Very useful prayer exercises, which dispose the pray-er to be open to share in Therese's transforming encounter with Merciful Love. Can be used for ongoing daily prayer or as a retreat.

This is a good edition of the bible, perhaps the best edition of the New American Bible for Catholics. It begins appropriately with a guide to reading the scriptures and the text of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from Vatican II. The introductions and notes are scholarly and helpful. Maps and illustrations are nice, esp. the illustration of ancient Hebrew cosmology. The Bible Dictionary and the Doctrinal/Bible index are helpful for looking up passages which are important sources of Catholic Doctrine. It comes in an attractive cloth cover. A great buy for the price! I would recommend this over the Catholic Study Bible, NAB. I would give it 5 stars, except that I find some problems with the NAB translation (excessive use of inclusive language and a mundane reading of some of passages). Catholics interested in this Bible should also use the New Jerusalem Bible, a nice alternative translation which is less literal and more literary. The notes and book introductions in the New Jerusalem Bible are even better than those of the NAB. Also, the New Oxford Annotated Bible, 1977 Revised Standard Version, is recommended since it contains all of the books accepted by the Eastern Churches as well as the Western Church and it is a beautiful and literal translation of the Scriptures.

The book itself is a fascinating piece of local history, as well as a captivating true crime story. It illustrates all too well the failures of the American Justice System in this case. I found the story especially intriguing because it took place in my hometown, not far from where I live. The story is an amazingly detailed timeline tracking Hatcher through his many run-ins with Law Enforcement all over the West and Midwest. His sheer luck and the unabashed recklessness of the authorities he encountered are beyond comprehension. For anyone interested in Law Enforcement and/or its blunders this book is a must, and even if Law Enforcement does not pique your interest I think this book might.

This book is billed as an unbiased history/biography of Joseph Smith. I had read Fawn Brodie's, No Man Knows My History... and was "itching" for more. I think Ms. Hill should just openly admit that her brother wrote a major work, that she quotes liberally, while working at BYU--she may not be Mormon, but she has a vested interest in the cause... promoting her brother's work? This book was a cheap second.... Read Ms. Brodie's work

Donna Hill's book was a disappointment to me. It gets three stars only because she does a respectable job in the last half of the book of recounting the Church's experience in Nauvoo, the polygamy issue, and the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

The most disappointing aspect of Hill's book is the superficial way she examines the evidence and circumstances surrounding the First Vision and the writing of the Book of Mormon. She examines the three separate accounts written by Smith of his First Vision and essentially states they are reconciliable. This echoes the assessment of the accounts made by Dean Jesse in his article in 1973 on the First Vision which occurred in Brigham Young University Studies Journal. Hill leaves out the fact that Smith stated he was a different age during each recounting of the vision, that the message delivered by the heavenly beings was significantly different in each account, and that his inability to specifically date the vision differs dramatically from his ability to date with absolute specificity the vision that told him to go dig up the Golden Plates.

Also troubling about her analysis (or lack thereof) is the following: 1. She alludes to a dream that Smith's father had which is recounted in Lucy Smith's biography of her son, but fails to mention this dream somehow found its way totally intact into First Nephi in the Book of Mormon. 2. She fails to deal with the issue of Smith's imagination and the fact he told tales recounting the early inhabitants of the Americas prior to the time the Book of Mormon was translated (Lucy Smith's biography does recount this) 3. She discusses the subject matter of the Book of Mormon, but fails to deal at all with the vast body of extrinsic evidence that tends to refute its claims (the fact that there is no evidence that animals described in the Book of Mormon lived here during the time mentioned, DNA testing showing Indians are related to Asiatic peoples--instead of Middle Eastern Jews, the absence of archaelogy establishing metallurgy, shipbuilding, etc.)

Hill does deal with Smith's 1826 trial in Bainbridge, New York for being an "imposter and moneydigger". She does admit that he may have been convicted of the crime and put on probation, but fails to grasp some of the larger implications of the event. First, the whole thing started when Josiah Stowel traveled all the way from Bainbridge to Palmyra to find Smith to look for buried treasure. In order for this to occur, Smith *had* to have had a reputation for engaging in such activities that was fairly widely known. Second, several accounts of the trial say that Stowel testified that he knew Smith could look into a seer stone and see buried treasure underneath the earth. The implication of this is that Smith had broad persuasive powers. Since people can't see what is underground with a seer stone one must conjecture why he claimed that he could.

I felt her treatment of the Book of Abraham controversy was inadequate. She admits that modern Egyptologists that have translated part of the papyri from which the Book of Abraham was written have a very different translation than that which Smith claimed. However, she suggests that perhaps the papyri only served as a "catalyst" which opened his mind to receive the inspiration to write the Book. Perhaps, but entries from Smith's own journals during this time period use the language that he was preparing an Egyptian alphabet and grammar to translate the papyri. One has to ask the question, just exactly when does a prophet say something that is accurate, and when does he not?

The book redeems itself, in part, by recounting history of the Saints, as Smith began to build the church. Her recitation of the polygamy issue in not a whitewash. The persecutions that the Mormon people endured in Missouri and Illinois are absolutely shocking. Hopefully, they will never be repeated against any group, anywhere. I hadn't realized, until I read this book, that things were so bad in Illinois at the time of the Mormon expulsion from Nauvoo, that Governor Ford actually feared Civil War.

Smith does come through in this book as a highly charismatic, very likeable, and highly intelligent individual. This is a far cry from some church works which have attempted to paint him as an ignorant country boy.

An interesting, but a superficial book.

This is certainly the best biography about Joseph Smith so far. I believe it is certainly the most objective, it does not bash Smith or praise and defend him. Its objective is to attempt to understand Joseph Smith. I feel for the most part it does achieve that goal. I felt after reading it I certainly had a better understanding of who Joseph Smith was. I appreciated the fact that Hill did not get off on issues such as whether or not the Book of Mormon is real history or if Joseph Smith was a true prophet, that was not the books goal. My only criticism is it does not really focus on Joseph Smiths culture or enviroment that he lived in. It also sometimes seems that it is more of a early history of the Mormon Church than a biography. There are more biographies about Joseph Smith currently being written that I believe will replace this one as being the most definitive biography of Joseph Smith. However right now there is no better biography about Joseph Smith available. And having spent several hours of my own in the Churches Historical department studying certain aspects of Joseph Smiths life, I do feel somewhat qualified in saying that.

I found this Bible to be very difficult to rate. On the one hand, the Byzantine lectionary is highly useful and some of the references to patristic interpretations of selected texts are useful. However, the rest of the Bible is basically junk and shows that the editors' are beginners in the Orthodox Faith who are still fundamentally "evangelical protestant" in their outlook and who have not yet really begun to understand the essence of Orthodox Christianity. The essay on the Orthodox Church is unnecessarily polemical and hostile to Roman Catholic Christians. The book introductions do not take into account any critical scholarship and are utterly useless. Previous reviewers have already pointed out a number of places where the notes do not accurately reflect good Orthdox exegesis. The morning and evening prayers in the back are a nice addition, but it is puzzling that those devotions omit prayers to the Mother of God and the the saints, thus downplaying the intercession of the Saints. It is also puzzling that the editors used the New King James Version when the Revised Standard Version is the official English translation for both the Orthdox and the Byzantine Catholic Churches. This reviewer recommends that Orthodox and Eastern Catholics use the New Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, as their primary study Bible, since it includes the complete canon of Scripture, has more useful, scholarly notes and is the official English edition of the Orthdox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

Up until this century it was taboo to put commentary into a Bible for fear that folk would take the notes and interpretations as if they were part of the Bible itself. Well, they were right! However, now everyone and his brother puts footnotes and explanations in their texts of the Scriptures, so now the Orthodox do as well. This is not THE Orthodox Study Bible (as reviewer Matt asserts above - and, yes Matt, you are nit-picking!), nor does it pretend to be. The articles and notes are intended to help elucidate the Scriptures and provide some introductory articles on Orthodox topics, but this is not a full-blown Bible commentary, nor a course in New Testament theology. The complaints of the critics tend to be essentially that it isn't enough. Well, then they need to write a multi-volume commentary to suit their needs. However, for the average layperson who's lucky to crack open the Bible occasionally, this fits the bill just fine. Remember, there is no "official" Orthodox translation of the Bible except for the original Greek. Thus, the NKJV is one of the better texts and the footnotes are there to make occasional comments as to translation problems and errors. No, they don't cover all the issues, but as I said before, to do that you would need a multi-volume Orthodox commentary that takes up half your bookshelf. Hopefully, at some future date, such a work will be undertaken. For now, this is a modest and well-needed starting point. +Fr. William Christ

This book does a good job in providing commentary notes on Bibilcal passages with an Easern Orthodox viewpoint. The right amount of information is given. It assumes the reader has no or very little knowledge so as not to confuse potential readers, including new converts, curiosity seekers, or cradle Orthodox who have never really studied their faith.

It is filled with iconograpgy throughout and the end of the book has special sections in regards to Orthodox views, prayers, and doctrines. It is done in an easy fomat to spark one for further study and research.

This study Bible should be in any serious Bible students libarary regardless of religion. The views of the East have been often neglected by the West and the East has a rich tradition the West can learn and enjoy.

I admire the author's thoughtful words, but by ignoring the Reorganized LDS church, which the Prophet's son Joseph Smith III founded in 1860 with Emma Smith's assistance, a huge part of church history goes unmentioned. The RLDS (now called Community of Christ) has in it's headquarters in Independence MO, two portraits, one of Joseph Smith Jr, and one of his wife Emma Smith. I believe these were painted during Joseph's lifetime, thereby making the statement in the back of this book's jacket that the cover portrait is the only one painted during Joseph's lifetime inaccurate.

As a Latter-day Saint, I found little new or interesting in Remini's biography. He covers the main points in much the same way you will find in numerous Mormon-authored bios, articles, and pamphlets. The casual student of Mormonism, however, will find a largely balanced, fair sketch of the Prophet's life--non-Mormons in particular may wish to pick this up. Remini, not a Mormon himself, treats his subject with respect, and for the most part allows the reader to decide for herself whether the Prophet's claims were true.

The primary angle Remini offers is his analysis of Joseph Smith as a product of his own time. For example, Remini introduces the Prophet's revelatory abilities by discussing how visions, seer stones, etc. were common in the early 1800s, and Remini finds many American ideals in the Book of Mormon. This is an interesting angle, but in my view fell a little short because Remini largely fails to examine other possible influences on the Prophet's work and doctrines: for example, the presence of Hebraistic language structure in the Book of Mormon. Remini becomes subjective at times, seemingly violating his own prefatory promise, that he would let the Prophet speak for himself.

This short biography of the man now considered "My Joseph" by author Robert Remini, covering the life and death of the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, is a well-researched, even-handed and concise examination of the life of a unique and great American. Drawing from sources as far apart as Joseph Smith's Personal Writings and John C. Bennett's Expose of Joe Smith and Mormonism, from scholars across the spectrum such as Fawn Brodie, Richard Bushman and Donna Hill, Remini has synthesized the important historical, biographical and often controversial information to be found about the life of Joseph Smith. The work is brief, as necessitated by the series, and can easily be read in one sitting.
Divided into nine chapters, Remini first introduces the reader to the American political and cultural context of the early 19th century, as the extent, fanaticism and individual, similar occurences to those of Smith during the Second Great Awakening are not a well-known part of his story. Indeed, Mormon readers well versed in the subject matter may find these interjections scattered throughout the book some of the most interesting and challenging material. Here and throughout the rest of the work Remini casually implies that Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and much of what has become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a product of timing, a product of the unique American environment during the nation's infancy. Tracing and lightly touching Smith's ancestry, the author mentions episodes from Smith's adolescence he believes helped shape the character and disposition of later years. Smith's angelic and divine visitations are covered, along with the origins of the Book of Mormon and the beginnings of the Church. The reader is present during the fantastic events of the Church in Kirtland and its near subsequent collapse, for the wars with the old settlers of Missouri and during the flourishing, while controversial, period of Nauvoo and polygamy. The biography closes examining and ultimately denouncing the assassination of Joseph Smith, not as a slain prophet, consistent with the author's non-partisan stance, but as a great American, a victim of a society that bordered on the fringe of lawlessness.

As already mentioned, the book is even-handed and mostly accurate, the occasional detail, a misquotation from the Book of Mormon, for example, excusable for a reputable scholar undertaking this kind of endeavor. Mormons will disagree with some observations while non-Mormons will others. Not uncommon verbage found throughout the book often reads, "Mormons support or agree...while critics point out..." and vice-versa. All readers will find an entreating and page-turning presentation of Joseph Smith the man, innovator, prophet, politician, leader, family man, military leader and American.

"Smith admitted that some accused him of 'pretending to be a Savior, a worker of miracles, etc. All this is false...He is but a man, he said; a plain, untutored man, seeking what he should do to be saved.'"

To readers interested in a similarly unbiased, scholarly appraisal of the Book of Mormon, I would suggest the recent book By the Hand of Mormon by Terryl Givens, a professor of English at the University of Virginia. While Joseph Smith reads like an artistic biography, By the Hand of Mormon scrutinizes the possible origins of the Book of Mormon, internal and external evidences of its veracity, arguments on both sides of the divide and other topics.

Like Islam and the Koran, it is difficult to seperate Mormonism from the Book of Mormon. If you are a devout Mormon, you believe this to be "the most perfect book on the face of the Earth" as the author or "translator" said of it. If you read it in any other context, you will find it a poor read. Written in Elizabethean English, though supposedly translated from "Reformed Egyptian", it reads suspiciously like the King James Bible. In fact, many Mormon critics believe that the book was written by Joseph Smith or one of his colleagues, drawing heavily on "A View of the Hebrews", written by Ethan Smith a few years before the Book of Mormon was published, and with word for word extracts from the King James Bible.

While Mormon missionaries and apologists expect you to accept the book on the merits of prayer and warm feelings, I suggest you read other works, like Mormon historians B.H. Robert's "Studies of the Book of Mormon" or D. Michael Quinn's numerous Mormon histories to get a more balanced viewpoint. Richard Ostling's "Mormon America" (1999) also gives a great overview of many aspects of the religion and Mormon subculture.

As for a literary work, Mark Twain once said that if you took out "And it came to pass...", the Book of Mormon would be a pamphlet.

In sum, if you want to know about Mormonism, you should read this book, just as I would read the Koran to study Islam. If you want to truly understand it, however, you need to read more of [it] and also take a look a more balanced works.

Since it was first published in 1830, the Book of Mormon has consistently been the center of controversy. The book makes two extraordinary claims: first, that it is an authentic ancient text that was recovered and translated in the early 1800s by Joseph Smith; and second, that both the writing of the original text and its translation by Smith into English were directly inspired by the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible. Thus the Book of Mormon claims to be both a reliable historical record of ancient American civilizations and a supplement to the Bible--a truly new testament for the modern era.

Consequently, most criticism of the Book of Mormon has focused on these two interconnected claims. Is this book an authentic divine revelation? True believers have, over the last 170 years, united themselves to the Latter-day Saint religious movement. Disbelievers have condemned the book as either an audacious fraud or a demonic deception. The invective over the book has often grown quite personal, particularly between the main body of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) and evangelical Protestants who view Mormonism as a heretical "cult."

In all the fuss and furor over the Book of Mormon, however, few people seem to take a truly honest view of it as literature. Whether one views it as a divine revelation written by ancient prophets or as a work of fiction by a 19th century American, I think that all can agree that the Book of Mormon is a work of literature which bears the marks of purposeful construction on the part of any human who had a hand in its creation. Even the belief that the author (or authors) was a prophet does not erase the possibility of human creative agency. After all, a divine being may inspire an author, but that inspiration must be channeled through that author's abilities as a textual craftsperson.

And so the question thus arises: Apart from the Book of Mormon's value as a spiritual guide (or, if you prefer, danger as a spiritual counterfeit), is it a great work of literature? And where does it fit in the vast library of human literature? Personally, I think it's a pretty good yarn with some fascinating touches in the areas of form and style. And with regard to its place in world literature, I place it among the great body of works which consciously respond to, rewrite, or affirm the Judeo-Christian Bible: the Qur'an, John Milton's "Paradise Lost," many of the poems of William Blake, other "American Bibles" like Mary Baker Eddy's "Science and Health," novels like Zora Neale Hurston's "Moses, Man of the Mountain," biblically-inspired horror films like "The Omen," and many other texts.

As I said, I found the Book of Mormon to be quite compelling as a story. It is truly a narrative with an epic vision: it tells the story of two great migrations from the Old World to the Americas, and of the great civilizations that rose and fell from the seeds thus planted. The overall narrative spans many centuries of war, political intrigue, and cultural clashes. It is a vast tapestry whose scope calls to mind the "Star Wars" saga or similar multigenerational science fiction epics.

Within this greater narrative are embedded many gems of localized storytelling and poetic imagery. Check out, for example, Lehi's vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi 8), the parable of the seed (Alma 32), or the story of the Jaredite ocean voyage (Ether 6). That last story contains a marvelous description of ancient submarine-like vessels being lit by a strange phosphorescent element.

The construction of the Book of Mormon should excite literary scholars interested in theories about narrative. The text has multiple narrators, some of whom comment on the other narrators. Furthermore, the book's progression moves back and forth chronologically (yet another similarity to some of my favorite science fiction sagas).

Of course, the Book of Mormon has its drawbacks. While the overwhelming focus on the person of Jesus Christ makes the book priceless to the Mormon faithful, this element presents a stumbling block to the faithful of other "Abrahamic" religions which clash with Mormonism. And secular readers will probably find the book's Christocentricity tiresome and preachy. The book's relative lack of strong female characters has been a point of criticism. Some of the book's racial and ethnic themes (see, for example, 2 Nephi 5) are disturbing. And many will find some of the narrative voices' direct addresses to the reader to sound like spiritual blackmail of the "believe me or you'll be sorry" variety.

Moreover, this edition of the Book of Mormon is explicitly geared towards the faithful of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and potential converts). It is thus not really an appropriate edition of the Book of Mormon for a pluralistic context (such as a literature course in a public university).

These concerns aside, I believe the Book of Mormon to be an important and fascinating work of American literature--a true hidden classic. I found it interesting that one of the great American plays of the 1990s, Tony Kushner's two-part epic "Angels in America," draws deeply from the Book of Mormon with regard to the play's themes, plot, and characters. If an artist of Kushner's stature can give the Book of Mormon such serious consideration, perhaps it is time for the Book of Mormon to enjoy a wider audience that can finally appreciate and discuss the text as a work of literature, and not merely as a lightning rod for sectarian controversy.

This book changed my entire perception of religion. It provided insights that led to questions about life, God and religion that I was afraid to ask myself. Is much of it the same as the Bible? Yes. That's because the source that inspired its authors is the same that inspired the Bible. There are four Gospels in the New Testament; are they fradulent because they repeat?

The Book of Mormon is so valuable because it restores many things that were lost from the bible during centuries of translation. The Bible has been rewritten so many times, what we currently have can not be considered all that has been revealed to man from God. Ancient scrolls discovered in the Dead Sea show differences, ommisions, and additions when compared to the modern King James text. Does the Book of Mormon fill all the missing gaps? No. But it does certainly provide valuable insights into Christianity. This book is a powerful witness for Christ, it's what the whole book is about.

Read the negative reviews of this book here, and observe the language and tone with which they are written. The anger and bitterness is obvious, and damaging to the claims with which they are made. In fact, some of the claims made against the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith are almost identical copies of the accusations and claims made against the Savior during His ministry among the Jews.

Read this book, it won't hurt you. You just might come away from the experience with much more then you would of thought possible.

This book changes lives, it did mine. I know that it is true, because its messages lead to the only way that makes perfect sense. Years of questioning, experiencing, and searching taught me that.

It is nice now that more than fifty years has transpired since "No Man Knows My History" was first published to take a look backwards. I was struck by the fact that most of the essays that Mr. Bringhurst published in this book were generally supportive of Fawn Brodie's scholarship. Some questioned certain sections of her book.

One particularly insightful essay challenged much of what she wrote on the matter of polygamy as it was being practiced by the Mormons in Nauvoo just prior to Joseph Smith's murder and subsequent Martyrdom. The essayist pointed out that while some of the specific information that Fawn Brodie may have gathered on this question may have been incorrect, her general conclusions about the practices going on in Nauvoo, were almost certainly correct. This is a particularly difficult issue to investigate. A secret practice occurring within a religious organization some 100 years prior to the time a book is written. It hardly seems surprising that even the best author might get some of the facts wrong. Its too Fawn Brodie's credit, that she got the general picture correct.

One essay that I found disappointing was much ado over nothing. The writer dealt with certain literary methods she felt Fawn Brodie used in writing her book. She suggested these were the methods of a fiction or literature writer, and not a historian. Actually, while Fawn Brodie was a history professor at UCLA, she got initial college degrees in English and in Literature. Fawn clearly had a talent many historians don't.....the ability to write a well-researched book in a manner that is interesting and readable by people outside academia. Something that that particular author that essay probably lacks herself.

Bringhurst himself includes an essay which was later part of his book on Fawn Brodie, "A Biographer's Life" that describes Fawn's early life, the immense amount of research and effort she put into the book, the reaction of the LDS Church to her research efforts, her attempts to explain the book to her Orthodox LDS family, and her subsequent excommunication which was probably largely orchestrated by her uncle, and subsequent President of the LDS Church, David O. McKay. There is alot of insightful material here which it would be nice for anyone reading "No Man Knows My History" to be able to examine.

Most of the essays are good. I recommend this book.

One Hundred (and one) years after the Mormon prophet's demise in Nauvoo, Fawn Mckay Brodie had completed a biography of him. This work on Joseph Smith's life has within certain communities has been received both with high priase and acclaim as well as severe condemnation. This controversy alone has raised the status of the book amongst historical, socialogical and literary reviewers. Newell G. Bringhurst brings this dynamic alive with a selection of essays about Brodie's offering from a variety of critical and careful perspectives.

The focus of this collection is not to examine the actual biography of Smith and its validity, rather it is about Brodie's work. Many of the relevant issues discussed about a task as she achieved are brought to light by the various essays: how meticulous was her research, the literary style are prose of the work, the reliability of her sources, the consistency of the work, the conclusions her work leads to, etc. All these were carefully examined by a number of the essayists. Furthermore, the character of Brodie was considered, i.e. her sense of purpose and accomplishment, perhaps her sense of duty. There are amongst each of the essays remarkable insights into both the work on a scholarly level and into the woman who created it all.

The synopsis of the collection as a whole is widespread praise for Brodie's ground-breaking effort. She has treaded into a life with such incredible care and insight which few have since unsuccessfully attempted to match. The biographer is given the credit she desrved with "No Man Knows My History" and later solidly earned with her other works.

I recommend this strongly for those who have an interest in examining historical research and particularly those interested in Brodie's research. For those interested in Mormon research, I suggest both this "Reconsidering..." and Brodie's biography be read concurrently or at least in succession.

Newell Bringhurst, a highly-qualified Mormon historian who is not active in the church, has assembled an interesting and balanced set of essays about Fawn Brodie's extremely important book on Joseph Smith. Devout Mormons reject her work out-of-hand (much of the time, I fear, without reading it--the Church has told them not to). But real historians are not fearful of research and of facts. This is the basis for this collection. The best essay is Bringhurst's own, which gives a clear picture of the difficulties Fawn B. encountered when researching the book, as well as an analysis of the validity of her methods. In spite of heavy indoctrination by family and community, Fawn B. managed to develop a clarity of sight and and desire to penetrate myths and propaganda that made all of her works important and unignorable by future writers on their subjects. The "pro-Mormon" essays in this collection, interestingly, tend to be the most bombastic and evasive--much like the master of apologist irrelevance, Hugh Nibley. Like a good historian, Bringhurst provides the evidence and leaves it to the reader's intelligence to evaluate it for himself--the exact opposite of what Mormon authorities do.

The context in which this book must be read is given in the first chapter. The author says, and I paraphrase, "This book doesn't ask the question, 'Did Joseph Smith write the Book of Mormon?' This book assumes that he did, and addresses the question, 'How did Joseph Smith write the Book of Mormon?'"
In short, don't look for a fair approach to the first question. That's not what this book is about.

Anderson has a great handle on Mormon history. The insights that he offers into how certain traumatic events in Joseph Smith's childhood could have affected his personality are often enlightening, and always interesting. i.e. The trauma associated with the near amputation of Smiths leg, and the public humiliation of being on trial for being a glass looker. Anderson does a nice job of helping us reflect on Smith's humanity. He helps us see that these events are indeed difficult for a person to go through, and that they can shape how one views the world.

That said, I thought this book also had some fundamental problems. For example, at times Anderson uses the Book of Mormon text to help determine the order or details of certain historical events in Joseph's life. Other times he seems to claim to know exactly what motivated Smith on certain occasions, because of what is written in a part of the Book of Mormon. This seemed too speculative to me. Some of this speculation is interesting theory, other portions seem specious.

Nevertheless, an interesting read. A intriguing theoretical approach.

I wish I could give it four and a half stars. Dr. Anderson takes a fine point to the early life of Joseph Smith. With impeccable care and documentation, he leads us through the childhood of a man who would exhibit a type of genius rarely seen in charismatic leaders. Anderson wisely limits himself to the effects of Joseph's experiences in the composition and contents of the Book of Mormon. By the time the "semi-retired psychiatrist" gets to the end of the book, he barely needs to justify or explain his diagnosis since he's already done so from a variety of angles previously. My only criticism is that occasionally Dr. Anderson extends his theories and suppositions quite far, but he usually does so with qualifications.

Not for the initiate into the arcane world of LDS theology and history. Try "Mormon America" first. But for a guy like me who spent 40 years (two as a missionary) in "the Church," it's a haunting trip into the mind of a very famous, unique American religious leader.

After reading many many books on Joseph Smith from pro and anti sources some dating back more than 100 years old, this one is easily the best and most disturbing of all.
It takes everything that is known historically about Smith and uses what modern science knows to put together a very detailed pscho-analysis, if you will, of Joseph Smith. It is a very sad and disturbing portrait. I don't recommend it for the faint of heart. But if you follow the author's thoughtful argument to the end and understand his thesis, you end up with a very powerful and comprehensive portrait of a sad, lonely and manipulative person who was charismatic enough to gather hundreds of followers who loved and adored him. I would only recommend the book to those well versed in the history of the period and of Smith. Should only be read after reading the Hill and Brodie biographies at a minimum. I was reminded of John Mack's great pscyobiography of Lawrence of Arabia(T. E. Lawrence) "Prince of our Disorder" that won the Pulitzer prize in 1976.
I have read the Anderson book twice in it's entirety and parts many times more and am always struck by the power of his portrait. This is one for the ages, in my opinion. Too bad it has taken this long to reveal the Joseph Smith at last! Don't miss this one, it will change your world view on human nature itself.

I was dismayed that the "New" First Communion Catechism was published in 1963. Although some of the prayers and information is the same, the photos are obviously very dated, and the references to the "confession box" and "communion rail" won't do us any good in preparing our children for the sacraments. I am very disappointed.

In preparation for first Confession and first Communion, this book presents an overview of salvation history in a way that can be understood by a first or second grader. This book is faithful to the "concentric method" of teaching the faith which has been praised in the General Catechetical Directory and also by Pope John Paul II in his work "Catechesi Tradendae". The topics of creation, the fall, redemption, and sacramental life are all presented in an orderly manner, with accompanying full color pictures. The artwork is striking, and will impress the child's mind with the aspect of the faith which is being taught. My children found themselves well prepared for the sacraments after learning from this book.