Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Joseph Smith (Penguin Lives) by Robert Vincent Remini ISBN: 067003083X Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 10 October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.64
Rating: 4
Summary: A Fair Account
Comment: This short biography of the man now considered "My Joseph" by author Robert Remini, covering the life and death of the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, is a well-researched, even-handed and concise examination of the life of a unique and great American. Drawing from sources as far apart as Joseph Smith's Personal Writings and John C. Bennett's Expose of Joe Smith and Mormonism, from scholars across the spectrum such as Fawn Brodie, Richard Bushman and Donna Hill, Remini has synthesized the important historical, biographical and often controversial information to be found about the life of Joseph Smith. The work is brief, as necessitated by the series, and can easily be read in one sitting.
Divided into nine chapters, Remini first introduces the reader to the American political and cultural context of the early 19th century, as the extent, fanaticism and individual, similar occurences to those of Smith during the Second Great Awakening are not a well-known part of his story. Indeed, Mormon readers well versed in the subject matter may find these interjections scattered throughout the book some of the most interesting and challenging material. Here and throughout the rest of the work Remini casually implies that Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and much of what has become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a product of timing, a product of the unique American environment during the nation's infancy. Tracing and lightly touching Smith's ancestry, the author mentions episodes from Smith's adolescence he believes helped shape the character and disposition of later years. Smith's angelic and divine visitations are covered, along with the origins of the Book of Mormon and the beginnings of the Church. The reader is present during the fantastic events of the Church in Kirtland and its near subsequent collapse, for the wars with the old settlers of Missouri and during the flourishing, while controversial, period of Nauvoo and polygamy. The biography closes examining and ultimately denouncing the assassination of Joseph Smith, not as a slain prophet, consistent with the author's non-partisan stance, but as a great American, a victim of a society that bordered on the fringe of lawlessness.
As already mentioned, the book is even-handed and mostly accurate, the occasional detail, a misquotation from the Book of Mormon, for example, excusable for a reputable scholar undertaking this kind of endeavor. Mormons will disagree with some observations while non-Mormons will others. Not uncommon verbage found throughout the book often reads, "Mormons support or agree...while critics point out..." and vice-versa. All readers will find an entreating and page-turning presentation of Joseph Smith the man, innovator, prophet, politician, leader, family man, military leader and American.
"Smith admitted that some accused him of 'pretending to be a Savior, a worker of miracles, etc. All this is false...He is but a man, he said; a plain, untutored man, seeking what he should do to be saved.'"
To readers interested in a similarly unbiased, scholarly appraisal of the Book of Mormon, I would suggest the recent book By the Hand of Mormon by Terryl Givens, a professor of English at the University of Virginia. While Joseph Smith reads like an artistic biography, By the Hand of Mormon scrutinizes the possible origins of the Book of Mormon, internal and external evidences of its veracity, arguments on both sides of the divide and other topics.
Rating: 3
Summary: A fair analysis
Comment: As a Latter-day Saint, I found little new or interesting in Remini's biography. He covers the main points in much the same way you will find in numerous Mormon-authored bios, articles, and pamphlets. The casual student of Mormonism, however, will find a largely balanced, fair sketch of the Prophet's life--non-Mormons in particular may wish to pick this up. Remini, not a Mormon himself, treats his subject with respect, and for the most part allows the reader to decide for herself whether the Prophet's claims were true.
The primary angle Remini offers is his analysis of Joseph Smith as a product of his own time. For example, Remini introduces the Prophet's revelatory abilities by discussing how visions, seer stones, etc. were common in the early 1800s, and Remini finds many American ideals in the Book of Mormon. This is an interesting angle, but in my view fell a little short because Remini largely fails to examine other possible influences on the Prophet's work and doctrines: for example, the presence of Hebraistic language structure in the Book of Mormon. Remini becomes subjective at times, seemingly violating his own prefatory promise, that he would let the Prophet speak for himself.
Rating: 2
Summary: Thoughtful but ignores too much church history/RLDS
Comment: I admire the author's thoughtful words, but by ignoring the Reorganized LDS church, which the Prophet's son Joseph Smith III founded in 1860 with Emma Smith's assistance, a huge part of church history goes unmentioned. The RLDS (now called Community of Christ) has in it's headquarters in Independence MO, two portraits, one of Joseph Smith Jr, and one of his wife Emma Smith. I believe these were painted during Joseph's lifetime, thereby making the statement in the back of this book's jacket that the cover portrait is the only one painted during Joseph's lifetime inaccurate.
 |
Title: Abraham Lincoln: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives) by Thomas Keneally ISBN: 0670031755 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Winston Churchill: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives) by John Keegan ISBN: 0670030791 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 10 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Elvis Presley: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives) by Bobbie Ann Mason ISBN: 0670031747 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Robert E. Lee (Penguin Lives Series) by Roy Blount ISBN: 0670032204 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 08 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Napoleon: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives Series.) by Paul Johnson ISBN: 0670030783 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 09 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
