Book Reviews

Utah: A Centennial Celebration.

Photographs by TOM TILL and text by BROOKE WILLIAMS. (Englewood, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, 1995. 144 pp. $45.00.)

The title should have read, "Utah, a Mostly Canyonlands Visual Celebration." It has nothing at all to do with the places or people of Utah's statehood centennial But then, little coming out of Utah's Centennial Commission does. This book's photographs are about one fourth Arches-Canyonlands-Moab vicinity and a full twothirds are from the Canyonlands subsection of the Colorado Plateau.

I was looking forward to seeing this book. It may not be representative of Till's best work There are a few really fine images (like p. 140, "Falls along the Fremont River"), but most, approximately 65 to 70 of the 104, I would rate good to average views that any competent and persistent photographer could have produced. Few have a visual signature look All of the (five or so) aerial views are as fine as any in print, but many views seem to have been pulled from stock files, and perhaps the best versions were out to other publications Disappointing.

Are you over forty? The publishers and designers don't care. The text type is small, the font not easily readable, and the leading extreme. The captions, all italics, are even worse. Perhaps they went for a fashionable look. The captions, generally bland, uninformative, and non-specific are still error prone. A few examples: does "Naturalist's Basin" conform to USGS toponyms? Or "Pariah River." The "Old Railroad Station in Thistle" was not one, and their "penstemmon" appears to be a lupine variety The "oasis surrounded by a fearsome desert" myth repeats. The settlement corridor remains a semi-arid steppe, a piedmont oasis nurtured by anomalous mountain and plateau precipitation.

A quick comparison with the Muench/Wixom Utah volume of 1973 is a little uncomfortable. Is the similarity of subjects and scenes accidental or is this a copycat of a fine old coffee table volume? Westcliffe's Singapore printing is superior, but scanner access was not universal in 1972 either. Of the two books, I prefer Muench's but cannot blame Till Perhaps the editors got to him Another superior book is Blessed by Light: Visions of the Colorado Plateau edited by superb photographer Stephen Trimble and published by Peregrine Smith in 1986.

Williams's text is readable. It has a clarity that illumines There is little of it The "chapters" are more like brief letters to a close friend You can relate to his perspective when he deals with universals, and he cares about the country about which he writes Till positions with patience in great places in all weather and awaits revealing light. Actually, both author and photographer have a passion for their places and their interpretations. This is the book's great redemptive value. There is little enough passion expressed for place anymore As poorly put together, as disjunctive as it is— the words and images, the passion, can come through and touch your spirit.

"This Is the Right Place" is a brief essay on the Anglo-Mormon coming into the country, Utah. "The Most Perfect Kiva" is an emotive expression of the link between the canyon ruins and the author's feelings on the death of his mother. Brief, beautiful, but a few well chosen illustrations would have enhanced A mentality is mentioned that I had always associated with many hiking guidebooks, but in a way picture books like this can be a way of "collecting magic places." Some books seem hell bent on "collecting," bagging like a trophy buck (or making one) and then moving on This photographer and author seem to be driven by other motives. "A Past and Present Lake" thinly sketches the relationship between weather and climate, mountains and snowfall, Lake Bonneville and Great Salt Lake and man. "As it Has Always Been" is a view through juniper berries and a remote mesa top to sensitivity to place and our use and abuse of it The points are well made and taken, but I am always uneasy with the hard-edged environmentalist view that all mining and ranching land uses are inherently bad Makes me wonder where the metals and materials and food come from for those backpack outfits and the machines they drive to wilderness.

in. "The Middle of Gravity" is about "the earths's magnet...feeling the firm and smooth pull of old, old rocks." A little light geology through a Westwater Canyon river run that atypically includes both author and photographer! "The Future of Experience" juxtaposes the Springdale IMAX theater and the reality of Zion Canyon's West Rim Trail Which is counterfeit? It's difficult for some folks to tell these days The afterword, "A Spirit Refreshed," is a note by the photographer on his work, on the joy of discovery.

The foreword is a bit glowing, as you might expect from the author's wife It cites Walter Cottam's classic 1947 lecture "Is Utah Sahara Bound?" Are we mining our limited semi-arid land resources or managing them with enough foresight? Change and the information highway can yield good results while we nevertheless lose our souls, she says "I believe our path toward the future is as it has always been—a people in place with a commitment to community. Staying put. Slowing down. Listening. Learning the names of things:...We must learn the names of our neighbors." She set the stage better than the book's title. And indeed, centennials are a good time to reflect.

GARY PETERSON Mapleton, Utah

Utah's Audacious Stockman: Charlie Redd.

By LEONARD J. ARRINGTON. (Logan and Provo: LTtah State University Press and the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, 1995. xiv + 282 pp. Paper, $19.95.)

Leonard Arrington, Utah's premier western historian, former LDS church historian, recipient of the first Charles Redd Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences, selected as the first Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr., Chair of Western History, and the founding director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University, was tapped by the family of Charles Redd to write a biography of Charlie's life Arrington acquits this request very well, describing briefly the immediate ancestry of Charlie before launching a lively recap of his childhood in Bluff, his BYU years, his church mission to the Northwest, the tenuous and troubled beginnings of his livestock empire, his years in the legislature, his family life after marrying Annaley Naegle, his major struggles to pay off his father's debts while coping with a depression and drought-ridden stock business, and the affluence and international recognition that came before his death at almost eighty-six years of age.

Writing a sensitive, perceptive biography of Charlie Redd was no simple task. Achieving balance and evenhanded objectivity often is problematical in a commissioned history, and the difficulty in even attempting to come to grips with someone as complicated and controversial as Charlie Redd would tax the abilities of even such a great scholar as Professor Arrington However, from the outset, his task was made simpler by the fact that the family requested that Charlie be depicted in his true light. The result is this work that depicts a very believable Charlie Redd, flushed with ambition, alive with an awareness of opportunities that few others see, and driven by a love for the stockman's industry and for the chance to live in that stark, wild, awesome beauty of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

There is another area in which this book deserves special commendation Too often the crafting of the book itself is overlooked in reviews, even though that crafting is of great importance in the durability and overall enjoyment of the book The copy I have is a standard perfect bound edition, but a number of considerations have been made to enhance its quality. These include the selection of first quality 60# softwhite acid free paper, designed both for reading ease and for permanence, 12# CIS cover stock with an additional UV coating for durability, and individual fan-flexed gluing of signatures which, despite a rather determined effort on the part of this reviewer, did not allow sections to be separated Most impressive of all was the superb quality of virtually every photograph, which appeared to have been duotoned for extra quality.

Despite the overall excellence of this work, there are the requisite number of small errors that will keep local pundits happy. While giving a long, poorly connected depiction of trilobites, dinosaurs, and fossil streams, Arrington inserts into the middle of a discussion of Jurassic formations a description of Charles Steen's Mi Vida mine, apparently not understanding that the Mi Vida deposits of uranium are in Triassic, notJurassic formations (p 21) Similarly, while claiming to be describing the Colorado Plateau Province, he is instead describing one part of the larger area: that portion lying within southeastern Utah (p. 22). While giving his own version of the Posey War (p 123), he has Posey's boy, as well as Posey himself, killed in the skirmishes of 1923. Bishop John D. Rogers is first referred to in Chapter 6 as John B Rogers, then he and his wife are cited in the footnotes as John and Luella Roberts, before finally being cited correctly. Of slightly more significance may be a curious little oversight in the first chapter on the background of the Redd family Grandfather Lemuel H Redd, Sr., is listed as being baptized in Spanish Fork, Utah, in 1852. The fact that "Pap" was almost seventeen years old and his father was in the bishopric of his ward with the entire family having been integrated into the church for almost ten years, makes this 1852 baptism look much more like one of the rebaptisms that were so much a part of Reformation Utah life, or that were conducted at times for the purpose of healing in at least some rural areas of Utah. While it is conceivable that Lemuel truly never had been baptized despite his father's prominence and his own manifestations of commitment, the prevalence of rebaptism should have occasioned some explanation on the part of Arrington, who is far too sophisticated in the nuances of early Utah life not to have understood this Could it be that in this preliminary portion of the book he fell prey to that great good fortune of Utah scholars who are provided by their institutions with fine young research assistants to do basic research?

All of these minor gaffs are minuscule compared to the quality of the overall work performed by Arrington in this book Thanks to his skill and individual effort we have a valuable insight into the life of perhaps the bestknown person to have come from southeastern Utah

GARY L SHUMWAY California State University Fullerton

Across the West: Human Population Movement and the Expansion of the Numa.

Edited by DAVID B. MADSEN and DAVID RHODE (Salt; Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994. xii + 255 pp. $50.00.)

Throughout history, population migration has been a major impetus of cultural change. One of the most important population movements in the Great Basin was the spread of Numic-speaking (Numa) populations. The Numa refers to the indigenous populations that occupy the Great Basin and adjacent areas who speak one of a related group of Numic languages Both archaeological and linguistic studies indicate that the Numa only recently spread across the Great Basin. The most influential of these studies was Sydney Lamb's (1958) reconstruction of Numic expansions based on the, then, emerging field of glottochronology. Lamb argued that this expansion began about A.D. 1000 from a point somewhere in the southwestern part of the Great Basin, possibly Death Valley Since that time there has been widespread agreement among scholars that a Numic migration did occur. Although newer models of population expansion have emerged, many details remain highly contentious, especially the timing of this phenomenon and homeland of the Numa. Particularly important yet unresolved questions concern how these populations spread over such a wide area and what became of the indigenous populations these immigrants encountered.

This volume is a collection of papers by some of the West's experts on Numic history In May 1992 a roundtable panel supported by Desert Research Institute of the University of Nevada, Reno, and the Nevada Bureau of Land Management met to discuss current issues on the Numic debate The purpose of these talks and the resulting volume was to synthesize the existing understanding of Numic history and to identify points of widespread consensus and areas of future study The book contains twenty-four papers covering a diverse array of issues conveniently organized into three sections: Background, Theoretical and Methodological Issues, and Regional Perspectives.

The first section contains selections that uniformly give an excellent synthesis of the history of thought on Numa migration (Mark Sutton and David Rhode), limitations of glottochronology (Donald Grayson), and myths surrounding the Numic expansion (David Madsen).

Most selections in the second section examine different models developed to explain how and why the Numic expansion occurred A consistent and unifying theme is the need for developing ways in which different models can be tested in the archaeological record. Noteworthy among these efforts is a discussion of cultural mechanisms (e.g., warfare, trade, etc.) as catalysts of migration by Martha Knack and Steven Simms who clarify different kinds of population movements The last few selections examine the relationship between the Numic ethnicity and artifact styles Most notable are Catherine Fowler's discussion of continuity and change in artifact categories from different parts of the Great Basin and David Rhode's fresh approach to the Numic expansion by directly dating brown ware ceramics James Adovasio and David Pedler rehash the evidence for basketry as an ethnic marker.

The regional perspectives section describes Numic history in different parts of the Great Basin and underscores the complexity and difficulty in interpreting it The strongest selections here are by Robert Elston and Christopher Raven who question the ability to distinguish population migration from in situ developments (a point echoed by other contributors).

The volume will appeal to experts who are interested in an up-to-date synthesis on competing views of the Numic expansion But it is fairly technical and may be difficult for those with only a cursory interest David Madsen and David Rhode should be commended for bringing these timely and thought-provoking selections together in a concise and useable form. The volume, especially the conclusions, fulfills the stated purpose and makes a unique and important contribution.

KAREN LUPO University of Utah

Roping the Wind: A Personal History of Cowboys and the Land.

By LYMAN HAFEN (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1995. x + 150 pp. Paper, $14.95).

Even mentioning such things as the desert tortoise, tree chaining, predator control, or cattle grazing on public lands commonly excites deepseated emotions among ranchers and environmentalists alike. Such topics tend to send the two sides into opposing corners where they entrench themselves, refusing to shake hands but willing to come out fighting. Although one book undoubtedly cannot solve all of the complex problems that separate the environmentalists and ranchers, Roping the Wind goes a long way in at least explicating the ranchers' perspective. More important, it does so without preaching an agenda laden diatribe. Instead, Hafen weaves his message into a series of first-hand cowboy accounts and reminiscences from his youth. The fictional tale of the exchanges between Afton, a rugged, peppery cowboy, and William, a city-slicker journalist, that unfolds between chapters adds humor to the already pleasant sketches

With the ease of a seasoned storyteller, Hafen details the truths of twentieth-century ranch existence in southwestern Utah and the Arizona Strip. There are no romanticized cowboys here, just real-life people struggling to make a living from the land. Hafen demonstrates that the attempt to survive in the "cowboyin' business, ain't no easier than ropin' the wind" (p. ix). The relatively few who still run cattle in the state's hot and desolate southern country do not persist because there is money to be made; they stick with it because it is in their blood They were born with a yearning for the range, "for the hands-onlife, for cows and horses and days outside" (p 28) They share a unique affinity—a "spiritual connection" of sorts—with the land, its plants, its animals, and its capacity to sustain their cattle.

Most ranchers depend upon public lands to graze their herds, and that is where the conflict arises. Through a series of increasingly stringent regulations, the BLM has tightened the reins with which it controls the ranchers Answering to cries that cattle damage the public land and cattlemen are welfare parasites, the government has limited range rights and largely eliminated the possibility for range improvements. Such heavyhanded control has pushed many fourth- and fifth-generation ranchers out of business. As Hafen's dad, Kelton, a veteran cowboy, once told him, "There's no future on the ranch If cattle prices or drought don't bury you, the government will" (p 16) Hafen does admit that some ranchers have abused the land, but they are the rare exception. The cowboys that he writes about represent the majority of cattlemen who share a love for the land and an intimate knowledge of its capricious nature

Hafen's personal approach masterfully captures the difficult realities of cattle ranching in the twentieth-cenmry West To the lay person with a general interest in cowboys, a reading of Roping the Wind will provide a rewarding experience Serious students of environmental issues will also benefit from reading the rarely told cattleman's side of the land-use debate

W PAUL REEVE Salt Lake City

Three Frontiers: Family, Land, and Society in the American West, 1850-1900.

By DEAN L MAY. (Cambridge, England, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. xiii + 313 pp $44.95.)

In this provocative book Dean May views the frontier experience as transactional, reinforcing the point made by others that settlement in America was more complex and contextual than portrayed in the Turnerian model While all three rural frontiers chosen for study were agricultural in nature, their respective settlers held different values and aspirations and, as a consequence, produced three distinctive societies Yet over time, the author contends, agents of change dissociated with modernization combined to produce greater uniformity.

May assembles a firm historical and geographical context for his study in the first four chapters. The first chapter establishes the context of migration to Sublimity, Oregon, Middleton, Idaho, and Alpine, Utah. In one sense, he asserts the obvious: that the nature of immigrants plays a major role in determining the development of frontier society, a position associated with the fragment thesis of Louis Hartz At this point the reader might wonder if the author rejects all of the arguments made by Turner and his followers, but upon further perusal it becomes clear that May neither spurns nor accepts completely one position over the other. He reconstructs the major migration streams to the study areas and with the use of diaries and journals illustrates the motives and experiences of the different migrant groups

The distinctive nature of these groups is made clear in chapter two, which examines the ethnic and religious background and habits and customs of those moving to the Willamette Valley in the 1840s, the Utah Valley in the 1850s, and the Boise Valley in the 1860s Those settling in Oregon were largely from southern societies where production and consumption focused primarily on the household and where relations were mediated by kinship The majority of those settling in Utah, hailing from northern England, the Midwest and the South, were united by their adherence to Mormonism and their escape from the pressures of modernization and religious persecution The Idaho settlers came from various regions of the eastern United States and were more commercially oriented in their farming and individualistic in their values and behavior.

In an attempt to satisfy the contextualist, the historical context of settlement of the Mountain-to-Pacific corridor region is established in the third chapter Not only did the settlers differ in character but so too did the physical environments they encountered and the social environments they created The differences are made evident in the author's reconstruction of patterns of land use and demography and discussion of social relations.

The nature of such relationships is explored in greater detail in chapter four May presents evidence to show how Sublimity residents continued to attach importance to kin and friends in their new homes. In contrast, Alpine settlers upon their conversion to Mormonism replaced their identification with neighbors and kin with community affiliation Middleton pioneers, on the other hand, failed to develop strong connections with either family or community. Many of this group came from regions strongly aligned to production for the market, and they carried such commercial aspirations with them to the West. These dissimilar social settings produced very different roles for women which the author addresses in the remainder of this chapter.

Chapters Five, Six, and Seven explore more deeply the major points made in the preceding discussion. An adept blending of structure and agency enables the author to show how the Oregon and Utah settlers tried to resist the modernizing trends represented by Idaho. The poignant use of anecdotes based on diaries, reminiscences, autobiographies, local histories, and newspapers embellishes May's analysis of more traditional quantitative sources that demonstrate convergence in terms of farm size and commercial orientation One could, I suppose, challenge some of the inferences based on these sources For instance, the tracing of individuals over time rather than surnames, which in many cases were shared by several families, would have produced a more accurate estimate of persistence However, May's analysis of a problematic collection of records is for the most part very insightful.

To this reviewer the most important contribution of this research is that it offers a perspective that is neither an outright rejection nor acceptance of the Turnerian or Hartzian views. The truth lies somewhere between both deterministic models, and Dean May has managed to capture the essence of this truth in a very fine book.

RANDY WILLIAM WIDDIS University of Regina

Differing Visions:Dissenters in Mormon History.

Edited by ROGER D LAUNIUS and LINDA THATCHER (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994 xiv + 402 pp $32.50.)

This collection of biographical essays is an important attempt to legitimize the study of dissent in Mormon history. The Differing Visions portrayed here reveal a fascinating collage of iconoclastic Saints who demonstrate that the American tradition of religious dissent has been well maintained among the Mormons Despite the persistence of dissent in Mormonism, Leonard J. Arrington notes in the foreword, the subject has been neglected in church history—the topic considered "somehow suspect." The confrontation with church authority, challenge to ideology, and threat to tradition have thrust dissenters into a shadowy, but safe, historical netherland.

The editors of this volume, Roger D. Launius and Linda Thatcher, explore such themes in their rich and thoughtful introduction Placing Mormonism itself in the context of American religious dissent, the editors claim that the church moved away from an early tolerance of pluralism toward a strong hierarchical structure as the leadership worked to consolidate authority For various reasons dissent became viewed as incompatible with love of the gospel, and dissidents were condemned as apostates and treated as traitors. The "overwhelmingly negative connotation of dissent in Mormonism," Launius and Thatcher suggest, is related to the "institution's anti-pluralistic and exclusivistic claims." This emphasis on "the negative aspects of dissent" has meant that the "positive consequences" of social conflict have gone unrecognized.

Their interest in the positive implications of dissent, Launius and Thatcher add, was "piqued" by Elaine Pagel's The Gnostic Gospels—a study that examines conflicting interpretations in early Christendom between dissident Gnostic and Pauline Christians Though both factions arrived at different conclusions about the nature of God and the mission of Jesus Christ and the church, they based their positions fundamentally on the same traditions and information. Pagel's use of the dissenting vision of early Christianity illuminates the rich theological diversity that constricted as the church institutionalized, and it consequently exposes the roots of later ideological conflicts. Thus Launius and Thatcher see in Pagel's study a conceptual framework for exploring parallels in the development and growth of the "Mormon movement."

The nineteen dissenters presented here span the history of Mormonism, beginning with the prominent founding brother David Whitmer in the 1830s and extending to Sonia Johnson in the 1970s. They represent an array of institutions with Mormon roots and include such well-known dissenters as Fawn McKay Brodie and lesser-known figures like Cutlerite church founder Alpheus Cutler. Essays by Ronald Romig, Kenneth Winn, Richard Howard, Richard Saunders, and Dan Vogel look at early converts who left the church during the lifetime of Joseph Smith; Paul Edwards, Danny Jorgenson, and Guy Bishop consider three cases of dissent in the aftermath of Smith's death Dissent during the Brigham Young era is explored by Richard Holzapfel, John McCormick, and John Sillito, and twentieth-century dissidents are examined by Kenneth Godfrey, Martha Sonntag Bradley, Newell Bringhurst, Jessie Embry, William Russell, Lawrence Foster, and Alice Allred Pottmyer.

How successful are these essays, given the intent of the book? Many succeed on all fronts: the subject compelling, the analysis insightful, and the wider implications significant Some are less satisfying: the subject seems inherently less promising or the author fails to move beyond the narrative Nevertheless, viewed as a whole Differing Visions is an important and thought-provoking book. It provides a larger historical context and greater diversity than generally is the case with Mormon history—as the use of the inclusive term "Mormon movement" suggests. The common denominator among these dissenters is that at one time each professed a belief in the mission of Joseph Smith; these essays show how varied the interpretations of that mission have been. Differing Visions also makes clear that although the strongly held convictions of dissenters were personally costly and created conflict, their stories enhance the texture and broaden our understanding of the Mormon experience.

LOLA VAN WAGENEN Charlotte, Vermont

The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power.

By D. MICHAEL QUINN. (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1994. xvi + 685 pp. $29.95.)

Michael Quinn's book is the only serious attempt by historians to look carefully at this aspect of Mormon history. It reviews that history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr., and through the succession of various claims and crises A companion volume, projected for a fall 1995 publication, will continue the study to the present.

The text consists of seven chapters: "The Evolution of Authority," "The First Five Presiding Priesthood Quorums," "Theocratic Beginnings," "The Kingdom of God in Nauvoo, Illinois," "The 1849 Succession Crisis and the Twelve," "Other Succession Options," and "The Nature of Apostolic Succession." The text is followed by an insert of several pages of photographs and documents Footnotes and bibliographic data are arranged as endnotes in an unusual style designed to address problems incident to Quinn's extensive documentation.

Appendices one through seven cover specific topics briefly, yet with explicit details. Included are "General Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47"; "Mormon Security Forces, 1833-47"; "Danites in 1838: A Partial List"; "Meetings and Initiations of the Anointed Quorum ('Holy Order')"; "Members of the Council of Fifty"; "Biographical Sketches of General Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"; and "Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, 1830-47." Readers will discover a new clarity about Mormon history derived both from the documented facts and from how they are arranged The book's wealth of information begs a studious reading.

Quinn writes: "My purpose in this study is to examine the evidence of Mormonism's social realities. Both believers and nonbelievers must remember that history can demonstrate human experience incompletely at best History can (and should) examine what others say about metaphysical experiences, but history cannot demonstrate, prove, or disprove otherworldly interaction with human experience." Since readers bring their own paradigms to their reading of religious history especially, it is important that the author's intent be understood For, as Albert Einstein wrote: "The theory defines what can be seen."

The author first traces the concept of the "church" itself from a "family church" to where it would become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and from one of charismatic witnessing to one of priesthood authority with specific offices and jurisdictions. That progression was erratic, fraught with controversies and even apostasy.

Quinn's careful review of sources shows many factual errors in current Mormon history. The higher priesthood's restoration happened in June after the church's formal organization, April 6, 1830. Therefore, the office of Elder belonged first to the Aaronic priesthood. He cites numerous instances of revelation "changes" that clarified, elaborated, or reversed earlier ones. Joseph's prophetic mantle sometimes seemed quite experimental What emerged was a church structure that was tentative and beliefs that were continually under review and revision The same was true of jurisdictional authority for all general offices of the church.

One of the author's most persuasive insights relates to the "theocratic" belief Smith introduced in 1833-34 This concept placed God in human history directly, with his prophet as spokesman and his Saints as the elect to preach and to enforce God's will, which meant that God's "law" could and should supplant the laws of the land, when needed, to promote righteousness and to usher in the kingdom of God on earth Theocratic prerogatives led to extremes, both in teachings and in practices. It was okay to lie or even kill if God willed it so Zion's Camp and the Danites created to defend the Saints and to redeem Zion both "took the law into their own hands." Later, in Nauvoo between 1840 and 1844, Joseph Smith introduced to a select few several secret practices Relatively few of the general membership knew of the doctrine of polygamy, or the "Anointed Quorum ('Holy Order')," or the Council of Fifty, or of the anointing of Joseph Smith as "King of the whole World."

While the stake presidents presided over the Saints within the stakes of Zion, and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles had authority in the missions, lines of authority and jurisdictions became further confused because of the secret orders and because the prophet himself had given mixed messages about jurisdictions By the summer of 1844, as secrets were revealed and enemies within combined with foes from without to bring his downfall, Smith's theocratic system began to crumble, and his death became inevitable. The author guides readers through the belief and practices that led to this tragic finale.

Quinn then discusses the problems of succession, again created because of ambivalence in Smith's statements. He discusses all claims in interesting detail. It would finally be the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from whom most Mormons would accept leadership, although nearly half of the 16,000 members did not follow them to Utah He elaborates on apostolic succession as the resolution of the awesome uncertainty that had been theirs with the death of the founding prophet.

This is an important book. The author has done an outstanding job of clarifying who the Mormon hierarchy were and what they wrought. Additional studies are needed on lesser leaders and offices to complete the picture of the Mormon hierarchy It remains a challenging task, as is the one Quinn has accepted for himself. He recalls Joseph Smith's statement with understanding: "No man knows my history. ... " He adds a lengthy summary statement, quoted only in part here: "Few Mormons today can grasp the polarizing charisma of their founding prophet. Some may feel uncomfortable with the full scope of Joseph Smith's activities " Quinn's work is a major contribution to our understanding of Mormon history during this period.

Readers who can own their peculiar biases about religious history will be greatly informed by reading this book.

MELVIN T SMITH Mt. Pleasant, Utah