Rating: 
Summary: You've got to be Kidding?
Review: Is this tired old book still around? Serious scholars of the LDS faith are wasting their time on this. If you are sincere about understanding the Mormons' beliefs you would be better served to read their Book of Mormon. For those who waste their money on this book: Brodie and her ilk are laughing all the way to the bank.
Rating: 
Summary: (((((((((((((((((Buy))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Review: This book is an absolute necessity for anyone who loves and kisses the truth passionately.This is the onl;y book on JOseph SMith that I own, because I don't need another one. Why go for more when you have found perfection and it bites you on the nose?YOu can tell this woman has done her fair share of homework since the footnotes are totally titanic. I have spent weeks trying to track down her sources and have been satified with a burp because they are so yummy. Appendix E, especially the fifth colum, has the most meat in this intellectual taco, and I reccomend purchasing the book soley for the information contained in the appendix
Rating: 
Summary: Better than anticipated
Review: I had always been under the assumption that this was a mean-spirited book about Joseph Smith. I was surprised to find that it wasn't. Obviously Brodie doesn't believe that Smith was a prophet, so the book is written from a "secular" perspective. However, I felt that she was simpathetic and offered some interesting insights into his life. I came out respecting Smith for who he was and what he accomplished, regardless of whether I believed his claim or not.
He is a vivid individual, and Brodie reflect him as such in her writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading
Review: I read and enjoyed this book. This book is worth reading although it must certainly read with a grain of salt and a critical mind. It contains historical fact frequently mixed with the author's own opinions and interpretations. The author promotes the sponge theory of the Book of Mormon- simply that Joseph Smith absorbed what was in the air and squeezed it and out came The Book of Mormon. To me this seems a bit far- fetched. If this is true, then The Book of Mormon has been one of the most successful hoaxes in the history of the world. The author does provide some interesting and detailed information about Joseph Smith and his polygamous activities in Nauvoo- information that the average Mormon probably does not know about and would probably find quite disturbing if they did. The current policy of the LDS church is to basically ignore parts of church history which are not faith inspiring. LDS church members are fed a very edited version of the history of Joseph Smith which is specifically intended to be faith inspiring. The average Mormon also probably does not know about Joseph's campaign for President of the United States. This book can help you to know who Joseph Smith really was although it must be read with a critical mind like I said before.
Rating:
Summary: Creativity is no substitute for objectivity
Review: I read this book because of it's notoriety. With both staunch Mormons and anti-Mormons screaming bloody murder at each other over this (as can be seen in previous reviews), I knew there was something to discover. What I found, however, was extremely disappointing.
I read this book thinking it was history--it's not. That thought was quickly dispelled from the start when I read, with no small degree of wonder, just how much Brodie claims to have known from inside the mind of Joseph Smith. Where true history relates the event, Brodie touches upon it and then proceeds to tell why Smith did it, what he was feeling, and just what he hoped to accomplish by it. What's even more disturbing, she has the arrogance to present her wild speculations as facts.
Whether or not you believe that Smith was a prophet, Brodie's story is too much. Does she really believe that he could have dictated the entire Book of Mormon, without stopping or revising, and in the sentence structure in which it now appears, and do it so fluently that those writing for him did not know he was just making it up as he went along? That's fine if you don't believe in the veracity of the Book of Mormon, but at least come up with a more plausible story than that one. By making this allegation, she attributes to Smith a literary talent above most any other person in history. Who else can write a 500 page book that lasts over 150 years without revision?
Of course, those who see Smith as a fraud anyway will see this as a wonderful standard under which to rally. But those of us who seek real history, without the zeal of religion (or anti-religion) will be utterly disgusted by the author's blatant negligence of sources. Many quickly praise that she has "done her homework", and, upon scanning the bibliography, it appears she has. Upon closer examination, however, it is easy to see that the bibliography does little more than take up space.
The majority of her allegations, as well as the inferences she draws, have no source. They are either not documented, or simply products of Brodie's imagination. When she does give a source, it is many times the testimony or work of a bitter enemy of Smith which, though such testimonies may be useful, should not compose the bulk of the work. As for her other sources (Church History, newspapers, etc.), they leave much to be desired.
As I was reading, I was so shocked by some of her claims that I checked up on some of her sources. What I found was a great example of document-splicing. In many cases she manipulated her sources to an almost unrecognizable extent, often insinuating things the author clearly did not intend. Sometimes, she misquoted the source altogether. Come now, Mrs. Brodie, did you really think that noone who ever read your book was going to have access to any of your sources?
In my opinion, this book was nothing more than a feeble attempt of the author's to lash back at the society by which she felt restricted. The work is so saturated with the author's bias and speculation that it can scarcely pass as non-fiction.
Mormon and non-Mormon alike should avoid this book, simply because it's a horrible attempt at biography. In giving this book one star, I take none of my personal feelings on the subject into account. It simply is bad history. Rather you believe in Smith or not, this book will profit you nothing.
Rating:
Summary: A classic, convincing study
Review: Mormonism, described by Fawn Brodie as "a potpourri of American religious thinking spiced with the fundamental ideal of inevitable progress," is a religion that couldn't have planted roots anywhere other than America. Its founder Joseph Smith grew up in the eclectic religious stew of early 19th-century Vermont and New York, fertile ground for what Brodie calls the "flotsam of the godly." Religious eccentrics of every stripe were springing up in his day: Ann Lee's Shakers, Jemima Wilkinson (the "Universal Friend," who thought she was Christ), John Humphrey Noyes' Oneida community (who practiced free love and communal living), William Miller's Adventists, Joseph Dylks (the "Leatherwood God"), and many other assorted faith healers, "prophets," circuit evangelists, millenialists and revivalists of varying degrees of eccentricity and ability. Most were short-lived, but the influence of this atmosphere of religious enthusiasm and innovation on Joseph Smith and the religion he invented is unmistakeable. Fawn Brodie's biography of Smith remains a classic, penetrating study even after over half a century. This book is indispensible for an understanding of this peculiar, gifted man and the peculiar religion he created. Joseph Smith was no sideshow preacher, as Brodie convincingly demonstrates against those Mormons who unjustly emphasize his lack of education to give his achievements a more divine appearance. Far from being a simpleton, Smith was a talented man. His exceptional gifts and likeable nature "made the ordinary frontier evangelist seem by comparison all sound and fury." His theology, "a patchwork of ideas and rituals drawn from every quarter, became in his hands a thing of color, warmth and originality," though spiritually barren at its core. Brodie rightly remarks that "within the dogma of the church there is no new Sermon on the Mount, no new saga of redemption, nothing for which Joseph himself might stand." The appeal of Mormonism was then and remains today something not altogether connected with Smith himself. His was an optimistic theology tied to material success, a blend of various Protestant and other doctrines woven together and so heavily injected with Smith's own fantasies and the frontier mythology of his day that its Christianity became only a surface veneer. There is little resemblance between Smith and the religion Jesus founded. In recounting how Smith evolved from a small-time treasure-hunter and magician into a "prophet of God," Brodie details his many fabrications. There's the "First Vision," which changed at least three times as Smith built upon it in later years and was almost certainly a late invention to explain earlier events. There's the familiar Mormon albatross of polygamy, initially denied by Smith with great vigor but then promoted as a commandment of God with equal vigor before being conveniently abandoned (also by revelation) by his successors just when Utah was trying to win statehood. Less familiar, perhaps, is Smith's adaptation of the local theories of his day to identify the many American Indian mounds in Western New York and Ohio as the remnants of an advanced North American civilization predating Christ (not an original idea, I was surprised to learn -- many people in Smith's day refused to believe that "savages" were capable of building such things, similar to the modern belief of some that only aliens could have built the pyramids). And of course there are the famous "golden plates" from which Smith allegedly translated the Book of Mormon (seen only "with the eye of faith" by a few friends and family members), and the fragments of the "Book of Abraham," later shown to be ordinary Egyptian funereal documents. Smith's embarrassing linguistic innovations got him into a lot of trouble, particularly after Champollion solved the mystery of ancient Egyptian writing by deciphering the Rosetta Stone in Smith's lifetime; fortunately for him, many of his followers were astonishingly forgiving and readily believed him over "Gentile scholars." Brodie discusses all of this and much more. It's remarkable that Mormonism survived such discoveries, and that many continue to look beyond the powerful proofs of its human invention. One wonders whether Mormonism would have gone the way of so many other 19th-century sects had the early Mormons not been so savagely persecuted and had Smith himself not been "martyred." Even in Smith's own lifetime the evidence against the divine origins of his religion was devastating, but as Brodie indicates, "There was a great hunger in his people, and they accepted him for what he set himself up to be." The legend of Joseph Smith long ago outpaced the reality that Brodie presents, and the religion he invented ultimately got along well without him thanks to persecution and the leadership of able men like Brigham Young. Clearly Mormonism has never depended on Smith's personal credibility -- in many ways its origins are unimportant to its adherents, I've discovered. Smith's life is a remarkable tale, captivatingly told by Brodie. Given that Fawn Brodie was excommunicated by the church, one might expect this to be a venomous anti-Mormon book. Instead she produced a thoughtful, fair and balanced biography that demonstrates no small degree of admiration for Smith. Her exhaustive research made extensive use of court records, county histories, newspapers, and Smith's own writings (particularly his lengthy History of the Church, based largely on his own journals). The results are solid and convincing. Many have accused Brodie of excessive psychological speculation, but I found her conclusions sensible and balanced given the evidence; only in the Supplement added to the book in 1970 does she tend a bit toward the psychoanalytical musings in vogue at that time, but mostly she presented further evidence to support the conclusions she drew in 1945. The appendices are especially useful, further exploring the "First Vision," Smith's many wives, the "Book of Abraham," and other topics. Above all, Brodie's fluid and lively writing style makes this a superb biography of a remarkable man.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece!
Review: Wow! I was really impressed with this book. I only THOUGHT I understood Mormonism! This book traces the beginnings of Joseph Smiths creation, from his beginnings in upstate New York, to his lynching in Carthage, Illinois. The author has researched her subject meticulously, as evident by the bibliography. Many early Mormon writings are quoted, including letters from Joseph Smith himself. After reading this book, I can better understand how people could be deceived into believing the Book of Mormon and other Mormon writings. It is clearer now how Mormonism got a foothold in America--it was birthed into a sub-culture filled with people who, while professing Christianity, really had little understanding of the Word of God, thus could be duped quite easliy. (This by the way, is how Mormonism maintains its grasp today.) I don't care how many other books you've read on Mormonism, or how much you think you know about the subject; you need to read this book. By the way, the author does not "slam" Joseph Smith (or his followers). On the contrary, she seems to have quite a bit of respect for him and what he became.
Rating:
Summary: Great History and Literature of Controversial Mormon Founder
Review: Fawn McKay Brodie, trained historian and wordsmith, was raised in the LDS (Mormon) church. During her scholarly study of Joseph Smith's early writings and those of his contemporaries, she was given special access to historical archives of the LDS church - probably due to her relation to LDS general authority David O. McKay. The resulting history, with its rich and enjoyable literary style, easily qualifies as the first truly full biography of Joseph Smith, Jr. Mrs. Brodie gives credit where credit is due: "The Prophet" is credited with an aversion to violence, a genuine love for people (especially tender affection for children), manful behavior during his lengthy Liberty Jail incarceration, the power to win over even many of his enemies once personally introduced, and a powerful, driving imagination and energy. Proper criticisms are levelled against his lack of financial acumen, his inclination to see apparently fictional "historical evidences" in the things around him, his likely inability to constructively examine himself, and his extra-marital dalliances which more likely served as the cause of "plural marriage" rather than the effect of it. Her pointed examination of the Book of Abraham appears to have been vindicated in later years. (I have the 1954 edition.) And so on. While not a perfect work (is any writing of man or woman?), its strengths are sufficient to make it a must-have, must-read for anyone interested in Mormon studies.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding analysis of the founding of Mormonism
Review: Ms. Brodie's exhaustive research and objective views, although controversial, are very informative, and are presented through very good prose. I was seeking more information on the Church of Latter Day Saints, and got a little more than I bargained for. Mormons beware: this is not an ode to Joseph Smith, this is objective criticism, analyzing his good and bad points. An entertaining and informative (although lengthy) read.
Rating:
Summary: Influential But Flawed
Review: Theodor Mommsen said that "History is neither made nor written without love or hate." I first read Fawn Brodie's "No Man Knows My History" in 1975, when I was eighteen years old. At the time I found the subject intensely fascinating, but the writing struck me as highly fictionalized, with lengthy asides describing Joseph Smith's inner motives and thinking processes -- not biography but psycho-biography. The bottom line was that Brodie pegged Joseph Smith as a deliberate and evil-minded fraud. I recently reread Brodie at the age of 43, now much older and slightly wiser, and also having read a thing or two in my day. On my second reading I wonder if this book might really have more to do with Brodie herself -- a disenchanted and deeply bitter Mormon -- than with Joseph Smith. There is no doubt that "No Man Knows My History" has a wide influence in the world. I would caution the reader, however, to read at least one other biography of Joseph Smith along with Brodie's -- I recommend Donna Hill's unstintingly honest but affectionate "Joseph Smith: The First Mormon" (Doubleday 1977). If Brodie wrote out of hate, at least seek a counterbalance with the reading of one who has not.
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