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No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
The first paperback edition of the classic biography of the founder of the Mormon church, this book attempts to answer the questions that continue to surround Joseph Smith. Was he a genuine prophet, or a gifted fabulist who became enthralled by the products of his imagination and ended up being martyred for them? 24 pages of photos. Map.
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1945
512 people are currently reading
6726 people want to read
About the author
Fawn M. Brodie
14 books58 followersFawn McKay Brodie (September 15, 1915 – January 10, 1981) was a biographer and professor of history at UCLA, best known for Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History, a work of psychobiography, and No Man Knows My History, the first prominent non-hagiographic biography of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Raised in Utah in a respected, if impoverished, Latter-day Saint (LDS) family, Fawn McKay drifted away from religion during her years of graduate work at the University of Chicago and married the ethnically Jewish national defense expert Bernard Brodie, with whom she had three children. Although Fawn Brodie eventually became one of the first tenured female professors of history at UCLA, she is best known for her five biographies, four of which aim to incorporate the alleged insights of Freudian psychology.
Brodie's controversial depiction of Joseph Smith as a fraudulent "genius of improvisation" has been described as a "beautifully written biography ... the work of a mature scholar [that] represented the first genuine effort to come to grips with the contradictory evidence about Smith's early life." Her psychobiography of Thomas Jefferson became a best-seller and reintroduced Jefferson's slave and purported mistress Sally Hemings to popular consciousness even before advances in DNA testing increased evidence of a sexual liaison. Nevertheless, Brodie's study of Richard Nixon's early career, completed while she was dying of cancer, demonstrated the hazards of psychobiography in the hands of an author who loathed her subject.
Raised in Utah in a respected, if impoverished, Latter-day Saint (LDS) family, Fawn McKay drifted away from religion during her years of graduate work at the University of Chicago and married the ethnically Jewish national defense expert Bernard Brodie, with whom she had three children. Although Fawn Brodie eventually became one of the first tenured female professors of history at UCLA, she is best known for her five biographies, four of which aim to incorporate the alleged insights of Freudian psychology.
Brodie's controversial depiction of Joseph Smith as a fraudulent "genius of improvisation" has been described as a "beautifully written biography ... the work of a mature scholar [that] represented the first genuine effort to come to grips with the contradictory evidence about Smith's early life." Her psychobiography of Thomas Jefferson became a best-seller and reintroduced Jefferson's slave and purported mistress Sally Hemings to popular consciousness even before advances in DNA testing increased evidence of a sexual liaison. Nevertheless, Brodie's study of Richard Nixon's early career, completed while she was dying of cancer, demonstrated the hazards of psychobiography in the hands of an author who loathed her subject.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 442 reviews
August 9, 2014
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 fairy tales about buried golden plates, translated Egyptian scrolls and a "white and delightsome people". Fawn Brodie does a brilliant job of researching and portraying Joseph Smith in all his complex glory and hubris. I found myself liking Joseph Smith, in spite of his lies, delusions and manipulations. But when he began endangering the lives of his followers and covering up and denying his polygamous marriages I realized how sociopathic he really was. The only "miracle" that Joseph Smith performed was to hoodwink millions of LDS followers to believe in his fantasies.
November 10, 2007
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, and it seems that succeeding biographies have added only details to her impressive work. Even Bushman’s biography which came out last year adds little to what she wrote, and she was the better writer (note that Bushman’s book is still in my “currently reading” folder – it is very well-documented and thorough, but it is a bit of a slog).
At first I was skeptical of the usefulness of her commentary. She is the type of biographer who is unafraid to insert her own ideas. Given the inflammatory nature of her topic, I wondered if she would have done better to just state the facts and let them speak for themselves. But I came to appreciate her narrative. Any work is in some way a reflection of the author, and in writing this book Brodie convinced me that she was a sensitive, intelligent person possessed with academic integrity. I respect her enough to want to know what she thought about her subject.
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, and it seems that succeeding biographies have added only details to her impressive work. Even Bushman’s biography which came out last year adds little to what she wrote, and she was the better writer (note that Bushman’s book is still in my “currently reading” folder – it is very well-documented and thorough, but it is a bit of a slog).
At first I was skeptical of the usefulness of her commentary. She is the type of biographer who is unafraid to insert her own ideas. Given the inflammatory nature of her topic, I wondered if she would have done better to just state the facts and let them speak for themselves. But I came to appreciate her narrative. Any work is in some way a reflection of the author, and in writing this book Brodie convinced me that she was a sensitive, intelligent person possessed with academic integrity. I respect her enough to want to know what she thought about her subject.
November 25, 2014
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.
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.
January 30, 2019
This is an older book, and still very relevant! Being born and raised a Mormon, these are some things that have been hidden and purposely not mentioned to anyone following this religion. We are now in an age of free thinkers, and this is all coming to light, and it is so needed for so many people. This is hardly the place to get on a soap box, and I know that other people in other religions may feel the same, but please people if you are going to follow, follow with knowledge. Educate yourself and make sure that you understand what you are giving your life for. The author did a wonderful job on this biography, and she gave all her references that I will be looking further into. This is also a great read for anyone that loves history and just wants to learn what the Mormon religion is all about. I wish I would have found this sooner.
August 22, 2007
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.
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.
January 4, 2010
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.
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.
June 26, 2007
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 with Sally Hemming, his paramour and slave. Interesting note: When discussing slavery, Jefferson also stated in his letters that "if there is a just God, we are damned." Brodie also bats the powers that be about the ears with her book about the Mountain Meadows Massacre). In addition to being a great romp into a charasmatic historical figure, I like "No Man" for personal reasons - it isn't very often that one's relatives are interesting enough to make it into the history books.
April 8, 2009
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 issue here. If you dislike that theory, then you will dislike this book. But this book is absolutely not anti-Mormon, and isn't even anti-Joseph Smith. On the contrary, I finished this book liking Joseph Smith an awful lot. As portrayed here, he was clearly brilliant, charismatic, energetic, incredibly loyal to his friends and family, a born leader, and a man who honestly wanted the best for people. He had his faults, including a tendency to overreach his power and try to influence state and national government. But really, as this book makes pretty clear, the only really big problem was the polygamy issue. If it hadn't been for that one issue, everything else could pretty easily have been taken care of; polygamy was the issue that really hurt him, and it continued to cause problems for the church for decades until they finally did away with it.
But if you can forgive him the polygamy thing, it seems like Joseph was really a great guy. Playing with local kids, entertaining dignitaries, giving great sermons, building cities. This was the kind of guy who grows up to be president, except he outdid most of the presidents. He created a religion that fulfilled the needs of thousands of people in his lifetime, and fulfills the needs of millions of people now. Any man who creates a faith that works that well for people is deserving of being called a prophet.
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 issue here. If you dislike that theory, then you will dislike this book. But this book is absolutely not anti-Mormon, and isn't even anti-Joseph Smith. On the contrary, I finished this book liking Joseph Smith an awful lot. As portrayed here, he was clearly brilliant, charismatic, energetic, incredibly loyal to his friends and family, a born leader, and a man who honestly wanted the best for people. He had his faults, including a tendency to overreach his power and try to influence state and national government. But really, as this book makes pretty clear, the only really big problem was the polygamy issue. If it hadn't been for that one issue, everything else could pretty easily have been taken care of; polygamy was the issue that really hurt him, and it continued to cause problems for the church for decades until they finally did away with it.
But if you can forgive him the polygamy thing, it seems like Joseph was really a great guy. Playing with local kids, entertaining dignitaries, giving great sermons, building cities. This was the kind of guy who grows up to be president, except he outdid most of the presidents. He created a religion that fulfilled the needs of thousands of people in his lifetime, and fulfills the needs of millions of people now. Any man who creates a faith that works that well for people is deserving of being called a prophet.
April 15, 2022
Fawn Brodie went above and beyond to write a book that's so well researched that I hardly have the words to describe how amazing it is. Mrs. Brodie, TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!
Seriously though, THIS is how you write a book. I knew it was going to be good long before I opened it, and it just blew me away from the first page. I love this woman's writing style so much.
I know how the Mormon Church feels about No Man Knows My History, and for that reason I respect the author even more. She had no reason to lie while writing, and decided that publishing this was more important than staying in the church.
Throughout the course of the book, it became very clear to me how people became enamored with Joseph Smith and chose to follow him no matter what.
It's easy to like him at the start, Brodie did an excellent job showing the reader just how charismatic he was, and creative. Then as the book goes on it's interesting to see how Joseph changes, how he starts to see himself and what great lengths he's willing to go to, in order to achieve his visions.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Mormonism or Joseph Smith, you'll find plenty of information between the pages, most definitely.
Seriously though, THIS is how you write a book. I knew it was going to be good long before I opened it, and it just blew me away from the first page. I love this woman's writing style so much.
I know how the Mormon Church feels about No Man Knows My History, and for that reason I respect the author even more. She had no reason to lie while writing, and decided that publishing this was more important than staying in the church.
Throughout the course of the book, it became very clear to me how people became enamored with Joseph Smith and chose to follow him no matter what.
It's easy to like him at the start, Brodie did an excellent job showing the reader just how charismatic he was, and creative. Then as the book goes on it's interesting to see how Joseph changes, how he starts to see himself and what great lengths he's willing to go to, in order to achieve his visions.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Mormonism or Joseph Smith, you'll find plenty of information between the pages, most definitely.
June 16, 2010
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 might want to read it. (but a huge shout out to libraries!!!! I certainly feel like they are one of the best ways to spend our countries resources!)
I had not ever heard of this book. So I started by reading some of the reviews here on Goodreads. Most people enjoyed reading this book. I was surprised that there were a few reviews -- where the people admit not reading the book but entirely condemn it because they know that she writes as a non-believer and was ultimately excommunicated for writing it.
However, upon reading both Bushman's and Brodie's books, I think even perhaps Bushman might have been excommunicated for his book -- In the 50's the Mormon church was not quite so open about embracing things in the past. But a lot has changed since then. They are much more open. It sounds like Brodie had to kind of sneak around the church archives to gain access to the information she needed whereas Bushman was given full access to it.
Because I read the 2 biographies sort of in tandem, I will be primarily comparing and contrasting the two.
Bushman's book is long, tedious, and very academic in its style. While the writing is well done it just does not translate into the most enjoyable read-- Very interesting to read but by no means a page turner.
To contrast, I must say that Brodie's book was very much written in a more novel style -- if that is a style. It read quickly and fluidly and often I didn't want to put it down.
Bushman is an active member of the LDS faith and therefore tells the story of Joseph Smith's life and visions and revelation as a believer.
Despite their 2 perspectives, they really tell the same story. One as a believer and one a non-believer. Their facts do not differ, but their explanations of Joseph's motives and inner thoughts do.
I was initially quite surprised while reading Brodie's book to find her tone extremely respectful and very much in admiration of Joseph Smith as an individual and all that he accomplished. She just simply doesn't believe that he had a relationship with God and therefore has to explain the origins of all his ideas and his motives. Interestingly, in some ways -- because she see Joseph Smith as just a man -- not a prophet -- she is far more willing to put his flaws into perspective with the times and focus on his accomplishments.
On the flip side, because Bushman believes Joseph Smith did indeed have a prophetic calling, he spends a lot of time trying to explain the doctrines and justifying how a prophet of God could be so mislead in financial and personal issues. It reads often in a very apologetic tone.
They both do a lot of explaining -- but about different things and from opposite perspectives.
I truly can't say I liked one book more than the other. I enjoyed comparing them. I really feel like both authors tried their best to present the facts of Joseph's life and then they both explained them through their own shades of glasses.
I found so much about Joseph Smith's life fascinating and some of it quite frankly revolting.
So where do I stand?? I hesitate to state my opinion -- but I really fall somewhere in between the two. I believe that God calls prophets, but I also believe that they are just men. I think there are times that Joseph truly acted in the name of God and there are many times he acted according to his own will. Like the prophets in the Bible, (Moses and David come to mind) God at times directs their paths but often they are left to their own talents and abilities -- and as men make mistakes and also have great triumphs -- all on their own.
I am perfectly comfortable having a very imperfect founder of the church I belong to, because I have always relied on my own spiritual experiences and promptings. Unfortunately, I think many LDS people would find either book quite a challenge to their own faith. That said, part of me loves that Joseph Smith was so imperfect -- because (especially today in the LDS church) the "desire to appear perfect" often runs amok in peoples lives and perceptions. As I believe that each of us can have a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ, I feel strongly that perfection in any aspect of our life is not a pre-requisite to spiritual experience. Far too many people spend too much of their time feeling unworthy of such things.
I had not ever heard of this book. So I started by reading some of the reviews here on Goodreads. Most people enjoyed reading this book. I was surprised that there were a few reviews -- where the people admit not reading the book but entirely condemn it because they know that she writes as a non-believer and was ultimately excommunicated for writing it.
However, upon reading both Bushman's and Brodie's books, I think even perhaps Bushman might have been excommunicated for his book -- In the 50's the Mormon church was not quite so open about embracing things in the past. But a lot has changed since then. They are much more open. It sounds like Brodie had to kind of sneak around the church archives to gain access to the information she needed whereas Bushman was given full access to it.
Because I read the 2 biographies sort of in tandem, I will be primarily comparing and contrasting the two.
Bushman's book is long, tedious, and very academic in its style. While the writing is well done it just does not translate into the most enjoyable read-- Very interesting to read but by no means a page turner.
To contrast, I must say that Brodie's book was very much written in a more novel style -- if that is a style. It read quickly and fluidly and often I didn't want to put it down.
Bushman is an active member of the LDS faith and therefore tells the story of Joseph Smith's life and visions and revelation as a believer.
Despite their 2 perspectives, they really tell the same story. One as a believer and one a non-believer. Their facts do not differ, but their explanations of Joseph's motives and inner thoughts do.
I was initially quite surprised while reading Brodie's book to find her tone extremely respectful and very much in admiration of Joseph Smith as an individual and all that he accomplished. She just simply doesn't believe that he had a relationship with God and therefore has to explain the origins of all his ideas and his motives. Interestingly, in some ways -- because she see Joseph Smith as just a man -- not a prophet -- she is far more willing to put his flaws into perspective with the times and focus on his accomplishments.
On the flip side, because Bushman believes Joseph Smith did indeed have a prophetic calling, he spends a lot of time trying to explain the doctrines and justifying how a prophet of God could be so mislead in financial and personal issues. It reads often in a very apologetic tone.
They both do a lot of explaining -- but about different things and from opposite perspectives.
I truly can't say I liked one book more than the other. I enjoyed comparing them. I really feel like both authors tried their best to present the facts of Joseph's life and then they both explained them through their own shades of glasses.
I found so much about Joseph Smith's life fascinating and some of it quite frankly revolting.
So where do I stand?? I hesitate to state my opinion -- but I really fall somewhere in between the two. I believe that God calls prophets, but I also believe that they are just men. I think there are times that Joseph truly acted in the name of God and there are many times he acted according to his own will. Like the prophets in the Bible, (Moses and David come to mind) God at times directs their paths but often they are left to their own talents and abilities -- and as men make mistakes and also have great triumphs -- all on their own.
I am perfectly comfortable having a very imperfect founder of the church I belong to, because I have always relied on my own spiritual experiences and promptings. Unfortunately, I think many LDS people would find either book quite a challenge to their own faith. That said, part of me loves that Joseph Smith was so imperfect -- because (especially today in the LDS church) the "desire to appear perfect" often runs amok in peoples lives and perceptions. As I believe that each of us can have a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ, I feel strongly that perfection in any aspect of our life is not a pre-requisite to spiritual experience. Far too many people spend too much of their time feeling unworthy of such things.
November 16, 2024
(March 2, 2024) : Lemme gather my thoughts like the Gathering of Israel. Review to come!
(July 26, 2024) :
“You don't know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don't blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself. I never did harm any man since I was born in the world. My voice is always for peace.”
There is a loooot to unpack in this singular quote from Joseph Smith. This one quote showed to me what kind of book I was getting into.
It's true that his story is so crazy that it's almost unbelievable. It is untrue that he never did any man harm. It is untrue that his voice was always used for peace. It is also untrue that no man knows his history. In fact, Brodie's title choice of "No Man Knows My History" is super baddie because well, she knows his history. Very well. And us readers can too.
This book rocked. Brodie killed it in the research department. I was so impressed by her style of writing, how she organized the information she had, and her fairness in her depiction of Joseph Smith. Every page was interesting. The way Brodie writes is very compelling.
Like I said before, Brodie was very fair to Joseph Smith. He was a colorful character; involved in multiple types of crime, witchcraft (not necessarily bad, I like witches) abhorrent sexual behaviour, etc. Brodie did not gloss over these facts. She wrote down the history as it was and is. But she also did not gloss over the good parts of Joseph either; how he was often a good community leader, how he really cared for people, how the loss of friends and family impacted him deeply, how believing he was in others (not always good, got caught up in a fair share of ponzi-esque schemes), etc. Honestly, the way Brodie wrote about him really humanized him for me. As a kid, I revered him. As a faith-changing adult, I despised him. Post-reading this book, I can see all the many factors that made up Joseph and his history. He's just a dude whose life took a wild turn and he fanned the flame.
Scandal, battles, digging for gold, crazy raves in a holy temple, money issues, arson, endless run-ins with the law, long journeys, many deaths, the Second Great Awakening and more. It's like reading the most juiciest, most tragic, most unbelievable piece of gossip ever.
FUTURE HISTORY READERS/NOTE TO SELF:
MARK UP YOUR HISTORY BOOKS!!! I did not do this and I regret it wholeheartedly. I wish I would've underlined all the many interesting passages as well as tab favorite pages.
(July 26, 2024) :
“You don't know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don't blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself. I never did harm any man since I was born in the world. My voice is always for peace.”
There is a loooot to unpack in this singular quote from Joseph Smith. This one quote showed to me what kind of book I was getting into.
It's true that his story is so crazy that it's almost unbelievable. It is untrue that he never did any man harm. It is untrue that his voice was always used for peace. It is also untrue that no man knows his history. In fact, Brodie's title choice of "No Man Knows My History" is super baddie because well, she knows his history. Very well. And us readers can too.
This book rocked. Brodie killed it in the research department. I was so impressed by her style of writing, how she organized the information she had, and her fairness in her depiction of Joseph Smith. Every page was interesting. The way Brodie writes is very compelling.
Like I said before, Brodie was very fair to Joseph Smith. He was a colorful character; involved in multiple types of crime, witchcraft (not necessarily bad, I like witches) abhorrent sexual behaviour, etc. Brodie did not gloss over these facts. She wrote down the history as it was and is. But she also did not gloss over the good parts of Joseph either; how he was often a good community leader, how he really cared for people, how the loss of friends and family impacted him deeply, how believing he was in others (not always good, got caught up in a fair share of ponzi-esque schemes), etc. Honestly, the way Brodie wrote about him really humanized him for me. As a kid, I revered him. As a faith-changing adult, I despised him. Post-reading this book, I can see all the many factors that made up Joseph and his history. He's just a dude whose life took a wild turn and he fanned the flame.
Scandal, battles, digging for gold, crazy raves in a holy temple, money issues, arson, endless run-ins with the law, long journeys, many deaths, the Second Great Awakening and more. It's like reading the most juiciest, most tragic, most unbelievable piece of gossip ever.
FUTURE HISTORY READERS/NOTE TO SELF:
MARK UP YOUR HISTORY BOOKS!!! I did not do this and I regret it wholeheartedly. I wish I would've underlined all the many interesting passages as well as tab favorite pages.
May 1, 2009
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 how there is so much history regarding the prophet and the early mormons that they DONT teach you in the church. Although I understand the importance of teaching faith promoting history, this account shows a more accurate history of the life and times surrounding the early church and the prophet. It's been an entertaining read, and I feel like I understand the prophet better than before. I am only halfway through the book, and am just getting to the section on polygamy. We will see how that shapes out.
It is amazing how there is so much history regarding the prophet and the early mormons that they DONT teach you in the church. Although I understand the importance of teaching faith promoting history, this account shows a more accurate history of the life and times surrounding the early church and the prophet. It's been an entertaining read, and I feel like I understand the prophet better than before. I am only halfway through the book, and am just getting to the section on polygamy. We will see how that shapes out.
April 21, 2017
Finally! A fair account of the founder of the Mormon church.
It was refreshing and fascinating to read a fair account of Joseph Smith and the early history of his church. It is well sourced and extremely thorough, as well as engaging and only minimally challenging to follow the thick history. It places Joseph's admiral qualities in the same realm as his growing paranoia and megalomania. He was a natural born leader, an unruly youth prone to money digging and tall tales, and a prodigiously charismatic leader.
What may have started out as a noble cause to leave behind the folly of his youth quickly became a scheme to aggrandize himself to the glory of a king with ambitions to create a theocracy of which he was the leader and Word of God.
I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking respite from the endless hero-worshipping propaganda spewed from over the pulpits of the LDS Church, as this biography is of yet the only fair and honest account, showing the tyranny of Joseph equally to the violence and hatred he received from his enemies, that I have ever read.
It was refreshing and fascinating to read a fair account of Joseph Smith and the early history of his church. It is well sourced and extremely thorough, as well as engaging and only minimally challenging to follow the thick history. It places Joseph's admiral qualities in the same realm as his growing paranoia and megalomania. He was a natural born leader, an unruly youth prone to money digging and tall tales, and a prodigiously charismatic leader.
What may have started out as a noble cause to leave behind the folly of his youth quickly became a scheme to aggrandize himself to the glory of a king with ambitions to create a theocracy of which he was the leader and Word of God.
I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking respite from the endless hero-worshipping propaganda spewed from over the pulpits of the LDS Church, as this biography is of yet the only fair and honest account, showing the tyranny of Joseph equally to the violence and hatred he received from his enemies, that I have ever read.
August 24, 2011
This was the first book I ever read following my discovery of the hoax behind Mormonism. It was first published in 1945 and I was lucky enough to obtain a UK 1963 First Edition. It is beautifully written and remains to this day one of the best exposes of the 'real' Mormon facts.
May 17, 2023
For being 70+ years old, this book aged surprisingly well. And her epilogue words seem to have been prophetic: that the LDS church has survived many controversies when its shenanigans were uncovered, and it will probably survive the Book of Mormon not being true, and Joseph Smith not being a prophet. It had 3 million members when this book was published, and I believe it's sitting well north of 15m now, so it looks like she was right. I'm not here to take anything away from people for whom the church gives great value, whether social, moral, or cultural. But I think this book really shows beyond reproach that Joseph Smith was a grifter par excellence.
For example, the early BoM prophet Lehi has six children, the third one is Nephi, who writes the first several books. Joseph Smith Sr has six children, the third one is Joseph Smith Jr, who writes the BoM. Something I was unaware of : apparently Senior had a dream about a tree of life and wrote it down a while before the BoM was published. Junior liked it so much that he dropped it in in almost every particular into Lehi's famous dream (sorry : "vision") of the tree of life. Or the fact that there are at least three different accounts of the First Vision, and none of them predate 1830...ten years after the fact. God came to me in a glorious vision, and then there is no written record anywhere of that until after you're getting your church up and going? Also : that your mother and brothers were still devout members of a Presbyterian church, shown in their records, until around 1828? Riiiight.
What I think this book does really well is something that the mainstream Mormon religion tends to ignore, which is context. Context is king. Smith lived at a time of religious ferment, and it's not surprising that he succumbed to this and created his own sect, just as many others did at the time. His neighbors were passionate about the mound people and abandoned Iroquois fortifications, wondering where they came from. And look, the BoM answers all of that! The neighborhood is swept by anti-Masonic rioting and hysteria...and look, the part of the BoM being written then has a whole bunch of stories in it about sinister secret combinations overthrowing governments with their secret signs and handshakes.
The author takes the gentle position that Smith was a gifted storyteller who probably meant well but eventually fell victim to (and bought a ticket on) believing his own hype train, though it's hard to pin down exactly when this transition occurred. I think that's a reasonable interpretation, though there are other more nefarious ones.
I think it's also worth pointing out, because it is such a central tenet of Mormon historiography, that the church has a serious persecution complex that enshrines a narrative of God's chosen people being first driven from New York, then Kirtland, then Missouri, then Nauvoo, until ultimately emigrating to the Rocky Mountains to establish God's kingdom. This is sort of true, as far as it goes, but usually leaves out any justifications for anti-Mormon activity, treating them all as some kind of faceless, hysterical mob bent on violence. It refuses to acknowledge the fact that Kirtland was evacuated largely because of financial issues (actually, let's be blunt : crimes), that Mormon settlers were burning and murdering non-Mormons in Missouri right back, and that the whole Nauvoo period was full of flagrant attempts to set themselves up as a state-within-a-state that was not accountable to any laws the Mormons didn't like. For a fantastic and more detailed book on the latter point, see Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier.
The LDS church has done a lot of good things for a lot of people (and continues to do so). I am happy for those works, and the people who have benefited therefrom. But it has also done (and continues to do) a lot of harm to a lot of people, particularly marginalized groups who surely already have enough societal pressure piled onto them already. I feel that the church inflicted a lot of psychological damage on me that has taken years to recover from, and if I had been informed of all of ... *waves hands* this stuff ... earlier, I would have left earlier and been less traumatized. I have a friend who is still deep in the church who admits that she finds some of the doctrine a bit squirrelly, but she weighed it out and on balance felt that it did more good than bad for her, and so she stayed. I do not begrudge her that choice, because it was an informed choice. I just wish that several other millions still in the church had also been given the option to make that choice, instead of being inculcated from childhood (again, speaking from personal experience) that you should not on any account read any mormon-critical literature ever because it will allow Satan to destroy you.
Docked a star only because of the age -- there's probably better, more recent scholarship you could jump into if this was really your jam.
For example, the early BoM prophet Lehi has six children, the third one is Nephi, who writes the first several books. Joseph Smith Sr has six children, the third one is Joseph Smith Jr, who writes the BoM. Something I was unaware of : apparently Senior had a dream about a tree of life and wrote it down a while before the BoM was published. Junior liked it so much that he dropped it in in almost every particular into Lehi's famous dream (sorry : "vision") of the tree of life. Or the fact that there are at least three different accounts of the First Vision, and none of them predate 1830...ten years after the fact. God came to me in a glorious vision, and then there is no written record anywhere of that until after you're getting your church up and going? Also : that your mother and brothers were still devout members of a Presbyterian church, shown in their records, until around 1828? Riiiight.
What I think this book does really well is something that the mainstream Mormon religion tends to ignore, which is context. Context is king. Smith lived at a time of religious ferment, and it's not surprising that he succumbed to this and created his own sect, just as many others did at the time. His neighbors were passionate about the mound people and abandoned Iroquois fortifications, wondering where they came from. And look, the BoM answers all of that! The neighborhood is swept by anti-Masonic rioting and hysteria...and look, the part of the BoM being written then has a whole bunch of stories in it about sinister secret combinations overthrowing governments with their secret signs and handshakes.
The author takes the gentle position that Smith was a gifted storyteller who probably meant well but eventually fell victim to (and bought a ticket on) believing his own hype train, though it's hard to pin down exactly when this transition occurred. I think that's a reasonable interpretation, though there are other more nefarious ones.
I think it's also worth pointing out, because it is such a central tenet of Mormon historiography, that the church has a serious persecution complex that enshrines a narrative of God's chosen people being first driven from New York, then Kirtland, then Missouri, then Nauvoo, until ultimately emigrating to the Rocky Mountains to establish God's kingdom. This is sort of true, as far as it goes, but usually leaves out any justifications for anti-Mormon activity, treating them all as some kind of faceless, hysterical mob bent on violence. It refuses to acknowledge the fact that Kirtland was evacuated largely because of financial issues (actually, let's be blunt : crimes), that Mormon settlers were burning and murdering non-Mormons in Missouri right back, and that the whole Nauvoo period was full of flagrant attempts to set themselves up as a state-within-a-state that was not accountable to any laws the Mormons didn't like. For a fantastic and more detailed book on the latter point, see Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier.
The LDS church has done a lot of good things for a lot of people (and continues to do so). I am happy for those works, and the people who have benefited therefrom. But it has also done (and continues to do) a lot of harm to a lot of people, particularly marginalized groups who surely already have enough societal pressure piled onto them already. I feel that the church inflicted a lot of psychological damage on me that has taken years to recover from, and if I had been informed of all of ... *waves hands* this stuff ... earlier, I would have left earlier and been less traumatized. I have a friend who is still deep in the church who admits that she finds some of the doctrine a bit squirrelly, but she weighed it out and on balance felt that it did more good than bad for her, and so she stayed. I do not begrudge her that choice, because it was an informed choice. I just wish that several other millions still in the church had also been given the option to make that choice, instead of being inculcated from childhood (again, speaking from personal experience) that you should not on any account read any mormon-critical literature ever because it will allow Satan to destroy you.
Docked a star only because of the age -- there's probably better, more recent scholarship you could jump into if this was really your jam.
June 16, 2008
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.
July 16, 2012
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 the spin that was fun to read because there isn't much in here that wasn't in "Rough Stone Rolling" other than maybe some questionable sources.
I found it very refreshing to see the two perspectives while reading the two histories. Fawn Brodie tried to tell it as if she were a disinterested third party, but I could sense quite a bit of derision in her tone in many places. She certainly didn't pull any punches when saying what she thought and when deciding whether or not she should include a source. Richard Bushman, on the other hand, is a faithful LDS member and wrote much of the same stuff, without much 'spin' at all. He did leave out some of the more questionable 'hearsay' sorts of sources that Brodie used but still managed to paint a very full picture.
All in all, I found the book fascinating. Joseph Smith is just one of those people whose life was bigger than those around him. He used this power in some awful ways, but hey, power corrupts, right? One of the most interesting things for me was not all the stuff about Joseph, but the world he lived in and how it shaped him. He never would have been able to pull the same stunts if he were my contemporary. He would be laughed to shame....
I found it very refreshing to see the two perspectives while reading the two histories. Fawn Brodie tried to tell it as if she were a disinterested third party, but I could sense quite a bit of derision in her tone in many places. She certainly didn't pull any punches when saying what she thought and when deciding whether or not she should include a source. Richard Bushman, on the other hand, is a faithful LDS member and wrote much of the same stuff, without much 'spin' at all. He did leave out some of the more questionable 'hearsay' sorts of sources that Brodie used but still managed to paint a very full picture.
All in all, I found the book fascinating. Joseph Smith is just one of those people whose life was bigger than those around him. He used this power in some awful ways, but hey, power corrupts, right? One of the most interesting things for me was not all the stuff about Joseph, but the world he lived in and how it shaped him. He never would have been able to pull the same stunts if he were my contemporary. He would be laughed to shame....
October 10, 2019
Hmmm... I have sort of mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it is emminently readable. I have rarely - if ever - picked up a non-fiction book that moves with such pace and drama. On the other hand, I can't help but notice a great deal of speculation. I suppose this book falls into the category of semi-academic history. There are footnotes: the text in general is well sourced, but there is often an inclination towards filling in with speculation where no sources are available or appear to suggest something impossible. A prime example of this is in Chapter Five, wherein the testimony of the three witnesses to the plates is dismissed on the grounds that Cowdery, Whitmer and Harris were victims of Joseph's conscious but positive talent at hypnosis. Now, I'm not saying that they did actually witness the plates, but is it not better to fill in with 'I don't know how this happened', than to suggest that Joseph Smith involuntarily hypnotised these people? It's not even clear that such hypnosis is any more possible than divine revelation.
Anyway, this book as a whole does a good job at presenting a well-rounded image of a character. Whether or not it is an accurate depiction of Joseph Smith is probably best left to the reader to decide. Brodie relies on both documentary evidence and speculation, so I'm inclined to take her portrait with a pinch of salt. This book isn't quite the mean-spirited character assasination that some of its detractors suggest that it is, but neither is it a truly rigorous text. I suspect that the true image of the man is somewhat less tricksy and conniving than Brodie implies.
Anyway, this book as a whole does a good job at presenting a well-rounded image of a character. Whether or not it is an accurate depiction of Joseph Smith is probably best left to the reader to decide. Brodie relies on both documentary evidence and speculation, so I'm inclined to take her portrait with a pinch of salt. This book isn't quite the mean-spirited character assasination that some of its detractors suggest that it is, but neither is it a truly rigorous text. I suspect that the true image of the man is somewhat less tricksy and conniving than Brodie implies.
February 14, 2012
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.
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.
August 10, 2017
It's interesting how much one's basic assumptions frame their ability to process information. Brodie begins with the assumption that there is nothing "supernatural" about Joseph Smith's life. Reasonable, I suppose. But it results in a huge problem. If Joseph and all his followers are having supernatural experiences, they must be unreliable sources. And so she gives these first hand accounts little validity.
The only other people that talked about Joseph Smith hated him. But since they made no claims to supernatural experiences, she grants them validity with out questioning their biases. The result is an extremely skewed and unrealistic view of Joseph Smith. But it is a version of Joseph Smith that a non-Mormon can process and conforms to the standard anti-Mormon propagandized caricature that is popularly accepted.
Brodie does construct a powerful narrative, but you will be left wondering why anyone continues to take him and the religion he founded seriously. People do take it seriously because there's much more to the story if one is willing to look beyond Joseph's enemies in order to understand the man.
I recommend Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling instead. He uses Brodie's sources and many others as well to paint a fuller more realistic history. He also provides a much fuller description of the historical context and why people viewed Joseph the way they did. You also get a fairly rigorous overview of Joseph's religious innovations, which Brodie dismisses as irrelevant if not non-existent.
The only other people that talked about Joseph Smith hated him. But since they made no claims to supernatural experiences, she grants them validity with out questioning their biases. The result is an extremely skewed and unrealistic view of Joseph Smith. But it is a version of Joseph Smith that a non-Mormon can process and conforms to the standard anti-Mormon propagandized caricature that is popularly accepted.
Brodie does construct a powerful narrative, but you will be left wondering why anyone continues to take him and the religion he founded seriously. People do take it seriously because there's much more to the story if one is willing to look beyond Joseph's enemies in order to understand the man.
I recommend Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling instead. He uses Brodie's sources and many others as well to paint a fuller more realistic history. He also provides a much fuller description of the historical context and why people viewed Joseph the way they did. You also get a fairly rigorous overview of Joseph's religious innovations, which Brodie dismisses as irrelevant if not non-existent.
June 6, 2015
This book is VERY interesting. It is well researched and full of fascinating info on the life of Joseph Smith. Fawn Brodie is carefully to present the information as is and rarely places her own judgment, leaving it to the reader to decide on Joseph Smith's mindset and character. The info is thorough and, at times, dry and difficult to read through; which is the reason for a 4 rather than 5 star rating.
July 29, 2019
Outstanding biography. Brodie may come off as speculative at times but when you examine her sources you can see that her analysis has a lot of basis in testimony and fact. And in all honesty I think she was quite fair to Smith, recognizing that he seemed to be a man of conviction and (in some ways) integrity, but also one who had a history of mysticism and fanaticism.
November 9, 2020
High on speculation, low on verifiable facts.
I first became aware of this book when I read Hugh Nibley's rebuttal: "No Ma'am That's Not History". The first sentence in Nibley's Preface includes the words (I) "was struck by the brazen inconsistencies that swarm in its pages. At that time he had no means of knowing that inconsistency was the least of the author's vices, and assumed with other reviewers that when she cited a work in her footnotes, she had actually read it, that when she quoted she was quoting correctly, and that she was familiar with the works in her bibliography. Only when other investigations led the reviewer to the same sources in ensuing years did the extent of Mrs. Brodie's irresponsibility become apparent. ... more than a decade of research abetted by correspondence with Mrs. Brodie's defenders has failed to discredit a single observation made in our 1946 review, which is printed here with only a few typographical corrections. "
Hugh Nibley's paper introduced above is available online. (http://maxwellinstitute.com/publicati...). It is reprinted as the first section in the book: Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass: The Art of Telling Tales About Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
The extent of erroneous reports about the church is amazing. I remember hearing of a newspaper article saying that the church was so strict that they don't even allow the drinking of milk.
Christ said: "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles" (Matthew 7:16) So, what fruits do we see from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Does the church teach high standards of dress, speech, and morality? (See Chapter 27 of Marvelous Work and a Wonder for a description of the fruits from the restored church.)
Update:
Joseph Smith's DNA revealed: New Clues to the Prophet's Genes by Dr. Ugo Perego
Youtube video: https://youtu.be/sYwgMPFYnLQ
He found descendants of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith to get samples of their DNA. Then people ask questions about alleged children of Joseph Smith through other wives based on the Brodie book. He found descendants of those alleged posterity, then compared their DNA with that of the Joseph Smith descendants. So that people can annotate their copies, Dr. Perego gives page number of the Brodie book.
Update 2: A random fact check.
Where she was talking about the Danites, I wondered if she was quoting it correctly. I looked, and indeed, it was quoted correctly, but her writing gave the impression that it was sanctioned Joseph Smith, when it was Sampson Avard. Avard was hiding his actions from the church leaders. (HC III, pp. 180-181) A little later, there was another extensive quotation, but it could not be found where she said it was. (HC IV, p. 165)
I first became aware of this book when I read Hugh Nibley's rebuttal: "No Ma'am That's Not History". The first sentence in Nibley's Preface includes the words (I) "was struck by the brazen inconsistencies that swarm in its pages. At that time he had no means of knowing that inconsistency was the least of the author's vices, and assumed with other reviewers that when she cited a work in her footnotes, she had actually read it, that when she quoted she was quoting correctly, and that she was familiar with the works in her bibliography. Only when other investigations led the reviewer to the same sources in ensuing years did the extent of Mrs. Brodie's irresponsibility become apparent. ... more than a decade of research abetted by correspondence with Mrs. Brodie's defenders has failed to discredit a single observation made in our 1946 review, which is printed here with only a few typographical corrections. "
Hugh Nibley's paper introduced above is available online. (http://maxwellinstitute.com/publicati...). It is reprinted as the first section in the book: Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass: The Art of Telling Tales About Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
The extent of erroneous reports about the church is amazing. I remember hearing of a newspaper article saying that the church was so strict that they don't even allow the drinking of milk.
Christ said: "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles" (Matthew 7:16) So, what fruits do we see from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Does the church teach high standards of dress, speech, and morality? (See Chapter 27 of Marvelous Work and a Wonder for a description of the fruits from the restored church.)
Update:
Joseph Smith's DNA revealed: New Clues to the Prophet's Genes by Dr. Ugo Perego
Youtube video: https://youtu.be/sYwgMPFYnLQ
He found descendants of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith to get samples of their DNA. Then people ask questions about alleged children of Joseph Smith through other wives based on the Brodie book. He found descendants of those alleged posterity, then compared their DNA with that of the Joseph Smith descendants. So that people can annotate their copies, Dr. Perego gives page number of the Brodie book.
Update 2: A random fact check.
Where she was talking about the Danites, I wondered if she was quoting it correctly. I looked, and indeed, it was quoted correctly, but her writing gave the impression that it was sanctioned Joseph Smith, when it was Sampson Avard. Avard was hiding his actions from the church leaders. (HC III, pp. 180-181) A little later, there was another extensive quotation, but it could not be found where she said it was. (HC IV, p. 165)
May 25, 2009
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.
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.
January 18, 2012
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.
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.
May 5, 2011
A much easier read than Rough Stone Rolling as her prose is more engaging than Bushman's, though I'm glad I read RSR first - I think reading this when my world had already fallen apart would have crushed me. RSR lets you down more gently. It would probably be interesting to read the two side-by-side. She doesn't hide the fact that she thinks the BOM and Mormonism is fiction, but I can't blame her there. There were times I would have appreciated just the facts and not her conclusions, but overall I felt she remained fair and balanced toward JS and never felt she was antagonistic. I'm not entirely sure about all of her conclusions about Joseph Smith's personality, but some I'd agree with. One small section that bugged me was when she was describing parallels between the BOM and the Bible. She cited three BOM stories, making it sound like all three were major plot points in the BOM. I had to look two of them up because I had no idea what she was talking about! One of those I remembered upon looking them up (it is a fairly important passage) and the other was all of two verses. So the stretching there bothered me, but I was able to overlook that as the rest lined up with what I remember from RSR. Oh, and reading the epilogue was quite entertaining (and the only part where the 1940s publication date was obvious) as the church she describes is nothing like the church I know today!
August 4, 2013
A fascinating, credible and balanced biography on a complex and consummate American huckster, the 19th century forerunner to L. Ron Hubbard. I was inspired to finally read this book during a recent visit to Utah with my ex-Mormon wife. For any student of history and religion, this book is a gem. I was pleasantly surprised at how modern the prose and style was, considering it was written in the 1940's. It really is a page turner. Any Mormon who doesn't read this book is denying themselves a genuinely balanced view of the founder (and founding) of their religion. Brodie seems to have gone to extreme lengths to make this biography as fair and unbiased as possible, referring constantly to primary sources and announcing when she believes those sources had an anti-Mormon agenda. It is by no means an attack on Smith or the church he created. She tries her best to understand him, as a man of his times, with undeniable gifts, an overactive imagination and sense of destiny. Most Mormons I've spoken to know very little about the founder of their faith, most of which has been hidden from them by the leaders of the church out of a fear (I suspect) that the truth would undermine the foundation of their faith. Read this book and decide for yourselves.
April 22, 2009
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 portrayal of Joseph Smith. For me as a nonbeliever reading this, I thought Brodie seemed surprisingly sympathetic toward Joseph. I mean she seems to genuinely like him. But I think at the time the LDS church was used to being able to control the message and tell its own story, so naturally it was the faith-promoting topics that were told and retold. In that sort of an environment it's not surprising then that people would distrust her scholarship and question her motives. Too bad, because I put off reading this one far too long.
It's amazing to me now that Fawn Brodie was so demonized at the time for her portrayal of Joseph Smith. For me as a nonbeliever reading this, I thought Brodie seemed surprisingly sympathetic toward Joseph. I mean she seems to genuinely like him. But I think at the time the LDS church was used to being able to control the message and tell its own story, so naturally it was the faith-promoting topics that were told and retold. In that sort of an environment it's not surprising then that people would distrust her scholarship and question her motives. Too bad, because I put off reading this one far too long.
June 4, 2017
This would have gotten 5 stars because of the stunning amount of research included, except she frequently used phrases like, "... he certainly felt ..." I don't think she has any notion how people felt, and it lessened (for me) the general feeling of objectivity that the book had.
Although the book was not apologetic, it definitely felt fair to me. She clearly believes that the Book of Mormon is a work of fiction, and many reviews I've read by Mormons slam this as "anti-Mormon propaganda." However, if I were LDS, I would find it essential to reconcile factual information about Joseph Smith, based on a plethora of sources (many of which are held by the Church itself), with any personal testimony I had. Because of this, I would recommend it to anyone; the curious and LDS friends alike.
Although the book was not apologetic, it definitely felt fair to me. She clearly believes that the Book of Mormon is a work of fiction, and many reviews I've read by Mormons slam this as "anti-Mormon propaganda." However, if I were LDS, I would find it essential to reconcile factual information about Joseph Smith, based on a plethora of sources (many of which are held by the Church itself), with any personal testimony I had. Because of this, I would recommend it to anyone; the curious and LDS friends alike.
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