When Orrin Porter Rockwell died of a heart attack in 1878, his name was as well known as Brigham Young's. Cowboys sang songs about him, and newspapers had frequently printed scandalous accounts about the malicious Mormon destroying angel. But to many, Rockwell was a guardian angel, and it could easily be said that he saved far more lives than he took. It seems history tells two contrasting narratives about one of the West's most controversial men. Yes, at times Porter Rockwell could act violently, yet he was overly generous to those in need. At least two dozen people died at his hand, yet in every instance he was exonerated. As the ninth person baptized into the restored Church, Porter was central to the early growth of the Church, even though he was never called to a position of leadership. He was called a saint and a sinner, a lawman and a criminal, a hero and a villain. Indians feared him, saying he was impossible to kill, but some people traveled hundreds of miles to try. Although his death by natural causes likely disappointed the many outlaws seeking his life, it also fulfilled a prophecy given by Joseph Smith that no bullet or blade would ever harm Porter Rockwell. A friend of Joseph Smith's since childhood and later his bodyguard, Rockwell saved the life of the Prophet more than once. Porter also served as a bodyguard to Brigham Young and helped guide the first pioneers across the plains to the Salt Lake valley. He became a legend as a frontiersman, a marksman, and a man of iron nerve. And though many outsiders characterized Porter Rockwell as a notorious, vengeful murderer, those who knew him saw a protector, a miraculous healer, and a loyal friend. Stories From the Life of Porter Rockwell is not a biography, nor is it fiction. It is a collection of accounts about Porter Rockwell that provide insight into his character, his incredible physical stamina and skill, and his devotion to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. While others of his time acted differently than he, his life was a legitimate and lawful response to the world in which he lived. These are the stories that his contemporaries found significant.
Porter Rockwell
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
John W. Rockwell has spent his life teaching students history, especially U.S. history and the history of the Wild West. He received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the National Honors Society in 2008. John has also worked on the Lehi City Historical Preservation Commission and has been involved in historical restoration and preservation projects throughout Lehi, Utah. Jerry Borrowman is an award winning author of World War II coauthored biographies, including Three Against Hitler with Rudi Wobbe and A distant Prayer with Joseph Banks. He's also a best-selling fiction writer, having written the popular four-book series stating with the world war I novel Til the Boy's Come Home, and the Depression-era novel One Last Chance.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Rock Solid Facts, but Also about as Entertaining as a Rock,
This review is from: Stories from the Life of Porter Rockwell (Hardcover)
Stories from the life of Porter Rockwell has a lot of great information, but is written poorly. It felt like I was reading student research paper. All of the information in the story is cited to journals and other first hand accounts which is unique compared to many tall tales about Rockwell. However strict accuracy kept the author from making assumption that would make the stories flow better or make them more entertaining. The stories had many holes and lacked a lot of endings where there weren't proper sources to support them. Another problem with the writing is that the stories aren't in logical order. They are mostly chronological but skip around in strange non-sensible places. There are also a lot of typos. The writer is a direct descendant of Rockwell hoping to clear his name with facts, but had little commentary or emotion making the book incredibly boring. I was looking for something entertaining to read, but this book was incredibly boring.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories-Good feel for who he was,
This review is from: Stories from the Life of Porter Rockwell (Hardcover)
This is a terrific telling of the story. Harold Schindler's "Man of Thunder, Son of God" remains the definitive biography of Porter Rockwell, but this book makes it clear it is not a formal biography nor fiction so it has doesn't even try to compete with Schindler. It is stories told by people who knew Porter and who wrote about him in their journals. I liked the stories about Porter's business success, which doesn't really show up in any of the other books I've read about him. The book is fast paced and easy to get into.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Eye Opener,
This review is from: Stories from the Life of Porter Rockwell (Hardcover)
I feel like this book was an honest review of the life of Porter Rockwell. I have read many things about the life of Porter Rockwell that were much more sensational, but in my estimation, less accurate.
The authors were detailed in descriptions and historical moments. The book was a quick and enjoyable read.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
