NOTICES
American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith By Craig L. Foster and Marianne T. Watson
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Charleston, SC: History Press, 2019. 286 pp. Paper, $21.99
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American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith offers readers an accessible history of Mormon fundamentalism from its beginnings in the 1920s to the present. Writing in a respectful and sympathetic tone, Foster and Watson highlight several defining moments in the formation of Mormon fundamentalism. These events include the 1886 John Taylor revelation; the 1890, 1904, and 1933 manifestos from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the 1944 raid and priesthood split; the 1953 raid on the community in Short Creek; and the 2008 raid of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) properties and arrest of Warren Jeffs. Among the groups covered in the book are the FLDS church, the LeBaron groups, the Centennial Park group, the Peterson group, the Kingston group, the Apostolic United Brethren, and independents such as the Darger family and the Rockland Ranch community. One of the book’s most valuable features is the inclusion of some two hundred photographs from various collections. These images, along with explanations of religious terms such as Council of Friends, priesthood council, one-man rule, and placement marriage help make American Polygamy an important window into Mormon fundamentalist history, community, and religious belief.
Liminal Sovereignty: Mennonites and Mormons in Mexican Culture By Rebecca Janzen Albany: State University of New York Press, 2018. xxiv + 220 pp. Paper, $21.95
Rebecca Janzen’s Liminal Sovereignty: Mennonites and Mormons in Mexican Culture examines the ways in which twentieth- and twenty-first-century Mexican government documentation and popular media have portrayed Latter-day Saint, Mormon fundamentalist, and Mennonite colonies in the state of Chihuahua. Central to Janzen’s task is the
exploration of how concepts of race, religion, language, economic prosperity, and national identity are employed to shape government and public perceptions of Mormon and Mennonite groups. Janzen explores these concepts using a variety of sources, following a chronology from the 1920s to the present. Highlighting issues in the early twentieth century, she examines the language found in government-created “foreign registration cards.” Later, in explaining mid-twentieth-century land disputes between the colonies and edijos, Janzen relies on government reports and official correspondence. In her treatment of more contemporary conflicts between Mormons, Mennonites, and drugs cartels, Janzen analyzes depictions of the colonies in television shows and webcomics. Through these sources, Liminal Sovereignty offers readers insight into the rhetoric surrounding the creation and preservation of Mormon and Mennonite exception to Mexican law.
The 1875 William Henry Jackson Diary: An Illustrated Journey of Discovery Edited and annotated by Alan C. Terrell n.p.: Author, 2019. xxii + 226 pp
Alan C. Terrell’s edited and annotated edition of William Henry Jackson’s 1875 diary includes a typescript version of Jackson’s daily field diary entries, interwoven with Jackson’s reminiscences of corresponding dates. Terrell has undertaken the painstaking task of retracing, hiking, and rephotographing Jackson’s original expedition route. The author’s rephotographs are placed side-by-side with Jackson’s 1875 photographs, allowing the reader to see how the landscape Jackson encountered has changed in the intervening 140 years. In addition to his rephotography, Terrell includes modern maps and images of Jackson’s original sketches to illustrate Jackson’s route through some of the most scenic areas of Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Relying on collections housed primarily at History Colorado and the United States Geological Survey, Terrell’s labor of love immerses readers in the world of this notable frontier artist.
