Customer Reviews

Stories from the Life of Porter Rockwell

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have always enjoyed Western history. Men like Porter Rockwell ,and Jacob Hamblin seem to personalize the west. Its been a while since I read a Rockwell book and when I saw a new one about a Utah hero, I had to read it. I enjoyed the short stories of Rockwell's life. I had to limit my reading each night to only one story so I didn't read the whole book in one setting. Seems like things were well researched and well written. If someone has a interest in Western history I would recommend this book.

Porter is an amazing man that did amazing things. He is an american badass and this book does a great job telling some of the most compelling stories of the man!

I bought this book as a gift for my husband. He loved it and has loaned it to several people that enjoyed it as well.

This is a great book. If you're in to the old west or interested in Joseph Smith, this is a very interesting read. I strongly recommend.

Ty Wilde
"Everything I Touch Turns to Sold (Advice on How to Become a Top Sales Professional From a Top Producer)"

Not sure what it is about Orrin Porter Rockwell that seems to bring out the worst in those that chose to publish books about him. I've only encountered one volume that seems to dodge this proverbial bullet--Harold Schindler's irreplaceable ORRIN PORTER ROCKWELL: MAN OF GOD, SON OF THUNDER. All of the rest, whether attempts at new biography, history or fiction, fall short. Sadly, such is also true of STORIES FROM THE LIFE OF PORTER ROCKWELL.

The book starts out well enough, providing bite-sized snippets from Porter's history. Following a chronological flow, the stories paint a picture of Porter Rockwell as a boy, a man, a husband and a friend. Seems at first to be a very worthy work. But then, in my opinion, the book heads decidedly south.

Unfortunately the book is poorly written. Important dates bump back and forth inaccurately and incorrectly and, then, there are the usual typos. But one of the most disconcerting errors is simply a piece of literary laziness. For example, in the story titled "A Trail of Sorrow--Jackson, Clay, and Caldwell," the name of the great legal and military friend to the Latter-day Saints is correctly spelled Alexander `Doniphan' while, later, in the story titled "Alexander Donovan Defends Porter"...well...you already see the problem. To misspell the name of such an important player in the drama, especially after spelling it correctly previously is unacceptable and irresponsible, if not uproariously laughable!

And then there are the illustrations. Clark Kelley Price's work shines with three illustrations that delineate the book's three major sections. But the majority of the illustrations by Sarah Swanson at the beginning of many of the stories are poorly drawn, amateurish--in a word--terrible! You may think me harsh to make such a critique. Think what you like. The truth remains that a book is a comprehensive presentation and if, when producing such a work, it is determined that the services of a consummate artist, such as Price, cannot be afforded throughout, then go with what the budget will tolerate and let the writing paint the pictures!

Two stars for the good information about Porter that IS here.

And the DVD has similar problems.

It's difficult to put together a convincing and accurate documentary. I suspect if you asked Ken Burns about it he would agree wholeheartedly with this notion. How much do you have to spend? How historically accurate should the production be? How much can be hedged, given the budget at hand? How gullible and stupid are the production's potential viewers?

All valid questions. After all, if you're going to put together a documentary production such issues do -- at least should -- come into sharp focus. Apparently not, though, when producing STORIES FROM THE LIFE OF PORTER ROCKWELL.

Let's start with what's good. The narrative is top notch. Authors, historians and relatives of Porter Rockwell come together to relate favorite stories from the life of the famous frontiersman. And that's where it ends!

The producers just couldn't resist the temptation to add actors to recreate some of the historical accounts--something that award-winning documentarians like Ken and Ric Burns rarely, if ever, do! Now, as the stories cover a period of...say...some sixty years, you would think that the producers would find as many actors to portray Rockwell as needed to create as convincing a chronology as possible. If not, they would surely refrain from portraying Rockwell in scenes where age discrepancies would detract from the story, right? Wrong! We begin with a young man who accurately portrays a juvenile Porter Rockwell and then, mysteriously, Porter strangely ages. The most comical scenes involving this are during the Nauvoo/Carthage period. If my calculations are correct, in 1844 Porter, with a birth year of 1813, would have been a man of 31 years of age. Right? So imagine my surprise when Joseph Smith, portrayed by an actor who is close to his 1844 age of 38, places his hand on the shoulder of an actor who has to be at least 60 years old! After the shock wore off I couldn't stop laughing!

But, wait, it gets better!

Costuming is easy, right? Plenty of historic depictions of clothes, hats, vests, etc., from which to choose accurate period attire. Apparently our producers here were either too lazy to consult them, were simply misguided about what to use or had already decided that the viewing audience would be too stupid to know the difference. For example, most of the hats of the period featured rounded, low profile crowns and were worn with wide, flat brims. Porter, however, apparently defying the conventions of the day, is portrayed here, more often than not, with a curled brim "Stetson" cowboy hat that sports a modern long-crease rancher crown. Ludicrous! While he certainly doesn't fit here, should the producers determine to do a documentary about modern rodeo and use the actor who portrayed Porter as a commentator, things would be just perfect.

Worth watching? Certainly! As noted earlier in this review, the commentary is outstanding and earns the two stars I give it. If possible, turn your television off when watching this one and just listen in.


THE HORSEMAN

Once again we have a dismal attempt to tell the story of Orrin Porter Rockwell, attempt #47 and counting. This time noteworthy LDS author, certainly not a historian, Jerry Borrowman and GGG-Son of "Port" make the attempt. It is absolutely amazing that anyone would take serious the relative/descendant of such a controversial and colorful character as Rockwell. Of course it will be slanted, biased and whitewashed. Yet, let the work speak for itself. With no bibliography, no index and scanty, inadequate footnotes of some of the poorest references possible, how could any scholar or enlightened student take this book seriously. Case in point, on p. 116 there is a reference to a piece written by Bill MacKinnon from the Fort Douglas Utah newsletter of 2007 instead of using the same information from MacKinnon's more thoroughly researched and referenced, At Sword's Point. So a newsletter trumps a published scholarly work? I did not read the entire book, I could not! I read only the chapters I know and have expertise in, namely the Utah War and the Missouri portions. Porter Rockwell was not involved in the mule raid on Sep 25, 1857 against the 10th US Infantry, neither was Lot Smith as many sources have mentioned. Recent scholarship have original accounts of this episode. The entire narration of this event is so sophmoric that it stagers logic. The old myth that President Buchanan ordered the Army to Utah to unite the nation against the Mormons, instead of dividing over slavery, is not only absolutely false, but ridiculous. Most people in American then, as many now, have never heard of Mormons. The Mormon leaders, Brigham Young and others, already knew and had information that the army was en route escorting the new governor. The entire episode of the riders arriving on the 10th Anniversary of entering valley is just drama; their information confirmed what Young already knew and feared. But even more importantly, the thoroughness of the scholarship and editing is alarming. The authors have the riders arriving at the encampment in Big Cottonwood Canyon on July 4th, yes the Fouth of July, Independence Day, spelled out on p. 115, when it was in fact, the 24th July, the Pioneer Day, the celebration of when the Mormons entered the Valley! Incredible, but true! They misspell Alexander Doniphan several times is just another example of poor editing. They have the name of gunfighter Loren Dibble on p. 145, but in the credits of photo on p. XXX, they have him as Warren Dibble. On p. 36 Rockwell and Joseph Smith and others leave for Washington DC to plead for redress of crimes they suffered in Missouri, then the authors use some sort of time machine because they have October 29, 1834 (a typo for 1839), but then they say on the next page that Porter returned from Washington in March 1839 in Nauvoo to his family. Well, there was no Nauvoo in March 1839, and Joseph Smith was still in Liberty jail. So, this is more than just a mere typo but another demonstration of lack of professional scholarship or just laziness, even on the editors' part. Perhaps the most troubling of all of this extremely banal attempt at history, is the Aiken party murders, yes murders, which Rockwell certainly committed. The authors lamely put forth the argument that the Aikens, gambling businessmen from California arrived in Utah Territory to not only to establish a gambling business, but to establish prostitution, which is no where in the sources. Then they say the Mormons wanted them killed because the Aikens were spies and would inform the US Army about Utah's defenses. What a weak point when one realizes that Captain Steward Van Vliet, US Army and a quartermaster officer, entered Utah just weeks earlier, met with Brigham Young and then made arrangements for a camp site (garrison) and also logistical support among the Mormons. Then he headed east, reported to his superiors and told them everything he knew. Porter Rockwell and several others murdered six innocent men, two men at first, then eventually all of them. It was a blatant crime of premeditated murder and then they took all their goods, horses and gold, and then used them or provided them to others. The final excuse of the authors was, a co-defendant of Rockwells was acquitted twenty years later, so thus, they were innocent and not murderers. Have you ever heard of the OJ Simpson Trial? This white-washing of history is why such authors as Jerry Borrowman, a skilled and successful LDS writer and a relative of an extremely controversial historical character should never attempt to be historians without the training or experience.
Once agian LDS people are reading myths and extremely poor history. One only needs to turn to Harold Schlinder's classic, Man of God, Son of Thunder, to learn more about the Orrin Porter Rockwell.