No Man Knows My History by Fawn M. Brodie

As mentioned below, in a post in which I get the title of the book wrong, I've been reading this book, the leading, non-authorized biography of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. This is the second edition, 1971; the original was published in 1945. I've now finished it--which partly explains no posts yesterday.

I highly recommend this book, if you are interested in early nineteenth century U.S. history. The story of Joe Smith is connected to U.S. history in so many ways--for example, the religious enironment of that period, which saw the rise of all sorts of religious moements, from Unitarianism, to Seventh-Day Adventists, Shakers, and Mormons, of course. Brodie ties these developments into the period, the U.S. context, the frontier and the loosening of authority. I should also add that Smith ran for president in 1844, but he was killed before the general election in Carthage, Illinois. Brodie's thesis is that it was Smith's breaching of the wall between church and state that caused him the most trouble, in the end, and not polygamy. (Plus, if you live in Illinois, like Curatasaurus, you might find the book especially interesting.)

But, of course, there's quite a bit on polygamy in the later chapters. The most interesting point is that Joseph Smith's (first) wife, Emma, kept the truth of Jospeh's ways from herself, for a long time, and then, when the truth was undeniable, continued to deny it. Their relationship, after a certain point, was one in which he kept his polygamous relationships and that she denied them to herself. A strange relationship, indeed.

Also interesting was that Smith married women who were already married--sometimes to other leading Mormons. In later years, this kind of thing was not Church policy; but in those heady early days, this was one step away from some kind of "free love."

Maybe more on the book later in the day.