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Publisher's Summary

On June 27, 1844, a mob stormed the jail in the dusty frontier town of Carthage, Illinois. Clamorous and angry, they were hunting down a man they saw as a grave threat to their otherwise quiet lives: The founding prophet of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. They wanted blood.
At thirty-nine years old, Smith had already lived an outsized life. In addition to starting the Church of Latter-Day Saints and creating his own "Golden Bible" - the Book of Mormon - he had worked as a water-dowser and treasure hunter. He'd led his people to Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois, where he founded a city larger than fledgling Chicago. He was running for President. And, secretly, he had married more than thirty women.
In American Crucifixion, Alex Beam tells how Smith went from charismatic leader to public enemy: How his most seismic revelation-the doctrine of polygamy-created a rift among his people; how that schism turned to violence; and how, ultimately, Smith could not escape the consequences of his ambition and pride.
Mormonism is America's largest and most enduring native religion, and the "martyrdom" of Joseph Smith is one of its transformational events. Smith's brutal assassination propelled the Mormons to colonize the American West and claim their place in the mainstream of American history. American Crucifixion is a gripping story of scandal and violence, with deep roots in our national identity.
©2014 Alex Beam (P)2014 Tantor
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Most Helpful
3 out of 5 stars
By William on 01-16-15

Weak beginning strong finish

Would you try another book from Alex Beam and/or Michael Prichard?

I don't know

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

This wasn't a novel so this question doesn't apply

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Performance was fine, it was the material

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

This is a history, not a novel, as such likely not the subject matter to be made into a movie

Any additional comments?

Beam does not do a very good job describing the development of Mormonism. He does even a weaker job in describing Smith's religious narrative, and religious narrative is what Smith did. Now as the date approached June of 1844, the month when Smith was killed, Beam's book gets much better as he leaves the religious narrative part and plunges into the history around Smith's death. Beam also does a good job in the history describing the aftermath of Smith's death. So the first third or the first half of the book is a one star. The second half is a 3 or 4 star. If you already understand the background to June of 1844 then from this point forward the book is good. If someone doesn't understand the information leading up to June 1844, this is not the book to start with.

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6 of 6 people found this review helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Charles on 07-01-14

All religious histories are not created equal

I think that Mormonism has one of the most unique histories of any major religion and I am surprised that the story of Joseph Smith is not more widely known; his name is recognizable, his institution is still politically influential, and his history is fascinating. This book captures the emotion that surrounded Mormonism's first prophet. He was loved and hated arduously, and both camps had good reason. He was at once manipulative and loyal, pious and promiscuous, forthright and secretive, democrat and autocrat, and it is precisely all the contradiction that makes this book such an enjoyable read. That said, his story is more tragedy than comedy, for all his faults he did not seem to be violent and his death can only be described as murder. The return of his corpse to Nauvoo was a poignant scene that the author described beautifully and sympathetically. If you have not read anything about Joseph Smith this book is an excellent place to start.

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17 of 19 people found this review helpful

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