In the Fall of 1857, some 120 California-bound emigrants were killed in lonely Mountain Meadows in southern Utah; only eighteen young children were...
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Feb 22, 2011
Brien
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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
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Aug 02, 2008
Rae
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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
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Aug 02, 2010
Tyler
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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 wo
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Mar 27, 2010
Rayne
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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.
Mar 14, 2009
Stacy
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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.
May 07, 2009
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."
Jul 13, 2008
John
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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 figur 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 figur More...
Jun 06, 2010
Mary
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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.
Jun 05, 2010
Clay
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A must read. More detailed reports are now available, but this is the book that got the ball rolling.
Oct 08, 2009
Rick
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Interesting to read this book after the recently released "Massacre at Mountain Meadows" by Walker et al.
Apr 12, 2009
Janelle
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an excellent historical account of the events. I would recommend this to mormons and non mormons alike.
Jun 18, 2007
Garett
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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.
Jul 07, 2008
Jason
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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.
Dec 17, 2009
Heather
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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.
Nov 15, 2008
Joan
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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.
Apr 07, 2010
Mike
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Sometimes weak on writing style but unquestionably a groundbreaking work of lasting significance.
Jan 19, 2009
Boni
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Living in St George Ut when I read this book and went to visit the site.
Feb 06, 2012
Feb 03, 2012
Jan 24, 2012
