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6th out of 23 books
—
19 voters
The Mountain Meadows Massacre
In the Fall of 1857, some 120 California-bound emigrants were killed in lonely Mountain Meadows in southern Utah; only eighteen young children were spared. The men on the ground after the bloody deed took an oath that they would never mention the event again, either in public or in private. The leaders of the Mormon church also counseled silence. The first report, soon aft...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
May 15th 1991
by University of Oklahoma Press
(first published October 28th 1985)
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I thought the author did a wonderful job of laying out the underlying currents of a pending war with the United States, and the paranoia and suspicions of the Mormons of the outside world. As well as the simmering animosity they had, because of their experience in Missouri at the hands of some of the immigrants on the trail through Utah, at this tense time in the relationship between the U.S. and the Mormons. Juanita Brooks having grown up a Mormon in Southern Utah shortly after this time as a c...more
The Mountain Meadows Massacre is something most people have probably never heard of before - unless you're a Mormon or had ancestors who were part of the massacred Fancher wagon party. This book was the first to seriously attempt an honest investigation of the massacre, unflinchingly seeking the truth. What makes it even more remarkable is that it was written by a loyal and faithful Mormom woman who stubbornly followed the facts of the story, regardless of the consequences. And these potential c...more
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This was my first in-depth study of the Mountain Meadows massacre. I knew very little about the incident previous to reading this book and now I feel much more aware of the conditions within the Mormon Church as well as in the state of Utah, etc., leading up to the massacre. I think Juanita Brooks did a great job describing the local atmosphere and attitudes previous to, during, and after the massacre, and she cited available sources whenever possible. She showed how the tension and fear in Sout...more
Juanita Brooks grew up in a Mormon community in southern Utah and this was, in her biographer's words, "the book she was born to write." She was the first to undertake a scholarly, historical exploration of the horrific 1857 massacre which wiped out some 120 men, women, and children. She wrote with the intention "neither to smear nor to clear" the participants, who (likely) included her own grandfather. The book's publication in 1950 broke new ground and was the first comprehensive account of th...more
I thought this book was very hard to read because of the constant changes in font due to the collection of notes from various sources. The footnotes were sometimes the size of the page. I must admit that I don't believe in the Mormon Church, so I went into the book with a pre-conceived notion that the Mormons who performed this act were evil. I continued through the book and I began to realize that I could understand the way that they felt after the murdering of innocent Mormon men and boys at H...more
Though dated, this is still considered by historians to be the "classic" work on the massacre (at least until fall 2008 when Turley's book comes out). Juanita received a lot of flak for daring to write a book that laid at least partial blame at the feet of pioneer church leaders and members. She never had action taken against her by Church authorities, even though not everyone agreed with or cared for her conclusions. I found the book to be as objective as it could be, considering the volatile s...more
Juanita Brooks was a wonderfully brave woman to have composed this book at a time when the massacre was commonly thought of as either having never happened, or simply "an Indian Massacre." The readership of this book owes a great deal to Brooks' great contribution to historical scholarship. Few historians have attempted to dissect the Mountain Meadows Massacre without coming away with polemic bias or ignorance. By all counts, Juanita rose above the cynicism in producing such a great work.
This book is completely biased, which is understandable considering a Mormon wrote it. It completely leaves out valuable facts and history about LDS, and is trying too hard too pull at everyone's heart strings. The author basically pretends that Joseph Smith did nothing wrong, and that Mormons were prosecuted for absolutely no reason. What's disappointing is that many people actually think this is a valuable historical account of Mountain Meadows, and are reviewing it as that on this website.
This monograph chronicles the infamous butchery of a pioneer wagon train by fanatical Mormons in pre-statehood Utah. It is written by a Mormon historian, and is considered the definitive work on the event. Unfortunately, the massacre accounts for only about one third of the text. The rest is all Mormon genealogy. Consequently, it is a truly painful read. It's really a shame, because the actual story of the massacre is absolutely fascinating.
Jon Krakauer thinks highly of this book... I think he mentioned her dogged attention to historic detail. I wasn't crazy about it. Her storytelling (yes, I know this is non-fiction) isn't particularly compelling, and she mentions a lot of people without properly introducing them -- perhaps assuming a deeper, broader knowledge of Mormon history than I have. And I may not be a Mormon scholar, but I've been reading a lot on the subject!
Juanita Brooks took a huge risk in writing this book. She was once a practicing member of the Mormon faith, and when she decided that she could not keep the secret quiet anymore, she wrote this explosive book. I was riveted from the first page, and could not put it down.
Anyone that loves history, will love this book!
Anyone that loves history, will love this book!
A friend of mine summed it up best when his youngest daughter of 10 asked him, "You don't believe Brigham Young was a prophet?", He didn't know that she had been cluing in on his feelings, and so he was caught unprepared to respond. He simply responded, "He may have been involved with murder."
I read this as research for a paper I wrote on Rene Girard's theory of ritual violence. This book is less the story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre--ending as it does, with the execution of John D Lee two decades later, it is more *his* story.
Lee's story, told by Brooks, fits the Girardian scapegoat very well:
- violence and trouble between the Mormons and the Federal government continued to escalate, and there was no clear resolution of the MMM.
- he was a princely figure, with impeccable creden...more
Lee's story, told by Brooks, fits the Girardian scapegoat very well:
- violence and trouble between the Mormons and the Federal government continued to escalate, and there was no clear resolution of the MMM.
- he was a princely figure, with impeccable creden...more
From the standpoint of establishing historical context in which the massacre occurred the book is very good. There is however so much contradictory testimony that I doubt that the truth of what happened and by whom will ever be clear. Well-written in any case.
The subject of my freshman year writing class. Man, I wrote a lot of papers about this book. Ground-breaking, but full of what doesn't stand by modern history standards.
A must read. More detailed reports are now available, but this is the book that got the ball rolling.
Interesting to read this book after the recently released "Massacre at Mountain Meadows" by Walker et al.
an excellent historical account of the events. I would recommend this to mormons and non mormons alike.
Before reading, you
Should know some Utah events:
Helped me understand.
Should know some Utah events:
Helped me understand.
Very accurate description of a tragedy.
Such a sad tale!
1857 Mormon massacre of the Fancher Company wagon train.
I grew up in St. George and I had always heard about the massacre but had not spent the time to read about it. After reading Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" it rekindled my interest on this subject. I found it to be a very interesting book. Brooks did a great job of placing the reader in the moment which allows the reader to decide for themselves where to place blame for the events.
I've read all the books I can find on Mountain Meadows Massacre, and this was the first, and considered the standard. What it lacks is what all the others lack, any conclusive evidence of what actually happened. There are many different accounts of the incident, none consistent with any other, and none totally convincing. I wish we could find out what really happened.
It is hard to separate the historical importance of this book from the reading experience. Juanita Brooks bravely opened up a chapter of LDS history that needed to be discussed, though it took another half century for the LDS mainstream to follow her lead (hence the 2008 book Massacre at Mountain Meadows). A quick, terrible, and fascinating read.
I had just finished the biography of Juanita Brooks and wanted to read some of her work so I read this one having grown up in the area. I knew Lee's descendants and wanted to know more. But this book lacks something that I am finding in the latest book that just came out. I also was disturbed by some of Juanita's methods.
Juanita Brooks' writing style is a bit weak but her book is very informative. Brooks is to be commended for presenting the facts as they stand and not jumping to extreme conclusions; however, even after reading her book unanswered questions still remain.
Hard to follow. Read like court papers.
Sometimes weak on writing style but unquestionably a groundbreaking work of lasting significance.
Living in St George Ut when I read this book and went to visit the site.
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