Book Notices

LDS in the USA.

By Lee Trepanier and Lynita K. Newswander. (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012. x + 166 pp. Paper, $24.95.)

Using both nineteenth- and twentieth-century history as background, this book discusses ways that Mormonism and Mormons have contributed to American culture. The introduction states that “Mormons have played a substantial role in the shaping of the social, cultural, political, and religious makeup of the United States.” In attempting to flesh out what that role has been, the authors present essays on Mormons in media (particularly television and movies), Mormon marriage beliefs and practices, Mormons in politics, the uniqueness of Mormon theology, and Mormonism as the American narrative, concluding that Mormonism is the “most American of religions” and in fact, in a sense, “is the American religion.”

The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy, Updated Edition

By Terryl L. Givens. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, 2013.x + 227 pp. Paper, $24.95.)

Since this innovative study was published in 1997, critics, creators, and the general public have continued to talk about Mormonism—particularly during the 2012 presidential campaign and through popular culture. Discourse about Mormonism has in fact increased during the last several years, and the author has updated Viper on the Hearth to analyze this discourse. New material in the book looks at recent media, politics and pundits, critics’ comments, and stereotypes presented in cultural creations such as The Book of Mormon Musical, Angels in America, and Under the Banner of Heaven. Givens compares contemporary treatment of the LDS church with the treatment it received during the nineteenth century, arguing that some of today’s critics continue to use myths and strategies similar to those used more than one hundred years ago.

Hell on Wheels: Wicked Towns along the Union Pacific Railroad.

By Dick Kreck.(Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2013. x + 265 pp. Paper, $16.95.)

Curiously, only nine out of this book’s sixteen chapters and its epilogue actually treat railroad towns. Other chapters provide pleasant narratives on overland travel before the railroad, women’s experience on the trail, stage companies, “Indians!”, the beginnings of the transcontinental railroad project, building the railroad, and travel by train. The book discusses two Utah towns, Corinne and Promontory, including information on laying track through Echo and Weber canyons and the completion ceremony on May 10, 1869.

The Avenues of Salt Lake City, second edition.

By Cevan J. LeSieur.(Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press and Utah State Historical Society, 2012.xii + 378 pp. Paper, $29.95.)

Originally published by the Utah State Historical Society in 1980, this expanded edition includes new color photos, more buildings, and updated chapters. The book contains information on the history of the Avenues, patterns of ownership and development, institutional buildings, preservation efforts, and architectural styles and types. The “Significant Sites” section is organized street by street so that readers can use it as a guidebook; it also has an index to addresses and an index to names.

The Baron in the Grand Canyon.

By Steven Rowan. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2012. viii + 204 pp. Cloth, $45.00.)

Cartographer, artist, explorer, and inventor Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Egloffstein joined John C. Frémont on his 1853–54 expedition. After the near-disaster in the mountains above Parowan, he left the Fremont expedition and traveled to Salt Lake City, where he joined the survivors of the Gunnison expedition. He later joined the Ives expedition up the Colorado River. This book tells of his life and journeys and reprints many of the drawings and engravings he created while in the West.