Polygamy Under Attack: From Tom Green to Brian David Mitchell

by John R. Llewellyn

THE WORLDWIDE BOMBSHELL of Brian David Mitchell, the itinerant sidewalk preacher who kidnaped Elizabeth Smart, finally brought the world’s attention to what Oprah Winfrey’s show labeled as third-world Taliban-type abuses in Utah and Arizona. The entire world had been focused on publicity hungry Tom Green and his claim of a peaceful life as a polygamist, when Mitchell and his accomplice wife shocked the world by their crime against Elizabeth Smart. POLYGAMY expert and retired law enforcement officer John Llewellyn provides a dramatic inside look at each of the polygamist groups, how they began, how they rule their people, their beliefs, and how many are living off your tax dollars. He explores serious human rights abuses that occur in many groups such as forcing young girls to marry men old enough to be their father. A former friend of Tom Green, the author provides deep background on Tom’s life and polygamist activities. John explores the fascinating underground fraud by the various groups and evaluates Brian David Mitchell’s efforts to turn Elizabeth Smart into a compliant plural wife. FINALLY, he takes a hard look at the possible value of decriminalizing polygamy so that the many hidden abuses, including tens of millions of dollars of welfare fraud when polygamist wives pose as single mothers with children, can be brought out into the open and finally be dealt with realistically.

Genres: Religion

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave a great overeview of polygamy. You should have background knowledge on polygamy and a few cases before reading this book. Llewellyn has extensive first-hand experience on cases such as the ones he mentions in his book, therefore, he writes on opinion and experience. Overall, it is a good book and an informative read.