Have now read this and Juanita Brooks book as well. Surprisingly, this is fairly balanced in its approach. But then, the horse was outta the barn for some years, unlike for Brooks' book. Finished 25.09.19. ( )

Well-researched and even-handed account of a horrific episode in Mormon and Western U.S. History. Would like the authors to add at least one more chapter to this relatively brief account to detail the fates of the other main actors that apparently avoided legal justice. ( )

excellent, gripping and terribly sad. very evenly written, excellent authors ( )

Although written by professional historians trying to be very careful about sources and piecing together a cloudy story, the book was very readable. (This may be due to Walker, who I've heard is one of the best writers in Mormon history.)

I felt like it did a fair job, not trying to vilify or defend anyone. The authors concluded that Brigham Young didn't order the Mormons to massacre the victims, but he shared responsibility, along with George A. Smith, for creating a climate of paranoia and aggression during the build-up to the Utah War. The locals and regional church/government leaders got caught up in a bad plan that spiraled out of control, and they attempted to contain it by brutal means.

Besides taking a fresh approach to the corpus of source material that has been amassed over the years, the authors also compared this tragedy with the culture of frontier violence and vigilantism. I hope they're still planning on Volume 2, to discuss the cover up by church headquarters, national attention, and the federal investigations. ( )

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=433 ( )