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Liked It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “A very good, comprehesive, yet lengthy and sometimes wordy look at the life of the prophet Joseph Smith. I like how Bushman lets you know when he is putting in his opinion.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“I love reading well written and researched histories and this is definitely both! Having taken a few classes in Joseph Smith History I didn't think there would be very much new information, but I was surprised how detailed the information Bushman gathered is. As I read I kept expecting to read about a certain story and then I was given more details about events that were the catalyst to the event I knew about.
Gavin G wrote this review Thursday, May 3, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The only sad thing about this biography is it did not include a lot of the stories I had heard from Susan Easton Black about Joseph Smith. After finishing I wondered if the stories are just folk lore or if Bushman didn't feel they were consequential enough to be included. It would have been nice to have those stories addressed, but with someone like Joseph Smith there are so many rumors and stories past down it would have been impossible to address them all.
In short the book far exceeded my expectations and it gave me a very good sense of how this "Rough Stone" started rolling. ”
“Bushman put together a well documented book, without the necessary level of coherence needed for a historical book. He writes like I think. The book comes across as a jumble of ideas that got scooped up and plopped on a page. The work would have been highly improved if he had put things in chronological order, flanked by the context of the political and religious happenings of the day. Bushman did give a fascinating history of a controversial American figure. The book is definitely worth reading.”
Victoria T wrote this review Friday, April 27, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“While this is a book with a bias (there's no such thing as unbiased opinions when it comes to religion or politics) and while Mr. Bushman, dubbed 'the Mormon explainer' is a believer, he examines the religious sect and its cultural influences with an unflinching eye. Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, there's a lot to learn from this book. Fully entrenched members will be forced to look at a history that is largely untaught, and perhaps ask themselves some tough questions, while skeptics should (at least I hope) come to a better understanding of a people and a culture steeped in folklore and misunderstanding. It's an interesting look at the forces that what went into the shaping of this country and the challenges placed upon the constitution during our nation's, and particularly the West's, formative years. At 740 pages, it took me a while to get through, and though I went into it with many questions, I came out with a broader understanding, but with many questions still remaining. For the curious, this is an intriguing read.”
V.R. Christensen wrote this review Tuesday, January 10, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Joseph Smith believed in the vigorous pursuit of truth regardless the source. This bio lays out all sides of Joseph Smith's complicated character... the miracles, the charisma, the leadership, and the sin.”
Dave F wrote this review Tuesday, January 3, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I highly recommend this book to LDS church members and those unaffiliated with the church alike. It is essentially a biography written by a believing Mormon seeking to address and deal with all of the weirder, more uncomfortable aspects of Joseph Smith's life as well as the glorious visionary achievements and the faith-promoting stories we have focused on too exclusively in Mormon culture. While not quite as fascinating of a read as Prince and Wright's excellent David O. McKay biography, Bushman deserves praise for what he has done here, and culturally speaking, his is probably the more important book. Critics outside of the Mormon community have been less laudatory, opining that Bushman is too soft on Joseph, a critique probably based in his departure from previous biographies that are critical in tone and have become the standard texts in the non-Mormon academic world, despite occasional specious historical narrativizing (such as Fawn Brodie's Freudian speculations). Bushman doesn't avoid difficult topics, however, be it polygamy, the Nauvoo Expositor, or the Book of Abraham, and Joseph does not ultimately come across as a saint here at all. However, Bushman recognizes the conflicting historical sources, and seeks to find a middle path, rather than focusing on the most sensational, scandalizing, or, on the other extreme, the most glamorizing. Still, in this book Joseph emerges as an impressive figure--a true original who accomplished things that would scarcely seem possible of a man of his modest origins and means. For Bushman, he is an imperfect, but a good man, if occasionally kind of a weirdo. Mr. Bushman had hoped his book would be more enthusiastically embraced by the academic world, but he should be heartened by the way it has been embraced by a certain segment of believing Mormons who have longed for a more honest and less whitewashed or mythic picture of The Prophet. Bravo, Richard Bushman. And thank you.”
William B wrote this review Thursday, June 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Instead of shaking my faith by exposing the warts, the book strengthened it. The book brought so many of the characters in the history into 3 dimensions. Now I've just finished Doctrine and Covenants, which read differently for me that any other reading of the book. I think one reason is that I had recently read Rough Stone Rolling, so the names on the page were much more real. And now I've been called to teach Seminary in the fall and guess what's the curriculum! You guessed it.”
harpslinger wrote this review Monday, July 19, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Many continue to view Smith as an enigmatic and controversial figure. Bushman locates him in his historical and cultural context, fleshing out the many nuances of 19th-century American life that produced such a fertile ground for emerging religions. A remarkable man.”
Tom Miller wrote this review Friday, February 5, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Probably one of the best books I have read on Joseph Smith.”
Lawrence S wrote this review Sunday, January 3, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“one of my 2 favorite books about joseph smith. bushman, who is a faithful historian from the LDS church, takes a very candid and factual look at who joseph smith really was. he is an advocate of the LDS church getting away from the myth of smith, and instead appreciating him for what he really was - an amazing and brilliant man - but also a very real, tangible, human being. ”
Josh P wrote this review Saturday, November 21, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
