No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn M. Brodie

Aug 22, 2007 Cat rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: culturalhistory

Well, I'm not a scholar on Mormonism, nor a Mormon, so I think my perspective is a little different then the detailed reviews below. I read this book because after I read "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Krakauer, I was like, yeah, Mormonism is interesting. This book is THE book to read if you want a clear picture of Joseph Smith.

Of course, people nit-pick, but I know an engaging, well-written book when I read one, and this is an engaging, well-written book.

Some of the chapters I like best inclu...more Well, I'm not a scholar on Mormonism, nor a Mormon, so I think my perspective is a little different then the detailed reviews below. I read this book because after I read "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Krakauer, I was like, yeah, Mormonism is interesting. This book is THE book to read if you want a clear picture of Joseph Smith.

Of course, people nit-pick, but I know an engaging, well-written book when I read one, and this is an engaging, well-written book.

Some of the chapters I like best included her documentation of the "Great Revival" and how that influenced Smith as a child; her portrait of the young Joseph Smith is amazingly interesting; and her documentation between the establishment of the temple ritual and Smith's fascination and free masonry.

I think the less interesting (and likely less historically accurate) information comes during her coverage of the Nauvoo fights over polygamy and exocommunication. That doesn't detract from the excellence of the book.

Writing history is a subjective experience, anybody looking for objective truth from historical biography might as well stick to reading his or her bible. If you're interested in the life of Smith in a non-relgious sense, you might also enjoy the Cremaster cycle by Matthew Barney. Or that might totally freak you out.

The story of the life of Joseph Smith is as interesting as that of any early American one would think to name. I really would recommend this book to anybody looking to gain a better grasp of Mormonism.

You might also want to check out Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner. That book was commissioned by the WPA and is a fairly folksy and well written account of Mormon life in the early twentieth century. It is also readily and available and cheap.

Also, there's a whole sub-genre of Mormon true crime. Check out "Salamander", "The Prophet of Death" or "THe Poet and the Murderer". Not to mention the classic Norman Mailer book about Gary Gilmore "The Executioner's Song".

This is a problem I've noticed with trying to pick up books on Mormonism: they're pretty scarce and expensive. I guess that's a testament to the faith of the flock.
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Nov 10, 2007 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion, history-philosophy-science, mormon-history

This book was not the anti-Mormon expose I thought it might be. In fact, I was surprised by how generous Fawn Brodie was with Joseph Smith. Despite her own religious skepticism, she seemed to have a real affection for Joseph Smith and his people. Where many writings about him are propaganda intended either to promote or crush faith, her agenda was to understand the man.

I was impressed by the wealth of information she had access to back in the 40’s. I’ve read a bit about early LDS church history...more

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Jun 26, 2007 Danna rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: adventure seekers & history buffs

Shelves: tellingtruthtopower

You want the real skinny? Faun Brodie dishes it out in engaging and painstakingly documented research (if you don't know who she is, she's the historian who at one time was dismissed as a pop historian, that is until DNA proved the gal knew exactly what she was talking about: she declared Jefferson had children with his slave, with evidence from his letters that showed a direct correlation between his new and constant use of "mulatto" when describing his land to the estimated time he took up wit...more

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Jun 09, 2008 Clint rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, religion

I was interested to read a book on Joseph Smith that was written by what I hoped would be a mostly non-biased non-LDS author. I came to realize rather quickly that this author was extremely biased. Upon further research I learned that she was an ex-mormon with her own self-justifying bias. It was clear from the portions I read that her portrayal of Joseph was fueled by a very one-sided predetermined agenda.

A much better biography is Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.

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Apr 08, 2009 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is really all you could ask for in a biography, and it is really deserving of the five stars. Incredibly well researched, great mix of general sweep and specific detail and anecdote, very readable. I would love to read her other books as well.
A practicing Mormon would probably not enjoy this book, because the thesis presented here is that Joseph Smith did not receive the book of Mormon in a revelation guiding him to golden plates, but rather made it up off the top of his head. That's the i...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Garry Wilmore rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am more than a little reluctant to confess to having read this book, since I am a practicing Mormon, and in the culture of my church, No Man Knows My History is regarded as an abomination and a work of the rankest sort of heresy. But I decided to read it anyway, partly because I knew it is highly regarded in literary circles and by most historians, and partly just to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I hasten to note at the outset of my review that this book had only a negligible imp...more I am more than a little reluctant to confess to having read this book, since I am a practicing Mormon, and in the culture of my church, No Man Knows My History is regarded as an abomination and a work of the rankest sort of heresy. But I decided to read it anyway, partly because I knew it is highly regarded in literary circles and by most historians, and partly just to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I hasten to note at the outset of my review that this book had only a negligible impact on my religious faith and that I disagree with the author's main thesis, which is that Mormonism is essentially the product of Joseph Smith's (supposedly) feverish and overwrought imagination. To cite only one reason for my view, I have read the Book of Mormon about 75 times, and simply do not believe that an unlettered 23-year-old living on the American frontier in the 1820s could have produced such a work on his own.

That being said, I was actually rather pleasantly surprised by the book as a whole. First of all, I found it to be exceptionally well-written, and I can respect an author who loves the English language and knows how to use it, even when, as in this case, I do not agree with her conclusions. The book is well-researched, although the author herself admits that there exists an abundance of contradictory source material about Joseph Smith and the origins of Mormonism -- an admission which, by its very nature, suggests that she may have been less than objective in deciding which of those sources she herself would use. In addition, although an apostate Mormon herself, the author does have several good things to say about the church and its lifestyle; for instance, she writes favorably of the emigration system created by Brigham Young, and generally gives Mormons credit for being a decent, clean-living, and civilized people. But how such things could have been spawned by a fraud is something Mrs. Brodie does not adequately explain.

She gives extensive treatment to the origins of polygamy. I admit to finding this troubling; but then, polygamy in general is a troubling and, frankly, rather embarrassing subject, even to most Mormons. (Speaking for myself, I wish it were not part of our history at all, and I want nothing to do with it, either in this life or the next.) But I do not find the subject to be any more troubling here than it is in other works dealing with Mormon history. Simply put, polygamy is a part of our history that will never go away, and Mrs. Brodie does not have the last word on it. But then, who ever will?

I found this book to be a page-turner, and I read all of it in less than a week. And I do not rule out the possibility that I might read it again, although I think that is rather unlikely. Many of Mrs. Brodie's conclusions are quite obviously based on conjecture, and as noted above, she never provides an adequate explanation of how such an enduring and respected organization and culture could have resulted from such murky and questionable beginnings. While I do not recommend No Man Knows My History, I also do not believe it is likely to do serious harm to anyone with an intellectual bent who is also well-grounded in the Latter-day Saint faith. For the record, I have no regrets about having read it myself.

I give this book three stars, recognizing, as I do, its virtues, while at the same time profoundly disagreeing with some of its most important conclusions. (less)

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Tom Cameron, If you decide to read this book, be prepared to potentially struggle in your faith. I've thought about the common notion that the BoM is true...more
09 jan. 20:17

Cameron I am used to reading things that people do not agree with. I have had my faith shaken before but I do not think I should go through life with just loo...more
11 jan. 12:22

Apr 30, 2008 Jamie Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think this is an informative, well-written book about the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. I was semi-active in the LDS church when I was young, attending church services occasionally and graduating from their four year seminary education in high school, but I no longer consider myself a Mormon. This book illuminates many things about Joseph Smith and the early Mormon church that I was never taught in my youth. For instance: Joseph had at least three different accounts of the "first vision"; he ra...more

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Jul 19, 2007 Kristine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Fuck.

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Feb 10, 2013 Becky Weaver rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating portrait of a man, his family, and his times. Not being a religious person myself, I don't really care whether Smith was a prophet, charlatan, religious genius, or all of the above. People are complex and almost infinitely deep. But I'm fascinated by idealistic founders, people who set out to create a separate and better society, and by the workings of the communities their ideas create.

Brodie describes an energetic, charismatic man who was able to capture the zeitgeist and assemb...more

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Aug 19, 2012 David Orr rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the Mormon (LDS) Church and U.S. history. The story of Joseph Smith is one that must be understood in some detail to gain real insight into the cultural background of Mormons and of the entire American West. Most people have very limited knowledge of Mormon theology and of the way that the LDS Church developed; yet it's not really possible to understand a significant piece of what it means to be an American today without understand...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would like some time to think about this review before I write too much. Having said that, I am deeply moved by the expanse of this book. Many of the other critical examinations of Joseph Smith Jr reference this book, and for good reason. This book offers a rich reserve of source material that could easily take the scholar to the next level.

There are conclusions made that I wish had been stated more as speculation, but I can understand this. I have also read from others, that they feel like s...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Vernon rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started this book when I was about halfway through "Rough Stone Rolling." I found that this was a much more interesting read. At first Brodie's narrative tone was rather grating, as if she was trying to hard to imagine what it was like to be in Joseph's shoes. But by the end, I was either got used to it or she wasn't so obnoxious. It feels much more like a novel than a biography. There were parts of it that I just could not put it down because it was so disturbing. But I think partly it was th...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brodie's research into the history of Joseph Smith offers people a glimpse into the life of a man some consider a prophet, and others a charlatan. Brodie uses court records, diaries, books, and interviews to flesh out his life. She presents a young man molded by the Great Awakening, the yearnings of a visionary family with a penchant for story telling and dabbling in treasure seeking, peep stones, and dowsing. The official church websites offer an altered view of the historical Joseph Smith. One...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Lietta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Useful reading for me. I'm not likely to learn what I'm looking to learn about Joseph Smith in the orthodox LDS venues, and since this church relies so heavily on Joseph Smith as the prophetic originator of this religion, I wanted to learn about the man, not the idealized version as is taught within the LDS Church. I couldn't help but wonder, upon completion of the book, what about it causes it to be considered a book of disrepute within the Mormon culture. I found it to be a useful biographical...more

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Feb 14, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read Richard Bushman’s “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling” and Fawn Brodie’s “No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith” together to get two differing viewpoints on the events in Joseph Smith’s life. Both books were informative and provided information that would have been lacking had I read only one of the books. Brodie’s book has a reputation for being anti-Mormon (she was excommunicated from the LDS church after writing it), so it surprised me how similarly both books presented vari...more I read Richard Bushman’s “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling” and Fawn Brodie’s “No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith” together to get two differing viewpoints on the events in Joseph Smith’s life. Both books were informative and provided information that would have been lacking had I read only one of the books. Brodie’s book has a reputation for being anti-Mormon (she was excommunicated from the LDS church after writing it), so it surprised me how similarly both books presented various topics. Bushman’s book maintains a neutral viewpoint throughout, and equally portrayed Joseph’s successes and foibles. Brodie’s skepticism is obvious when talking about the First Vision and polygamy, but the rest of her book is far from the apostasy that I had been led to expect – she presents Joseph’s human side and portrays both the pro-Mormon and anti-Mormon viewpoint of the occurrences in Joseph’s life. Bushman’s book is better-written and more detailed, but Brodie’s excels when describing the drama of the Haun’s Mill massacre, his incarceration in Liberty Jail, his triumphal return after being arrested in Nauvoo for treason in Missouri, and his ultimate martyrdom.

Some of my take-away points:

1. Joseph's leg infection as a kid was much more of a big deal than the happy story we learn about in primary. It took him years to heal and the trauma likely affected him for the rest of his life, both physically and emotionally.

2. Money and politics played huge roles in what happened to Joseph and the church. Mormons were a huge voting bloc and swayed elections in Missouri and Illinois. People got mad when Joseph promised the Mormon vote to both sides and didn't come through. Finances caused the church to leave Kirtland, and Joseph and the church were constantly in debt.

3. Polygamy was seriously messed up, at least the way it was introduced and practiced. It is (for me) a huge stretch to believe that God sanctioned the secrecy, heartache, dishonesty, lying, and weirdness that went on in Nauvoo.

4. Joseph Smith is human. He wasn't a good judge of people's intentions, had a temper, and definitely could have used a financial planner and PR person. But he was a great leader, showed love to everyone, preferred peace over war, developed some amazing theological ideas, and left a lasting impact on human history.
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Jan 18, 2012 Timothy Hallinan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn't have sought out a biography of Joseph Smith, first prophet of the Mormon church and reputed discoverer of the reputed gold tablets from which the Book of Morman supposedly came. But it was recommended to me by a woman who had done a dazzling job of arranging an author visit to Mendocino -- booked me somewhere, including television, every hour -- and then she sent me a copy.

Amazing book. Fawn Brodie, whose name was known only vaguely to me, had a gr...more Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn't have sought out a biography of Joseph Smith, first prophet of the Mormon church and reputed discoverer of the reputed gold tablets from which the Book of Morman supposedly came. But it was recommended to me by a woman who had done a dazzling job of arranging an author visit to Mendocino -- booked me somewhere, including television, every hour -- and then she sent me a copy.

Amazing book. Fawn Brodie, whose name was known only vaguely to me, had a great American prose style. There's hardly a paragraph in the book that, if opened to at random, wouldn't seize the reader's attention, and then hold it. I opened it at random three or four times before I committed to reading it, and I think the average time before I closed it again was 25-30 minutes.

And what a story. First, there's a remarkable description of "the burned-over district" in upstate New York where half the indigenous American religions (including the Mormons and the Seventh-Day Adventists) were born. (For another great exploration of the burned-over district -- so-called because the fires of revival swept it so often -- read Frances Fitzgerald's A CITY ON A HILL.) Brodie is especially clear on the mindset and spiritual convictions of the Dissenters: they believed that those who did not join a church were held to be wrong by all who had joined a church, while those who did join a church were held to be wrong by all those who belonged to different churches. Thus, they believed, "the inner life was a law unto itself; the freedom and integrity of religious experience must at all costs be preserved." (Brodie's words.)

What fertile ground for a young man with a boundless imagination. The story of how Joseph Smith, barely out of his teens, found the golden tablets and from them dictated the Book of Mormon, and the extraordinary flights of fancy he took until he was brought down by the nonspiritual and decisively less imaginative day-to-day world is the stuff of sagas. Brodie is practically inside Smith's mind from time to time (aided by the hundreds of thousands of words he left behind) and while the Mormon Church was negative about the book, it seems unlikely to me that all Mormons believe in the physical existence of the Tablets anyway, and what matters are the rules for life and worship Smith left behind.

Just a wonderful piece of work. For the patient, though; it runs almost 500 closely set pages.(less)

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Sep 19, 2011 Wells T. rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a starting point I confess I am somewhere on the order of a seventh generation member of the Church Joseph Smith founded. I am, I would like to think, genetically a “Mormon.” And yes, it is not without irony that I admit my predicament.

In understanding my approach to “No Man”, one must consider that Brodie was excommunicated from the Church after publishing the book and never returned. She was the niece of Church President David O. McKay. Some members of the Church felt she used her implicit...more As a starting point I confess I am somewhere on the order of a seventh generation member of the Church Joseph Smith founded. I am, I would like to think, genetically a “Mormon.” And yes, it is not without irony that I admit my predicament.

In understanding my approach to “No Man”, one must consider that Brodie was excommunicated from the Church after publishing the book and never returned. She was the niece of Church President David O. McKay. Some members of the Church felt she used her implicit connections with Church leadership to access information and Church records which would otherwise have been off limits. To then use this access and publish uncomfortable information regarding Joseph Smith justified her excommunication in the eyes of many Mormons.

As such, one might understand how some Mormons have looked at Brodie’s book with distrust, if not outright disgust. The general suspicion among membership of the Church seems to be that the book was written by an anti-Mormon seeking to embarrass the Church by way of exposing its founder. Mere mention of reading the book is tantamount to apostasy in some circles of the Church.

Having attempted to at least recognize my bias (not that confession absolves me), my overall impression of Brodie’s book is one of reaffirmation. It may be that current teaching practices within the Church have sheltered (removed) the more controversial elements of Joseph Smith’s life from Sunday School, Priesthood and Relief Society. Thus some readers are appalled at some particulars of Joseph Smith’s life. Nevertheless, avoidance of thorny issues does not eliminate those areas from historical existence. There is nothing to fear from truth.

The portrait of Joseph Smith resounds with depth, nuance, and warmth. There is nothing contained in “No Man” that members of the Church should find shocking. Most contentious issues are at least peripherally known (or should be known) to the membership at large. I found it very stimulating to look anew at events in Church history and wonder that occurrences from the near distant past can still resonate with so many.

Does Brodie bring to light difficult information regarding the translation of the Book of Mormon, Polygamy, and the events that lead to Joseph Smith’s death? Yes, of course. However, she does so in a manner that allows the reader the liberty to draw inferences in accordance with their own conscience.

In addition to drawing light to those events that might be disconcerting to some members of the Church, Brodie also relays much which could be faith promoting. On the whole I applaud her attempts to honestly navigate a history which attracts polemics.

Brodie’s approach can be summarized in her perceptive recognition that Joseph Smith’s greatest flaw was the audacity of founding a new religion in the age of the printing press. It is not difficult to imagine the weight and momentum written material would gain where the subject is one of eternal truth or vile invention, prophetic utterances or delusional manipulations, eternal glory or everlasting oblivion. Such is the natural trajectory where the founding documents and lives of a religion are left in an abundance of written records.

If you are comfortable with your position on the Church and are not looking for a confirmation of the divinity, or lack thereof, of the subject matter, I humbly submit that you will find much enjoyment in the pages of Brodie’s work.

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Jun 16, 2010 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book primarily because one of Trent's co-workers was reading it. He had just finished reading Bushman's book (who is a believer that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God) (which I also just reviewed) and was now reading this book to get the opposite perspective (Brodie being a non-believer). This book was tricky to find at the library. Ultimately I had to order it from the UCONN library system and do an inter-library transfer. So it is certainly not very readily available to those who m...more

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Feb 06, 2010 Michael Andersen-Andrade rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book helped answer my question: Why did my paternal ancestors join the Mormon Church in the 1830's and 40's. The answer? They fell for the charms of a charismatic, narcissistic and sociopathic "prophet". One of my ggg grandfathers signed the deed of the family farm over to him, and one of my ggg grandmothers hid him in her flour bin to save him from the vengeful mob. Several generations later my grandparents had the good sense to finally leave the church when they could no longer swallow fa...more

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May 25, 2009 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

Joseph Smith was born to a poor farm family in Vermont in 1805. Despite his lack of education, hard-scrabble upbringing, and early run-ins with the law, by the time he was lynched by a mob at the age of 38 he had founded what may be the only truly American religion. "No Man Knows my History" is the definitive tale of Smith's life.

Fawn McKay Brodie is no Mormon herself, she does not believe in what Joseph Smith preached, and she does not dwell deeply on the spiritual development of Latter-day Sa...more Joseph Smith was born to a poor farm family in Vermont in 1805. Despite his lack of education, hard-scrabble upbringing, and early run-ins with the law, by the time he was lynched by a mob at the age of 38 he had founded what may be the only truly American religion. "No Man Knows my History" is the definitive tale of Smith's life.

Fawn McKay Brodie is no Mormon herself, she does not believe in what Joseph Smith preached, and she does not dwell deeply on the spiritual development of Latter-day Saints. Instead, she digs deep into newspaper archives, personal letters, first-hand accounts, property documents, diaries and court filings. From these, she extracts a life history that has often been distorted by Mormonism's advocates and opponents.

Joseph Smith was no mere self-promoting fraud, as his detractors have claimed. Nor does Brodie believe that his was the life of a prophet. He was a deeply imaginative and charismatic man whose dreams fueled frauds in his youth. When he dreamed up the Book of Mormon, and then contrived to write it down and distribute it, everything began to change.

From a modern outsider's perspective, the book may seem absurd. But in the first half of the 19th century, it seemed to answer many mysteries within a broader Christian context through which its readers already viewed the world. As the book brought followers and inspired missionaries, Joseph Smith's literary work became the cornerstone of faith for tens of thousands of people.

As his following grew, however, so did his hubris. This hubris, as well as many political missteps, led Smith and his anointed inner circle down paths that outraged the non-Mormons around them. They controlled the use of property of church members - and repeatedly made bad investments or were swindled. They suppressed dissenting views, excommunicating apostates and destroying a printing press. They used religious influence to tell members how to vote. They opposed slavery when they settled in a southern state - a dangerous mistake in the decades before Civil War. And as these men grew powerful they began, in secret, to marry many, many women, and develop religious underpinnings for these practices.

Time and time again, Smith and his followers alienated themselves from the normal people around them to such a degree that they had to move to avoid violence - or in response to it. As his following grew late in his life, Smith's confidence grew, too, and he did not leave his final settlement fast enough.

When Smith died, Mormonism was still a young movement. It could have dissipated like other religious convulsions of the era. That it did not is a testament to Brigham Young, who wrested control of the church after its founder was martyred. Unlike Smith, Young could manage money, think logistically, and balance the political demands of church leadership with its spiritual requirements. But that's another story, one which Brodie hints at but does not tell.(less)

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Apr 22, 2009 Tyler rated it 5 of 5 stars

I hope this book is not totally out of favor with believing Latter-day Saints, because Brodie's look at the life and person of Joseph Smith is as good as it gets. Bushman's book is good too, but seems too concerned with putting Joseph in the right light. Bushman seems to minimize topics like polygamy and the Book of Mormon, and too often relegates things to footnotes when they don't fit the story he wants to tell.

It's amazing to me now that Fawn Brodie was so demonized at the time for her portra...more

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Sep 01, 2011 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read Rough Stone Rolling shortly after it was released upon hearing that it would replace Brodie's biography as "the" definitive biography of Joseph Smith. However, Bushman did not seek to replace Brodie's work, but rather have it upon the shelf next to her work. If Bushman had high esteem for her, then surely I could give her a chance.

I walk while I read. I read while waiting for servers to reboot, or for long documents to print at work. I work with several faithful LDS people and was at firs...more I read Rough Stone Rolling shortly after it was released upon hearing that it would replace Brodie's biography as "the" definitive biography of Joseph Smith. However, Bushman did not seek to replace Brodie's work, but rather have it upon the shelf next to her work. If Bushman had high esteem for her, then surely I could give her a chance.

I walk while I read. I read while waiting for servers to reboot, or for long documents to print at work. I work with several faithful LDS people and was at first very embarassed to be reading this and have the cover showing. I have been told from a young age from my father that this book was essentially of the devil. I did see a few raised eyebrows. But nonetheless, I read threw it and ignored the looks I received.

I was pleasantly surprised and a little saddened by the book. I was saddened because of how many LDS people would benefit from reading the book and having a much firmer grasp upon the historical surroundings of Smith and the actions through the journals, affadavits, and legal documents of the time. I have read three sets of biographical works of Smith: Richard Bushman's "Rough Stone Rolling", B.H. Robert's "History of the Church", and now this volume. I now feel that I am starting to get a handle on what Joseph Smith was about and what my religious views are in relation to him, his teachings, and his claims of revelatory powers.

What I love, outside of religion, about Joseph Smith is the enigma that he is. His claims were so extraordinary and his life so complex and incredibly eventful that it becomes difficult to place a single descriptor to his name. One cannot call him a simple con-man anymore than one can simply call him a prophet. There are layers deep and every person, when presented with facts from several perspectives, must make their own judgments of this unusual character in American history.

Brodie's work does not merely dismiss him as a con-man, but rather as someone who set out to get rich through literature and eventually found himself in religion with followers (due to his charisma), grew into a prophet of his own making, and eventually grew to large and self-destructed.

Her work has one fundamental flaw and I'm not sure whether it is her fault: She assumed that the "History of the Church", which was written in first person by B.H. Roberts, was written by Joseph Smith. So the premise that he was hiding information from his history was incorrect, because it was Roberts being a selective historian. It places some of her conclusions (but certainly not all) on spurious grounds. While B.H. Roberts's work is certainly whitewashed in controversial events (specifically early Mormonism, translation of the book of Mormon, and finally Polygamy) it is exhaustive in many other senses and doesn't hide Joseph's personality nor infighting within the LDS church.

I'm going to end my review here, because I think from this point it moves beyond Brodie's book. Fascinating work and has given me MUCH to think about.(less)

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Jun 05, 2010 Scott Smith rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mormonism, history

When Brodie quotes original sources and explores the historical context of Joseph’s life, the book is interesting. She did groundbreaking historical research at the time (1st published in 1945). However, she follows up her research with what I can only describe as a psychoanalytic editorial robed in the context of history. The motives she ascribes to Joseph are sometimes contradictory to each other and usually disagree with or are antithetical to what Joseph and other witnesses closest to Joseph...more

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Jul 12, 2012 John Otto rated it 4 of 5 stars

Who was the first Mormon to run for president? No, not Willard "Mitt" Romney, but the founder of Romney's church, Joseph Smith. I wanted to read this book precisely because I am curious about the origins of Mormonism, considering that the Republican candidate for president this year comes from an illustrious Mormon family and was a bishop in the church, the head of the Boston "stake" (what would be a diocese in Catholic terminology.)

This is an objective book, as objective as a book can be whose...more Who was the first Mormon to run for president? No, not Willard "Mitt" Romney, but the founder of Romney's church, Joseph Smith. I wanted to read this book precisely because I am curious about the origins of Mormonism, considering that the Republican candidate for president this year comes from an illustrious Mormon family and was a bishop in the church, the head of the Boston "stake" (what would be a diocese in Catholic terminology.)

This is an objective book, as objective as a book can be whose subject is a fraud, a liar, a convicted swindler and a child molester. Smith started out his career by swindling land owners into paying him to locate buried treasure. He was tried and convicted for that. Even if you believe his preposterous story about finding golden tablets, which he could never show anyone, who contained stories pretty much plagiarized wholesale from other accounts extant in his day of the lost tribes of Israel being the ancestors of the Indians, the proven lies he repeatedly told as head of the Mormon church makes any straight-forward account of his life seem like it's picking on him.

Some of the more egregious lies were the ones he told about his sexual practices. It is well documented that he repeatedly seduced women by convincing them that God had commanded them to "marry" him and that it included girls as young as 14 and 15. These "marriages" were not conducted as one might think a religious prophet who believed he was commanded by God to engage in polygamy would conduct them. These were not marriages conducted in the open "in front of God and these witnesses" with women who then became part of his household. They were done in secret, some with women who were already married and who continued to live with their "earthly" husbands, and he repeatedly denied that he was doing it to his wife and the bulk of his church members.

Although Mormons claim to be Christians, Smith didn't teach the familiar Jesus who urged his followers to renounce earthly possessions and to turn the other cheek when oppressed. Smith had his own militia, with himself as the "Brigadier General" and they were ordered to turn the earth red with the blood of those who persecuted them. At Nauvoo, IL, the scene of the death of Smith at the hands of an outraged mob, he controlled all of the land. He bought it at low prices and sold it at inflated prices to followers coming to the town. Smith ran for President of the United States and told some of his followers that God had told him he would be "King of the World."

So, what does all this have to do with Willard "Mitt" Romney? He comes from a background and religious tradition where deception is part of the heritage. Look at the way he is running for president and then read this book. It's all part of who Romney is.

Yes, I believe in freedom of religion. I don't have a problem with electing a man president of the United States who believes in myths which I cannot accept. I don't have a problem with electing a man president who believes in or even practices polygamy. Polygamy has at least as much support in the Bible as monogamy. But, I do have a problem with electing a man as president whose religion is based on fraud, lying and sexual predation.(less)

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Oct 24, 2009 Hyrum rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's obvious from the start that Brodie is biased against the official LDS church "approved history", and so many of her opinions are to be taken with that in consideration. However, the historical facts she presents are very interesting and well worth the time to read.
She does a great job at presenting her historical information mainly due to how she rates the credibility of her many different sources. She quotes directly from diaries and official records without the illusion that everything...more

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May 01, 2009 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't read this book for a long time because I was told it was anti-mormon literature, which I do not read. However, this book is well researched and backed up by a plethora of sources. Because of her relationship to David O. McKay, Brodie was actually granted access to church documents never before revealed. Although Fawn's spin of the prophet does color the book, I was fascinated with the faults and strengths of the prophet she relates that are only hinted to in Sunday school.
It is amazing...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Jefferson Cloward rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: religious

Written originally in 1945, this book survives the test of time in it's relevance to Joseph Smith's history. Mormon authors still cite it as a counterpoint to their conclusions, "Brodie concluded Smith had 49 wives, but it is better to err on the side of caution," and antagonists like to quote it to challenge the missionaries who just knocked on their door, "Have you heard of ____." Though some have attempted to cast this under the "anti" bus by stating that Brodie was on her way out of Mormonis...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Lon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Two kinds of readers will be disappointed by this classic biography and a third delighted.

1. Readers looking for a lurid exposé revealing a shocking concatenation of debauchery will be disappointed. While Brodie clearly doesn't attribute her subject's every sneeze and hiccup as a perfect manifestation of God's will, she is extremely even-handed in her treatment and is fairly generous when imputing motives to the Mormon prophet's actions.

2. Conversely, readers looking for a biography that present...more Two kinds of readers will be disappointed by this classic biography and a third delighted.

1. Readers looking for a lurid exposé revealing a shocking concatenation of debauchery will be disappointed. While Brodie clearly doesn't attribute her subject's every sneeze and hiccup as a perfect manifestation of God's will, she is extremely even-handed in her treatment and is fairly generous when imputing motives to the Mormon prophet's actions.

2. Conversely, readers looking for a biography that presents only the white-washed and faith-promoting stories they've soaked up in Sunday School, that bolsters their belief and fortifies their faith, that unabashedly proclaims on every page that the Gospel was Restored with perfect fidelity through the divine instrumentality of Joseph Smith, a peerless mortal who "has done more (save Jesus only) for the salvation of men in this world than any other man that ever lived"; these readers will be outraged or, perhaps, dazed and confused to read that Joseph, too, was human with roughly the same admixture of virtue and vice as the rest of us.

For these honest but naive seekers, a better initiation to the unvarnished life of Joseph Smith would be Rough Stone Rolling, by Richard Bushman. That work presents a much less vigorous and less dynamic human being, but Bushman takes care, when he presents the subject's occasionally unseemly behavior, to help the reader digest the unsavory with generous and faith-protecting explanations whenever possible.

3. A third group of readers will welcome the book's even-handed approach. We know the Church has, understandably, concealed certain unsettling and discomfiting aspects of Church history from its members, but we've already been introduced to most of those problems already. What we want is a fair treatment of a remarkable but flawed human being who did some amazing things--some laudable, some quite blush-worthy. We don't want significant aspects of his life concealed--such as the secretive marriages to other men's wives and daughters--but we also don't want distortions and grossly exaggerated caricatures. In my opinion, No Man Knows My History presents a portrait of Joseph Smith that neither distorts nor Photoshops the man.

Like Juanita Brooks, Fawn Brodie was vilified by the LDS community for what was considered unforgivable disloyalty to the Church. This was three quarters of a century ago and a frank telling of the Church's history was akin to openly discussing your grandpa's infidelities at his funeral . . . in front his grieving widow! We've come a way since then--and in many ways Brodie and Brooks paved the way for this generation's historians--but there still exists an acute insecurity prevailing in LDS culture that, Bush-like, renders everything into being either for us or against us. So when a writer says, for example, that "Smith claimed that the biblical Garden of Eden was in present day Missouri," many Mormons get apoplectic because the word "claimed" implies his pronouncement was a subjective assertion, instead of a authoritative declaration of fact. Some still prefer a tidy, binary world of pure good and pure evil, to the extent that they will shut their eyes to anything that challenges that dichotomy. But the world is changing. This book helps.

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Mar 13, 2011 Tanya W marked it as to-read

Said to contain many of the same historical facts as Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling... but the point of view is that of an unbeliever. My initial opinion is that this book has been given more of a "bad rap" than it deserves. I think it can be a good thing to work to understand people who are "former members" of the LDS community. I'll offer more commentary after I read it.

My position before reading the book is that Joseph Smith was a prophet called by God to do a significant work... that of rest...more

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Jun 16, 2008 Brett rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone who wants to understand JS

This is a must read for every Mormon and Mormon researchers. This expands the horizon and opens the mind to the life of Joseph Smith. A fascinating and entertaining read. Fawn Brodie had insights that many have come to respect and proved her self a worthy historian with her other well respected and accurate works as well. Anyone researching Mormon history should read this first.

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