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by Craig S. Campbell
reviewed by Benjamin E. Park
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Other than being the hometown of former United States President Harry
Truman, Independence, Missouri, does not have much extraordinary
history to offer mainstream America. Unless, as Craig S. Campbell
rightly points out in this noteworthy book, one considers a specific
religious heritage held by several related movements; then the history
is “one that transcends the prosaic and is very beautiful, fantastic in
fact, depending on ‘which end of the day you see it from’” (xiii–xiv).
Within several blocks in this city, one can find temples, churches, and
visitors’ centers belonging to over a handful of different groups all
claiming this area to be sacred space. Regardless of what each of the
various religious groups believe today, they all share a common history
that involves a prophet, a place, and a promised future.
by Allen C. Christensen
reviewed by Paul D. Lyman
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This book is Dr. Allen C. Christensen’s contribution to the various
histories of the ten handcart companies. He is the director of the
Benson Agriculture and Food Institute at Brigham Young University and a
descendant of some of the members of the Seventh Handcart Company.
by Chad M. Orton, William W. Slaughter
reviewed by Kimberly Webb Reid
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Chad M. Orton, a Church archivist, and William W. Slaughter, a Church
photo historian and senior reference specialist, have both published
extensively, their past works including Joseph Smith’s America (Orton)
and Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail (Slaughter). In their
new biography, they challenge the slanderous news articles targeted at
Brigham Young in his day and seek to illuminate the true character of
the man who “often remains hidden in the shadows of the hats” he wore,
such as prophet, family patriarch, and colonizer (xiii).
by Larry E. Morris, John W. Welch
reviewed by Paul Olson, Reid L. Neilson
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This volume, edited by John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris, is a collection of seventeen essays orginially published in BYU Studies, FARMS,
and other publications. The volume was published in commemoration of
Oliver Cowdery’s two-hundredth birthday. The contributing scholars seek
to detail the highs and lows of one of Mormonism’s most important early
leaders. Editors Welch and Morris have compiled a well-rounded
biography of the man and his life.
by Alessandro Scafi
reviewed by Jesse D. Hurlbut
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Alessandro Scafi, who lectures at universities and museums in Bologna,
Italy, and in London, England, draws upon his 1999 doctoral
dissertation at the University of London for much of the content of
this volume. In this thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated
book, Professor Scafi explores the cultural history of maps that
attempt to represent the Garden of Eden as a location in space and
time. He retraces the history of mapmaking from the very early
Christian era through the modern period, with particular emphasis on
medieval and early modern examples. Moreover, he clearly demonstrates
how cultural attitudes about the function of maps have changed over
time.
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