Review
The twenty-two years covered by Campbell were literally years of survival for the Mormon Church- Transplanted from the Midwest to the Great Basin, the Latter-Day Saints built a new civilization in the semi-arid desert. The early years were ones of survival and were followed by coming to terms with the new terrain, the native culture of the Utes, and building of territorial relations with the federal government. Campbell blends social-cultural history with the more usual political- and economic-elite history in a scholarly book that also should be appealing to a general audience. He also pays close attention to the evolution of Mormon religious doctrine and the efforts of the Church's leadership to exercise authority with their flock.There are no interpretive surprises here; just a clear conservative synthesis of the existing world. I must say that I found the illustrations, though mostly portraits, especially fascinating. This is a very likable book. -- From Independent Publisher
