Utah Books

I have not finished this book but I really enjoy it. It is true to life.

Levi Peterson is the author of The Backslider, perhaps the most significant modern LDS novel, and a host of great, hilarious, thought-provoking short stories that have drawn comparisons to those of Flannery O'Connor. Now in the twilight of his life and (as he writes) "running out of sunsets", he has written a life story that is really incomparable to any other Mormon autobiography. Peterson is also famous for his masterful biography of the great LDS historian Juanita Brooks (Juanita Brooks: Mormon Woman Historian (Utah Centennial Series, Vol 5)). In that book he was meticulously thorough and breathtakingly forthright. In telling his own story he applies the same method with gratifyingly similar results. You may wince when you read some parts, but you will always be enlightened and seldom bored.

Perhaps the most startling news to come out of this book is Peterson's confessions of (seeming) disbelief in the central tenets of Mormonism, and his lifelong struggle with overwhelming anxiety and depression (what he calls his "pathology.") Apparently the tortured protagonist of "The Backslider" was autobiographical as well. Peterson writes of his youthful sexual peccadillos (which caused him tremendous shame, but at this late, great distance in time his feelings seem quaint indeed). The chapter, "A Missionary", about his experiences as a young Elder in the French mission, is a blunt but ultimately affirmative account of the trials of this form of discipleship, which any returned missionary will recognize as authentic. It was on his mission that he made the conscious decision to "remake his moral life" outside the Mormon church. He deliberately set out to marry someone who wasn't a traditional Mormon, and ended up wedding his wonderful Althea, a non-member who was attending Brigham Young University (and who has yet to join the church.) But Peterson could neither believe, nor be comfortable in his unbelief. Even as his mind held a naturalistic view of the universe, his heart (and Mormons would argue, promptings of the Holy Spirit) kept bringing him back to the Mormonism of his youth. He became a respected professor of English at Weber State University in Ogden Utah, who specialized in the literature of the American west. In the 1980's he began to write the series of books that would transform Mormon fiction. Peterson wonderfully and fully explicates how he drew the "maimed, misfit and shut-out" of the church into a view of redemption that does in fact echo the vision of Flannery O'Connor (although Peterson denies the comparison, saying he's only read a handful of O'Connor's stories and was more influenced by Faulkner.)

It seems that Peterson has been at war with himself for most of his life and has finally reached a level of happiness and contentment within his family and literary work. He describes his continuing encounters with "holiness" despite his intellectual doubts about such a concept. In his chronicling of the lives of his extended family, in which he is inextricably linked, this book is Mormon to the core. This book really could be considered a "family history" of the Petersons, and a beautiful example of a central LDS insight: that we don't just live our own lives, but the lives of those dear to us as well. This book really is a big event in Mormon letters, and as another reviewer here put it, if we are going to have rascals they should all be like Levi.

Most Americans today think they know about "the Mormons." The pigeon-hole is neatly filled: dark-suited missionaries, the
toothy smiles of the Osmonds, the upright forcefulness of the
Romneys, the weird culture of Utah--among the reddest of the red states--plus that slightly titillating business about polygamy, now on the small screen for your viewing pleasure.

Levi Savage Peterson's A RASCAL BY NATURE, A CHRISTIAN BY YEARNING will empty your pigeonhole fast. Peterson takes you into the large and troubled heart of a man whose blood and bones are pioneer, mainstream to the last shred, but whose mind and spirit cannot endure any shackling of free choice.

The book will enlighten and inspire you about more than Mormons. This astoundingly honest and introspective autobiography offers
rich insights into that great icon, "The American West," from a man who has both embodied and intensely loved this mysterious part of the world. The sky-filled landscape, the smell of wildness, the feel of dust sandpapering your eyelids as you work--every sense is attended to.

As I read the final pages, what most swelled my heart was the enormous courage of the writer. Peterson's day-by-day life, rich in accomplishment and adventure(as teacher, scholar, writer, member of a very large and close extended family, liberal advocate, outdoorsman),has also been full of nightmares.
These range from mental health challenges that include paralyzing panic attacks to sudden, stark deaths of loved ones,to the constant question of whether he was to live a double life (rascal? mainstream Mormon?) or a life of integrity and honesty of soul.

If Levi Peterson is a rascal, may God send us more of them.

For Mormons and those interested in Mormon culture, this is a fascinating read. Those who are not familiar with Mormon culture will probably wonder what it's all about.

It describes the live of a man who has become a disbeliever in diety, but whose connections to the LDS culture in which he was raised are far too tight to completely sever, and who is too conflicted in his beliefs to recognize and deal with some fundamental contradictions in them.

The central contradiction is this: He says he doesn't believe in God, presumably that also excludes belief in a life after mortal death. However, his love for his wife is too great for him to accept the logical conclusion that their relationship will end when one of them dies. He yearns for them to be together in the hereafter in which he doesn't believe. He's convinced that the God in whom he doesn't believe will honor their love by granting them an immortal future together inspite of his (Levi's) refusal to sacramentalize his marriage at an altar in an LDS temple, which, according to the God in whom he does not believe is the only way a mortal marriage may become eternal.

To a believing Mormon like me that's a fascinating and almost unbearably sad story. Levi wants it both ways, but part of him knows that can never be.

A good book to keep by the bed to help you fall asleep with images of a time that is gone forever.

Not to be confused with a history book written by any one person, A Rendezvous reader is a collection of selections from journal entries, newspaper articles and books, most only a page or two long, that show the culture and folklore of the mountain men and the beautifully wild world in which they lived. It describes everything from trapping techniques, encounters with grizzlies, descriptions of giant heards of buffalo, bloody fights with blackfeet, common and uncommon sources of food, surgery on the trail, beggers, weapons, river crossings, whisky, everything you might ever want to know about rendevous, why many were motivated to let out for the mountains in the first place and so much more.

The selections in this book offer the sights and sounds, smells and tastes of yonder mountains which makes worthwhile reading.

I thought this book was a fine compilation of writings on the mountain man's way of life. Condensed expertly and very well documented. Highly recommended for anyone searching for the good books on this subject.

This is a worthy addition to the long shelf of good books about the doings of a few men who explored and adventured in the wilderness of the great West around about the 1820s and 1830s. Never perhaps did so few lead such exhilarating and dangerous lives.

The "Reader" consists of 151 brief excerpts from mostly contemporary writings. Here for example is William Ashley's 1822 advertisement for "ONE HUNDRED MEN, to ascend the Missouri River to its source." One of the respondents was Jim Bridger. There are writings here from painters Alfred Jacob Miller and George Catlin, historian Francis Parkman, writer Washington Irving, and by the Mountain Men themselves: tall tales from the likes of Joe Meek and Black Harris, the story of John Colter's amazing flight from the Blackfeet, Hugh Glass's encounter with a grizzly, and Kit Carson's amazement when he encountered a Dime novel in which he himself "was represented as a great hero, slaying Indians by the hundred." Each section of the book has an informative introduction from the editors.

The selections run the full range of topics from fiction to what the Mountain Men wore, how they trapped beaver, and their sometimes violent, sometimes connubial relations with the Indian tribes they encountered. It's a good book to page through looking for interesting selections. You'll find many.

Smallchief

;) For any history and folklore affectionado, like myself, this book is made to order! The writing style is smooth and draws you right into the stories!

This book is amazingly interesting and informative. I can't wait to travel the state of Utah with this book as a guide!

I'd recommend a little study of geology, and the formations found in Utah before hitting the road with this book. KC Publications 48 page glossy color "Colorado Plateau", which I found at one of the National Parks, gives you a great introduction to a good fraction of Utah and shows the positions of the formations along with a time line. If you are a layman at geology, unless you prepare, you will get dizzy with references to formations aided only by black and white pictures. The lack of color illustrations is puzzling when color means so much in identification of rocks in the area. If you can easily recognize formations, this book is a great aid as you travel.

If you are interested in Geology, Utah is a wonderful place to travel in. From the layercake sedimentary rock of the colorado plateau, to the contorted ranges of the great basin, there is much to see in Utah. The author gives you a basic understanding of Utah's geologic history and then applies it as you travel through various bi-ways.

For more indepth discussion of Utah's geology, try to find a copy of William Lee Stokes or Lehi Hintze's book. You might be able to find them at the Dept. of Natural Resources bookstore in Salt Lake City.

I welcome feedback on this and all reviews at wstrnlibwarrior@yahoo.com

I just spent two weeks on the Colorado plateau with a geology field studies class. This, a geo dictionary and Desert Solitaire were the only books I brought with me (I came home with more of course!), and I was OK. I would say that the layout of the book is fairly accessible. If you are familiar with the series, you know it is arranged by highway. Compared however with the lecture notes I was taking, the geology was rather rudimentary. But, if you are just passing through (be sure to haul along Roadside Arizona, Colorado, or wherever else you may be when you run out of Utah road, and the book dead ends) than this book is sufficient.

Five stars because it is exactly what it says it is.

This book concerns the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. This book is likely a supplemental textbook to a history or women's studies class. It is dry, but does offer a general overview of the witch hunts.

what a great scholarly monograph! this book covers the misogyny, legal, religious and social underpinnings of the witch craze from 1450-1700

it covers europe and salem here in the old usa... finally, it provides insightful primary source documentation of witch craft trials.

hope you read it!

This book considers the general course and significance of the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. I admit my interest in the subject stems from the fact that my nine times great grandmother was the defendant in a witch trial in 16th century Germany. in which she was ably defended and was vindicated. The introduction to this fine volume reads in part: "The bleak terrain of the witch trials is both forbidding and depressing. Their vast scale must daunt any writer who hopes to explain the dynamics and significance of witch hunting, while the story of the trials also is bound to provoke discouraging conclusions about the human potential for inhumanity. Yet the witch craze's prominence in the history of the period necessitates the broadest possible treatment, not only chronologically and spatially but also conceptually. Our current knowledge of political institutions, social structure, and patterns of thought should be brought to bear when placing witch hunts in their historical context." The book succeeds admirably in carrying out the announced aim. It is the best treatment of the subject I know of.

Although not the definitive guide on witchcraft, this book does do justice to the late Middle Ages and beyond, and describes the evolution and eventual downfall of witchcraft persecution. If you truly want to know about the history of witchcraft throughout the Middle Ages, you should combine this book with other books that cover the earlier history in more detail, such as R.I. Moore's "Formation of A Persecuting Society", which covers 950-1250; or Kors & Peters' "Witchcraft In Europe:1100-1700." I read alll three in college for a witchcraft class, and I would find none of them to be definitive on the subject. Taken together, however, they provided a strong overview on the topic.

Dr. Gillespie has captured and brought to us a rare insiders view of death row. Those not particularly intested in this subject will find themselves quickly reading the book. It's not a difficult read and you might learn something while you're at it!

Dr. Gillespie has been on the Utah State Board of Pardons, has interviewed most (if not all) of Utah's recent executions (within the last 10-15 years). He tells of experiences -- one in particular when he spent half a day in a cell on death row. It's light but compelling reading -- quick but hooking.

I have the author as a professor in college. It's a quick and good read. He summarizes the stories of the men executed in Utah. Lots of fun!

L. Kay Gillespie has done a marvelous job at investigating the lives and circumstances of Utah's executed men. While there might be a tendency to over-dramatize or sensationalize this very intriguing, yet macabre topic, Gillespie presents a very readable, detailed account of these men who were put to death, without completely losing sight of the interesting or weird.

The Unforgiven gives a snapshot of each man executed in Utah. Most of the time, the reader is left wanting more on each of the men Gillespie profiles. That's OK, however. Most of these men and the heinous crimes they committed are enigmatic and leave the average reader wanting to know more, wondering questions like - how could have they done this? What drove them to murder? What was buried in their past? How did they feel about a state that sentenced them to die? What was their family life like? Many of these questions Gillespie economically touches upon. However, to answer all of these questions in depth would take pages and pages, probably books and books. For example, Norman Mailer's "The Executioner's Song" is well over 1,000 pages and it only profiles Utah killer Gary Gilmore.

Granted, the appeal of this book probably doesn't extend much beyond the state of Utah, but it is a good model for how to take a large topic - like every person who has been sentenced to death by the state of Utah- and condense it down into a readable, managable narrative.

Gillespie, while mentioning the idea of a firing squad and its relation to the Mormon belief in blood atonement, doesn't skirt the issue; in fact, he presents it, but doesn't necessarily inject his own belief(s) into the book. This is appreciated. He manages to give objective, competent and well-researched views about the topic without sermonizing or slanting the facts.

Again, any student of Utah history would do well to examine this well-reseached, well-presented book.

The historical info in this book is interesting (and it clearly shows what creeps the owners of the home were.) But there is a bit too much fluff the way the text is written, and I really could care less about the authors personal life..... The photos are very nice, however.

In this fine book Henry Whiting, the second owner of Wright's Teater studio, gives us the history of this diminutive gem sited in desert terrain high above Idaho's Snake River. The background of noted landscape artist, Archie Boyd Teater, is given along with the the desire of his wife to have Wright design their studio. The difficulties of realizing the dream in this remote locale are given an in depth look. However, after years of parttime use the studio, at the end of the Teaters' lives, lay virtually abandoned and in dire need of a savior. Enter Henry Whiting. The how and why of the restoration and sensitive remodeling of the studio into a full time residence are presented. Wright purists may find some of the alterations made heresy, but the respect with which they were considered and the fine results should ameliorate the concerns of most.

Well illustrated with original plans, presentation drawings and photos we also are given contemporary color photos and plans of the various revised areas. My only, albeit minor, quibble is the lack of side-by-side plans of the original and remodeled layout.

All in all, a must have for the Wright enthusiast.

In this book, Henry Whiting explores how Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes for the site and the clients and connected the design to the land, views and the cycles of the sun by using the example of his own well-loved home, a simple artist studio on a cliff orverlooking the Snake River in Idaho. The journey leads you to better understand and appreciate Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture in a way that is perfect as a first introduction or to complete an enthusiast's library. The publisher's design and presentation stands up to the author's thoughtful text.

A wonderful collection of IWW songs, spanning six decades, with very informative essays and rich illustrations. Must reading for all labor/radical songs and labor history enthusiasts. These are not songs by Utah Phillips, but are drawn from numerous songwriters which were published in various editions of the IWW songbook. And a great price to boot.

These days when organized labor is typecast as another big and corrupt special-interest group, it's useful to remember back to the days when there were no retirement or unemployment benefits, no health plans, no Social Security, no workplace safety regulations -- and when it took grass-roots efforts by ragged and democratic organizations like these to establish the basic rights and protections we now take for granted, in the face of persecutions, beatings, burnings, shootings and lynchings by hired goons, vigilantes and even the US armed forces. A lot of this history has only recently appeared in US textbooks at the college level, never mind in the secondary schools.

This collection feels rich and detailed: a number of essays, scraps of memoir, and illustrations augment the headnotes which illustrate each song. Some of the lyrics are over the top in their worshipful attitude toward an idealized Soviet Union and a simplistic reading of Marxist ideology. But remember that in the teens, 20s and 30s the Communist Party was the only organized political movement that took more than token interest in labor issues. And as Pete Seeger has said, "A good song is a triumph of oversimplification." These songs were the engine of that struggle, and medicine for all its hurts, and proof that Woody Guthrie was right when he claimed that music can change the world.

The last time I checked, songs consist of two things - lyrics and melody. Anyone considering buying this book should know, then, that it contains NO MELODIES. "The Big Red Lyric Book" would be a better title. It's a fine book for anyone who wants a history of the songs of the IWW - it has a wealth of essays, illustrations and historical biographies. If you want to use it to actually learn some Wobbly songs, though, it's not going to serve. I was disappointed when I first flipped through the book - I wanted a songbook, not a historical survey.

What we have here is a book that clearly shows its author has talent and skill. But the voice is not that indistinguishable from dozens of other poets all wanting to be the next Mark Doty. This is a safe collection--not that it avoids risky subjects--but that all of its subjects (art, fashion, AIDS)fall into the careful boundaries expected of a gay poet writing today. You could do worse. . . .

I loved this book because, simply put, Stephen McLeod has a crush on the world. Like a lot of crushes, this one breathes it all in. With startling detail it records all it sees, invests emotional risk at the least prompting, and generally rockets like a Texas bareback rider through the exquisite and beautiful sadness of it all. As I said - a crush. Thrilling, the nearness of the intoxication, the pure living breath of the beloved. But, unlike a lot of other crushes, this one is actually requited. Requited by the poems that result from this enamored encounter with the world. Poems whose mere existence is proof of what the beholder receives from the beloved. That chance to gaze without apology on beauty incarnate. Line after line confirms this love affair consummated by the poet's fluent observation of the world in which he lives. McLeod's is a poetry of style and wit, and yet it's constantly open to the weak-kneed sweet surrender of the human heart as it travels toward its inexplicable destiny. Seventy-five years after Hart Crane wrote, "Permit me voyage, love, into your hands..." Stephen McLeod's poems complete that journey.

"The Borgo of the Holy Ghost" like all books comes from the experience and the expression of the writer. Stephen McLeod connects with the reader. All Roads Lead to Kansas uses a poem to say something that couldn't otherwise be said. McLeod's poetry is spiritual. His 25 years of writing have put him in an enviable position. I look forward to his next book.

Perhaps all people thinking about joining up with LDS should check out history reading this book and perhaps 'Ninth Wife' and 276 page book 'Who wrote the book of Mormon'. This book is well written and reads like a early western novel.

Basically simply the story of Bill Hickman in his own words. There is a preface from his lawyer J.H. Beadle which is quite insightful. The issue is, was Mr. Hickman truthful in his account. I would recommend reading a companion book like Hiltons "Wild Bill" Hickman and the Mormon Frontier. It is good to get someone elses views based on their research. I am really glad to have been able to get a copy of this mans most important history in print. It is really a good read. I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed reading this book though I did read it with a little grain of salt added. Seeing how Hickman wrote it himself I'm sure the truth and fact was sprinkled with a little sugar.

I was glad Beale didn't do much editing and left the manuscript mostly as Hickman wrote it. I could almost hear the screaming indians, hear the cries of wounded men, hear the horses being lead out of the coral...by thives. I could see the murdered men fall from the saddle, watch the hangings and sit in court watching justice....sort of being served.

If you enjoy non fiction western then this is the book to read, providing you can read a little between the lines.

There's no doubt living in those days of the untamed west was trying and difficult, all of the settlers and emigrants had to be a very tough and hardy bunch.

The canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau are one of the most unique and captivating landscapes on earth, and they've cast a spell on many visitors, leading to a lifetime of exploration. This exploration takes many forms, sometimes physical explorations such as river running and hiking, sometimes artistic explorations such as painting and photography, but sometimes the canyonlands hook someone in a very unique way. How lucky for us that the canyonlands hooked James Knipmeyer on its historic inscriptions. A young Knipmeyer visited the Southwest and was fascinated by its rock inscriptions and realized that no one seemed to know much about them. He set out to discover and document these inscriptions, and decades later he is still going strong, now having found more than 1,600 inscriptions. Some of these inscriptions were left by the most famous explorers of the Southwest in the most famous places, and others are by obscure people in the most obscure corners. Knipmeyer has devoted substantial research to discovering the stories behind the inscriptions. For years other historians referred to the "D. Julein" who left many early inscriptions along rivers as a complete mystery man, but Knipmeyer has uncovered his story, although some of his inscriptions remain mysterious. For anyone who loves the Colorado Plateau this book offers a unique view into it, and it can be enjoyed either as an adventure-in-itself or kept as a reference to pull out anytime you are reading about some place or person on the Plateau. One is struck by the variety of motives that have drawn people to the Plateau, whether empire for the Spanish conquistadors, science for natural history explorers like Powell, religion for the Mormons, wealth for prospectors, or adventure for river runners. But surely all have been struck by the wonder of the rockscape, and one would like to think that it was to identify themselves with that rockscape that they shared a motivation to carve their names and dates into it.

Knipmeyer's years of exploring and documenting historic inscriptions has produced a fascinating and informative catalog of western life on the Colorado Plateau. It is a great addition to any western history or culture library and a good coffee table piece. But the trite and overworked reference to Butch Cassidy is misleading -- a blatant and bad marketing ploy by the publisher. Knipmeyer's book contains numerous photos and historic snippets of folk more interesting and important in western history. Read it an enjoy a unique glimpse into the region's colorful stories!

This book seems to be just about the various names carved into the red rock and ruins of the American Southwest, but it is much, much more.
It is about inscriptions, true, and features great photos of alphabetical carvings ranging as far back as (maybe) 1500 B.C. But along the way, the author puts every one of those carvings within their proper (and fascinating) contexts. He places the carvings within the appropriate stories; he describes their characters, and he attempts to explain the various westward movements the inscribers were a part of.
This book is a treat for lovers of the West and of the Colorado Plateau; it's obsessively researched, beautifully written, and presents a terrific overview of the history of the West.
(One thing though: I realize the author had to decide on a scope for his book--the examined inscriptions, for the most part, stop at 1900--but I would like to have heard his opinion on modern inscriptions. For instance, if Lake Powell ever gets drained, won't it be interesting to see--one hundred years from now--the inane insrciptions of houseboaters, carved hundreds of feet above the river's water level on cliffs completely unreachable by foot? I think so. I think history's never stopped; I think it's still happening.)
Anyway, this book is excellent. Buy it, read it, love it, and use it to spark your own adventures in the West.