked it!". It is well-written and engaging. The author strives to present a view of some of the less well-known Mormon polygamous sects and communities, not just the Warren Jeffs/FLDS group that's been all over the media. And he does a good job, somehow gaining these people's trust (by and large) and gaining access to groups that had not spoken to any journalists before.
Be warned: This book contains some graphic descriptions of child abuse and its...more
Be warned: This book contains some graphic descriptions of child abuse and its...more
I enjoyed Sanjiv Bhattacharya's book. He didn't seem to have an ax to grind with the polygamist families. He did a lot of leg work and research in order to bring the reader a view of many of the polygamist cults in Utah. I felt his growth through the book. I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book as much as the middle and end because he seemed at bit too sarcastic, but as he learned more about the culture of polygamy, I saw his growth, and his sarcasm became tempered with understanding. I was gl...more
This book blew me away. You are immediately launched into an entirely intriguing and wholly bizarre world where prophets dictate their mini-societies, outsiders are looked on with suspicion, and the apocalypse is surely just around the corner. It's incredibly entertaining, often hilarious, but also is a story told with compassion. As the author penetrates the various polygamist communities, you get a real sense of the individuals and families whose lives have been formed around fundamentalist be...more
I didn't know what to expect when I started this but I really liked it. The documenting of the evolution of the Mormon Fundamentalist groups from inception to modern day is fascinating. And it goes deeper to include personal stories that had me laughing out loud or tearing up from one page to the next.
I think because the author is an atheist it gave him a different perspective on the polygamy issue than I've seen before. He didn't seem to have preconceived notions or judgements on the subject....more
I think because the author is an atheist it gave him a different perspective on the polygamy issue than I've seen before. He didn't seem to have preconceived notions or judgements on the subject....more
Done from a journalistic point of view, and you can see further in the book that he gets a little too involved with the subject. I was asking myself if referring to the pural wives he encountered in his book as "hot" was a breach of ethics, but reflexivity is important, I guess. As he was introduced to members of the community, and then refused access later in the book, he was approached by women to help them leave the community... I'll leave you to read what happens; just questionable ethics, a...more
An intriguing read about the various sects of the Mormon lifestyles. Sanjiv goes into detail about the creationism of Mormonism through their prophet Joseph Smith as was the splits between groups to form modern Mormonism, Foundamentalists, Centennial Park, The Order, and more. Through this journey, he also scraped up information on how ecah group views Polygamy. His research also leads him to a bit of self-discovery about what he believes. In my opinion, I felt that for an outsider, Sanjiv, did...more
Supposed to be a balanced look at polygamy as practiced by a few of the fundamentalist mormon sects and in some ways it does deliver, there is insight, but the author digresses...a lot. More history than you really care to read, all kinds of autobiographical tidbits leaving the reader thinking "that's nice...why don't you save this for when you write your autobiography". Cuz it was pretty irrelevant. Also there is a bit much of his opinion on things for my taste as well. So I did enjoy parts of...more
So about a third of the way through Secrets and Wives it went missing. I searched everywhere for it--through various rarely used handbags, bookshelves (both at home and at the library), behind the bed where many a book has in the past gone to die but nothing. It seemed to have vanished.
And then three days ago, I found it under a pile of to-be-dry-cleaned coats in my closet. Weird--which could pretty much sum up the disturbing but ultimately rewarding adventure that is reading it.
The thing is, i...more
And then three days ago, I found it under a pile of to-be-dry-cleaned coats in my closet. Weird--which could pretty much sum up the disturbing but ultimately rewarding adventure that is reading it.
The thing is, i...more
The author had limited access--despite his tenacity--trying to penetrate the secret world of polygamists. The writing was scattered and the stories, though individualized and personal, were more anecdotal in nature, stereotypical, and lacked real in-depth reportage.
The author goes off on a couple of personal rants that definitely, for me, took away from the core storyline. I didn’t discover any new information about this subject and was less than impressed with the final product.
The author goes off on a couple of personal rants that definitely, for me, took away from the core storyline. I didn’t discover any new information about this subject and was less than impressed with the final product.
If you really want to know about polygamy and the common thread between all of the polygamist sects, read this book! I have read so many books on the subject and this one is the best, hands down! Bhattacharya's insights are profound, his voice clear, and his honesty is refreshing. To have come from such a different culture and still have the ability to see through all of the cracks in this culture is amazing. Please read this book! You will be better educated for having done so.
Well written and surprisingly funny at points, Bhattacharya's in depth investigation of various polygamous Mormon sects in Utah is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in modern Mormonism, fundamentalism, and religious life in America. Hardly as sensational as Jon Krakauer's similar themed "Under the Banner of Heaven", Sanjiv Bhattacharya seems determined to remain objective and is present throughout the work as both a narrator and investigator. For the most part, his detachment is succ...more
I was surprised this book was as good as it was. I brought it home from the library on a whim. Thinking that I'd skim through it. Growing up mormon, and having read quite a bit of books from former FLDS members I thought there was nothing new I could learn. Wow. I had no idea there were so many groups out there. Many reviews say that Bhattacharaya rambled, but he didn't. The thing is, there's no way to make sense out of all of these polygamist groups. There's offshoots of the mainstream mormon c...more
This book was interesting but If someone is going to write about me they should let me know or at least ask for an interview. Let me speak for myself. Also Sanjiv protected Gary Kingston by not using his real name but he used his brothers name, Arthur. Also did he even ask Gary kingston for an interview or Kevin Foster. If he didn't he should have it would have been interesting to hear Kevin's and Gary's side of things.
I literally could not put this book down. Coming from such a limited background on the Mormon faith there was a lot of information to digest, and in turn, mull over. I cannot stress how appreciative I am of Bhattacharya's footnotes, the background research he listed in the book as a guide for those of us who like to do our own fact checking.
I thought this was such an interesting read. The title is a little misleading. It's really more a memoir of one man's journey through the weird underbelly of Utah than a sketch of polygamy. But, he is funny, sarcastic and honest about what he's seeing and feeling. I really found the snapshots into the different groups fascinating and frightening. Living in Salt Lake City made it especially disturbing.
The writer explores polygamy groups trying to understand by befriending members. I had no idea there were so many different groups that practice polygamy. The author gives an outside(meaning atheist & middle-eastern background) look at different groups. Sometimes a little irreverent too. There is a lot of the bickering and infighting that seems to be the norm in these groups. A little different perspective that most of the books on polygamy.
Written from the perspective of an outsider. I found it interesting that the world view of an English Hindu of Indian descent seemed comparatively familiar when contrasted with the strange and exotic perspectives of my fellow Americans practicing the first (and almost only) American religion.
I picked this up because I'm fascinated with modern-day polygamy. The author included a fairly broad range of interviews with members and former members of polygamist groups ranging from truly horrific child-bride stories to women who've lived the lifestyle happily for years. The three star rating is mainly a result of the snarky tone of the author...I would have judged it more highly if he'd been able to rein it in a bit.
Excellent book about fundamentalist Mormon polygamy. I liked reading it because it was a little bit more anecdotal and covers a lot of different Mormon polygamist groups even the lesser known ones. It was really entertaining and flowed well, I enjoyed it a lot.
The author does a nice job discussing the different polygamous groups living in the West and I enjoyed reading the interviews. I did not like how the author injected so much of his own life into the book. He made many snide comments and went on for an entire chapter about his own search for God. This was distracting from the purpose of the book as stated in the title.
This book was good. I like how the author tried to get information and interviews from several sects of the religion. Wish he would have been more lucky with the interviews but it was an interesting read.
A sad look into a number of fringe Mormon communities/cults. I almost stopped reading this because of the author's anti-religious sarcasm, but because of the unique subject matter, I finished and am glad I did.
Parts of this were fascinating, parts of it read like they had never been through the editing process. Still...it was interesting.
Title should include fundamentalist. Have read several books about these hideous cults, but still interesting and still trying to figure out how this can go on in America. American Taliban.
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