Rating: 
Summary: Wow - Well documented and thorough!
Review: Richard Abanes takes the reader on a chronological trip from Joseph Smith's early childhood through the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Along the way he painstakingly documents the transition of the religion from a small backroom sect to the world power it is today.The documentation Abanes provides for his chronology is remarkable. I am sure that many members of the Mormon faith will categorize this book as yet another "Anti-Mormon volume lacking in merit" without taking the time to actually read what it says. Abanes, an evangelical Christian, manages to set aside his personal beliefs in most of his missive and truly writes in a journalistic style. I encourage anyone who has any interest in what the true history (not the cleansed 'official' version) of the Mormon church is to take the time to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: NOT PLEASING, BUT ACCURATE
Review: I received this book through a friend. I am a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yes, a Mormon. I was raised in the church and believe it is the Restored Truth of the Gospel. I read this One Nation Under Gods and it does tell accurately what we believe. But as I read through it, it seemed like I was reading these beliefes for the first time. In context of history, I started understanding why we believe the way we do. That was good. But I also am now faced with some things about my church that I confess, I do not understand how it can be true. But I looked up some of the things Mr. Abanes talks about, and I found his references to be completely accurate. Again, I don't understand how this could be. Everything is changing and Mr. Abanes' book has opened my eyes to, I suppose, truth. However, this is not pleasant. His explanation on polygamy, Utah life in the 19th century, and how our prophets have been leading us is disturbing. But the documents and quotes are there, which show what has been going on. This book has changed me, my thoughts, and I think, it might change my life. I need to read more. For now, this book seems like a good history, although not a pleasing one to have to read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Picasso of Literature
Review: If you want to read anti-mormon literature, save your money and look it up on the internet. That is basically all this book is;a bunch of events and quotes taken out of context, and at times, made up alltogether, in an effort to disprove the Mormon Church. If you are looking for a real history, this is not the place to find it.
Rating:
Summary: Not Correct
Review: I have studied the doctrine and history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in great depth, and I found this book to contain more lies than truths. While it may have a large bibliography from which it claims so many references, the book distorts the sources and does not present them as they really are. If you have questions about Mormon doctrine, read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. If you have questions about Mormon history, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has kept better records than any other organization, and those records are accessable to the public. (The primary source is always more accurate than the secondary source). If you have questions about Mormon leadership, ask those who know Mormon Leaders. In the words of Able S. Rich "If you really want to know what a man is, and what he believes, do not go to his enemies. Go to the man himself or to his friends. He does not confide the thoughts of his heart to his enemies. His friends know him best; they know his strengths and his weaknesses. They will represent him fairly. His enemies will misrepresent him."
Rating:
Summary: exhaustive
Review: wow, this book reads like a hollywood blockbuster. All the sex, lies, murder, betrayal, etc... Truth is stranger than fiction! This book probably has over 1,000 citations, I would be skeptical of the reviewer who claims that every single one of them was taken out of context. Hundreds of them are taken from Morman doctrines!
Rating:
Summary: You born again Christians are a hoot
Review: blah, blah, blah I especially love the ones that say I'm an ex faithful member of the LDS church but this book has opened my eyes. Born agains are just stupid - they claim adherence to the Bible as the one infallible word of God and then only utilize the sections that support their suppositions - ignoring the context as a whole and dismissing whole books like James, etc. This book is just an example of evangelical christian truth twisting and money making. But it makes for a stunning expose if you are uneducated and unwilling to research the facts.
Rating:
Summary: The Hidden History of Mormonism.
Review: Despite the claims of the followers of Joseph Smith, in the form of Mormonism (called "the American religion" by Leo Tolstoy), to be true Christians, this particular religion is in fact influenced more by magical rites, folk ritual, and secret masonic initation later codified into dogma by the modern Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. In fact, the last words of the prophet Joseph Smith (creator of Mormonism and supposedly divinely inspired translator of the hidden _Book of Mormon_, a gnostic text, a companion piece to the _Holy Bible_ revealing the apparitions of Christ to the Native Americans, the supposed lost tribe of Israel) were in the form of the ritual masonic call of distress "My Lord, my God, is there no hope for the widow's son?", eerily calling to mind the secret initations involved in this ancient rite. _One Nation Under God_ offers a somewhat biased account of the history of the Mormon church including the early influences on Joseph Smith (which may have been theosophical) which have been covered up by the later LDS church as well as the bloody and inglorious battles of his followers with the United States government and the rise of Brigham Young within the church after Smith's death. The author shows some of the more startling beliefs of the original Mormons including their differences with true Christianity, their belief in multiple gods, their polygamous practices, and their early racism. Much of the true history of this church and the founding of Utah (believed to be Zion by Mormons) has been covered up by the modern day LDS leaders who continue to perpetuate the myth of their origins. For example early books such as _Jews in America_ (1650) by Thomas Thorowgood, _The History of the American Indians_ (1775) by James Adair, _Essay Upon the Propagation of the Gospel_ (1799) by Charles Crawford, and _A Star in the West; or, a Humble Attempt to Discover the Lost Tribes of Israel_ (1816) by Elias Boudinot all proposed the thesis that the American Indians were the lost tribe of Israel who had come to America and may have influenced the early Joseph Smith, who at the time was influenced by the occult and the practice of folk magic in the form of money digging. The history of the Mormon church is bloody, and prompted often by anti-establishment leanings, often advocating outright revolt against the United States government. For example, at the Mountain Meadows Massacre many of those travelling towards the West were violently murdered by Indians turned loose upon them by LDS leaders. This history has been conveniently covered up by the LDS church to further its power. While this book is interesting, the alternative proposed by the author is not substantially better. The author seems biased in the sense that he will use what dirt he can find on the Mormon religion for his polemic. However, the author promotes an evangelical form of Protestant Christianity. I do not believe that this form of Christianity is any better than the alternative proposed by Mormonism. Perhaps, by a true return to the fathers of Christianity and its tradition and a step away from modern day America and the developments within the last hundred years, a proper restoration can be accomplished of this ancient faith. Mormonism on the other hand, seems a decadent alternative and a culture-distortion of an otherwise original pure faith. This book offers a decent history of the Church of Mormon, though it is polemical and biased in many respects. On the other hand, the anti-establishment leanings of many Mormons seem to be interesting, in their opposition to federal power, and the tyranny of the New World Order.
Rating:
Summary: You might want to check the sources used...
Review: After reading the glowing reviews, I decided to do research into some of the material quoted by the author. I can only conclude that I am the only one on these pages to do so! Rarely will you find a book that takes so much liberty with history. Self-righteous Evangelical Christians with an axe to grind against the LDS Church will certainly embrace this work, but reasonable readers who do their own research will shake their heads in disgust. To understand where many "Facts" in the book collapse, I suggest doing your own research. Every reader should carefully evaluate the material in this book by checking the sources in full context.
Rating: 
Summary: Read with a Grain of Salt
Review: 1. Can't really say I care for the author's style and language use, but that's just sort of an English major's gripe. The book calls him a "Religion journalist," and that's basically how he writes: like a journalist rather than a scholar. Needs some serious proofreading, too. 2. One of the big criticisms I've seen in other reviews is that the failings Abanes sees in Mormonism, the questionable nature of Smith's "revelations" and the "dirty little secrets" suppressed by Mormon elders can be found in other religion. Well, yes, but see that's not really the focus of the book. The book is not about how all religion is bogus, or that all religions are run by humans with human failings. It's about Mormonism alone. Some would say this is of course unfair or dishonest, but I think the argument one could make is that the author has at his disposal many more "original" accounts of Mormonism since the time of its founding than do most other religions. There simply isn't the same kind of account proven to have been written by the hand of Jesus that there is of writings of Joseph Smith and his closest followers. A theology professor of mine once said of Jesus that we know he existed not only by what he said but what others said about him. Well, here are things said by Mormons about themselves and by non-Mormons about Mormons. And, well, both sides have some not-too-pleasant things to say. 3. And finally, the book gives accounts by Smith's closest followers both of their devotion and of some of the more questionable methods of Mormonism. Not everything is by someone with an "axe to grind," and some of the more negative things said that would be fairly powerful evidence in a court of law are written by past Presidents of the church. You also can't read some of the very militaristic, anti-government, confrontational and outright violent exhortations by early LDS members and say "Well they didn't really mean it" or "That's not all they were about." Yes, the author plays these up, but then the whole point is to denote what separated the early LDS church from other groups. If all he said was "Mormons believed in God and Jesus," how would that be different from any other church? These things were a big part of why Mormons were looked at with fear and skepticism. 4. That being said, the author ALMOST succeeds in presenting himself as a reasonbly obejective observer UNTIL you reach the chapter "Is Mormonism Christian?" and he sheds basically any mask of impartiality. What had up until that point been a presentation of Mormon beliefs within the context of history suddenly becomes a very poorly written theological rant on every way in which Mormonism is evil, non-Christian and cult-like. This chapter is such a divergence from the rest of the book, it almost ruins the experience, if you are simply looking for a fact-based account. Instead, you get theological nitpicking and religious squabbling, similar to what he has chastised Mormonism for all along. This chapter alone made me call into question the reliability of everything he had been saying all along.
Rating:
Summary: Very Informative
Review: I write this as a member of the LDS Church (although inactive). I started reading this book after reading Under the Banner of Heaven (another very good book, which sparked my interest in Mormon history). I have to say that what I have been reading is not what I have been taught growing up in the church (Born and raised LDS). I truly knew nothing before actually going outside only uplifting material the Church promotes, to some of the ugliness in past Church history. (Different variations of the First Vision, Seer Stones, Mtn. Meadow Massacre, Polygamy ect. ect.) For all those that feel this was Mormon bashing I suggest you actually read the book and the references before you judge. Nothing in this book is made up, so how can it be bashing? For those of you that feel this is bashing, your basically saying your church history is bashing your church. To me that's a big red flag!
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