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Title: Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life: A Consecrated Life by Boyd Jay Petersen ISBN: 1-58958-020-6 Publisher: Greg Kofford Books Pub. Date: November, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Well-paced, sometimes choppy, but great overall.
Comment: I had more fun reading this book than any book I've read in a while. A reader who doesn't have knowledge of The Church of Jesus Christ (Mormon) to which Nibley belongs would probably not find this book interesting.
However, for someone who is familiar with Nibley's many and varied writings this book is very entertaining and informative, much like Nibley himself.
Criticisms of the book are the following: 1. The author alternates chronological chapters with topical chapters and it is sometimes difficult to remember what part of Nibley's life you are reading about. Similarly, this means that many parts are redundant.
2. I would like to have heard more about Nibley's political adventures. As a student at BYU from 1977 to 1988 (nobody ever accused me of being overly bright)you could always count on Nibley to support the Democratic candidate. Usually Nibley would give them permission to hand out a pamphlet he had written that was something about a parable of giving up our birthright. My roommates and I read this thing several times and never could quite figure out what Nibley was getting at. But we always felt vaguely guilty when we were done.
3. The author several times stated as if it were fact things like "conservative extremism continued to characterize BYU and Mormon culture". Having been part of Mormon Culture and BYU for many of those years, this is not true. There were professors like Reed Benson, son of Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, who worked as a Birch society coordinator but most of these people were the ones most likely to agree with Nibley. J. Reuben Clark could not have been more anti-war. Skousen, Reed Benson, H. Verlan Andersen (future general authority, author of "Many are called, but few are chosen", and Utah legislator) and others were among those most likely to agree with Nibley. The Conservatives on campus always complained that the University tilted too far leftward. And as a Biology major, that department's leftish slant was no less prominent than the Department of Religion's rightward slant. Having attended and visited numerous colleges since then I consider BYU the school with the most academic freedom, something Nibley no doubt recognized and benefited from.
Also, I would like to have heard a little more about the travails of Nibley being treated like a Rock Star. Every dubious wacko on campus at one time or another would show up at Nibley's office or home and it was always amazing to me that Nibley not only didn't call the police but would treat everyone well and answer their questions. Nibley was truly a man of the people. At the "One Eternal Round" lecture a few years ago Nibley was almost mobbed afterward with autograph seekers and confidantes who wished to tell Nibley what their latest "research" showed.
The greatest strength of this book is the author's obvious great love and respect for this great man. He shares letters and viewpoints that simply would be unavailable to anyone other than a family member.
The author also does a wonderful job summing up Nibley's articles, ideas and research - something very difficult to do and it shows the author has quite an intellect of his own.
Lastly the author did a wonderful job of getting at primary sources that interacted directly with Nibley - much like Nibley's scholarship.
Overall, this book was simply wonderful, entertaining and thoughtful.
Rating: 4
Summary: Fair-Minded Biography of a Great LDS Scholar
Comment: If you are interested in the work of Hugh Nibley, this book is an excellent introduction and overview. Nibley is probably the most famous living Mormon intellectual. He is the most elequent and convincing defender of the LDS world-view. The author of this biography is Nibley's son-in-law, but he is an impressive historian in his own right. This book is respectful and sympathetic, but also independent in judgement. Petersen challenges Nibley when he thinks it is appropriate. Petersen says in his preface that he doesn't believe in "objectivity", but in candor and balance. This searching approach, combined with exhaustive information gleaned from interviews and Nibley's personal archive of letters and documents, make this book a very satisfying read. It really is a model biography, an example of honesty and fairness that other LDS writers should follow. Petersen alternates chapters that narrate Nibley's life story with chapters that are really essays on different facets of Nibley's career--his defense of the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price, his environmental views, his criticism of militarism and capitalism. One bit of information that struck me during my reading was that Nibley, as a soldier, visited the German concentration camp Dachau shortly after it was liberated in 1945. Nibley has never written about the horrors he saw there. He refuses even to discuss the experience. Petersen speculates that perhaps Nibley was unable to fit these terrible events into his theology of pacifism. Maybe Nibley couldn't acknowledge that there are things worse than a self-defensive war. This is an absorbing, thought-provoking book that you shouldn't miss.
Rating: 5
Summary: Going against the flow
Comment: Hugh Nibley is one of a kind - and this book shows that. He is a living example for the rest of us; he has inspired us by calling us to repent. I have always seen Nibley as a prophet more than a historian - no matter what he writes about you end up feeling the need to repent (in Norwegian repent is "omvend" which means to turn around). Nibley is constantly telling us to turn around, change directions and look to God. He has been amazingly consistent in his long life - its fascinating reading. I can recommend this book along with all the many books Hugh Nibley has written.
Boyd Petersen did a good job in presenting Nibley's life by alternating chapters on history and on different topics. I only wish Boyd Petersen had had more of a dialogue with his father-in-law, on many of the topics and events in Nibley's life. Even though Boyd Petersen said early on in the book that he will not focus on Hugh Nibley's life from the prospective of his children - I wish he had included this perspective. For many of us that respect Nibley's life we realise that at times it might be hopelessly impractical two live with somebody that so clearly see and react to this world and all its trappings. All in all this is an excellent book.
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