American Zion, Benjamin E. Park
American Zion, Benjamin E. Park
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American Zion
A New History of Mormonism

Author: Benjamin E. Park

Narrator: Tom Parks

Unabridged: 16 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/30/2024


Synopsis

The first major history of Mormonism in a decade, drawing on newly available sources to reveal a profoundly divided faith that has nevertheless shaped the nation.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in the so-called "burned-over district" of upstate New York, which was producing seers and prophets daily. Most of the new creeds flamed out; Smith's would endure, becoming the most significant homegrown religion in American history.

In American Zion Benjamin E. Park presents a fresh, sweeping account of the Latter-day Saints: from the flight to Utah Territory in 1847 to the public renunciation of polygamy in 1890; from the Mormon leadership's forging of an alliance with the Republican Party in the wake of the New Deal to the "Mormon moment" of 2012; and beyond. In the twentieth century, Park shows, Mormons began to move ever closer to the center of American life, shaping culture, politics, and law along the way.

A definitive, character-driven work of history, American Zion is essential to any understanding of the Mormon past, present, and future. But its lessons extend beyond the faith: as Park puts it, the Mormon story is the American story.

About Benjamin E. Park

Benjamin E. Park is associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University. The author of American Nationalisms and Kingdom of Nauvoo, he has written for the Washington Post, Newsweek, and Houston Chronicle. He lives in Conroe, Texas.


Reviews

Goodreads review by ♥Milica♥ on February 23, 2024

A book of over 500 pages that still feels too short, but a good historical overview nonetheless. It could be a good starter for someone who doesn't know much about the LDS church, or even a "condensed" version for people who do, but need to brush up on their history. I found myself enjoying the 1900s......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on February 25, 2024

I have never sat down to read a book of Mormon History before. When I was a young Mormon it sounded boring, I'd already spent so many hours in class and at church learning church history. When I was older and had left the church, it was something I wanted to leave behind. But I decided to sit down w......more

Goodreads review by Abram on January 19, 2024

It is unfortunate that Park's work, which while rough does include some historic gems (who knew that east coast suffragettes helped disenfranchise Utah women in the late 19th century? I certainly did not), fails to live up to the boundaries it sets for itself. The first boundary the work crosses, mo......more

Goodreads review by Kristine on April 17, 2024

TLDR: nearly a complete summary of everything I’ve learned in the past 12 years studying church history condensed into an accessible, engaging, book. Plus new content. Come for the history, sob over the politics and machinations. Loved it!......more

Goodreads review by Walter on December 24, 2023

An excellent history of the LDS/Mormon church that pays particular attention to its complicated relationship with US culture and politics. The book draws heavily from secondary scholarship and newly available sources. The writing is great and the insights plentiful. Park is an expert on the Nauvoo p......more