The Mountain Meadows Massacre
by Juanita Brooks
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 42)
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 ...more
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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 figure, with impeccab...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 impeccab...more
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Read in April, 2007
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.
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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.
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