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Writing Mormon History: Historians and Their Books
Every great book has a great backstory. Here well-known historians describe their journeys of writing books that have influenced our understanding of the Mormon past, offering an unprecedented glimpse into why they wrote these important works. Writing Mormon History is a must-read for historians, students of history, scholars, and aspiring authors. The volume’s contributors are Polly Aird, Will Bagley, Todd Compton, Brian Hales, Melvin Johnson, William MacKinnon, Linda King Newell, Gregory Prince, D. Michael Quinn, Craig Smith, George D. Smith, Vickie Cleverley Speek, Susan Staker, Daniel Stone, and John Turner. The majority of the essays appear here for the first time.
- GenresHistory
420 pages, Hardcover
Published April 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 18, 2020
I primarily got this for Linda Newell, Greg Prince and D Michael Quinn's stories. Newell's chapter was excellent. I have heard and read bits and pieces of the events before and after Mormon Enigma, but it was nice to have them all laid out from her point of view. She also did a nice job of supplying her co-author (now deceased), Valeen Avery's story too.
If you've ever listened to Prince talk about the McKay book you've heard most of it (his chapter contained little outside of his interviews). Prince is a thorough machine and is blessed with the lucky of accidentally living near and knowing everyone.
Quinn's section was disappointing. Instead of preparing a chapter for this book we get to read from his journal and memoir, which was great, but left me wanting a whole lot more. Though Quinn's section focused mainly on the Clark biography, it kind of jumped around to other essays and books. He was recently interviewed on Mormon Land, and his information about his book the Magic World View was fascinating. I guess my expectations were that his chapter would focus on that book, or be more focused on just one book/publication
Stone's chapter was a delight to read. My only complaint is that it was so short. His book was a break through for the Bickertonite sect, and I wanted to know more. Still, he is a gem.
Hales, Compton, Aird, Bagley, Turner and Speek's chapters were good.
To be honest, I didn't read the other chapters because I was not as familiar with their works. If I ever get around to reading the other authors' writings, I'm sure I will find some gems in those chapters as well.
If you've ever listened to Prince talk about the McKay book you've heard most of it (his chapter contained little outside of his interviews). Prince is a thorough machine and is blessed with the lucky of accidentally living near and knowing everyone.
Quinn's section was disappointing. Instead of preparing a chapter for this book we get to read from his journal and memoir, which was great, but left me wanting a whole lot more. Though Quinn's section focused mainly on the Clark biography, it kind of jumped around to other essays and books. He was recently interviewed on Mormon Land, and his information about his book the Magic World View was fascinating. I guess my expectations were that his chapter would focus on that book, or be more focused on just one book/publication
Stone's chapter was a delight to read. My only complaint is that it was so short. His book was a break through for the Bickertonite sect, and I wanted to know more. Still, he is a gem.
Hales, Compton, Aird, Bagley, Turner and Speek's chapters were good.
To be honest, I didn't read the other chapters because I was not as familiar with their works. If I ever get around to reading the other authors' writings, I'm sure I will find some gems in those chapters as well.
September 21, 2020
A fantastic compilation of the story-behind-the-story accounts from historians.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews