Rating: 
Summary: Stolen Innocence
Review: As I read your comments and after reading this book myself, I wanted to suggest that you read another book that is about a much less publicized kidnapping of a Mormon girl some 30 years ago. The book is Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story. I found that Stolen Innocence took a more realistic approach to a bizarre and terrifying experience. Perhaps the Smarts weren't quite ready to share the complete experience, beyond just the justifiable gratitude they felt for Elizabeth's return. The author of Stolen Innocence is not afraid to takes a look at her own failings and weaknesses during the tragic time of her daughter's kidnapping and the years following the ordeal. It looks at the family's ignorance and victimization, but more importantly aslo their hope and strength. I highly recommend it. I recently saw the subject/victim of the "Stolen Innocence" book on Good Morning America and could hardly believe her story, so I had to buy the book and read it for myself!
Rating: 
Summary: A story of faith and hope...
Review: As the Smart family has said, they wrote this book themselves because they knew their story would be told, and they simply wanted to ensure that the story was truly being told from their perspective. Anyone who claims that this book was written for profit is off his/her rocker. The Smarts are a very wealthy family who had no need to profit from their nightmare.
As far as suggesting that they were hiding a pregnancy, congratulations on your math skills, but pregnancy doesn't show for at least four months. Are you suggesting that they kept her away just for fun for the remainder of the time? What a preposterous notion! Additionally, while the LDS faith teaches abstinence, it also has an social services system which includes counseling, and if needed, placing babies for adoption, showing that they do recognize that unmarried people have babies and that they are ready to help.
Lastly, my largest commendation to the Smart family. This experience was a test of faith that no family would ever want to endure. Ed and Lois Smart took a terrible situation and used it to rally for the Amber Alert, and turned their nightmare into a blessing for other families. There were few that believed that Elizabeth would return alive. The Smarts gave the example that nobody has the right to question another's faith.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read!
Review: Before I start saying how much I loved the book, I want to get out of the way all the things that I didn't like about the book. The style was too simple, and I often found myself bored at how elementary the language was. Otherwise, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in the Elizabeth Smart Case. My primary motivation for reading this was to learn more about the Churc of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from real people. As someone who had been raised to believe that Mormons are dangerous and subversive, I found the Smarts' openness about their relationship with Jesus Christ, their steadfast faith in God, and their reliance on our Heavenly Father to be inspiring. What great faith they had! The book itself begins before Elizabeth's kidnapping to tell about their family, continues through the tumultous 9 months that Elizabeth was missing, and ends with the legislations that have since passed to aid in cases with missing children. After all the media attention that the Smart Case received, I feel that everyone who heard about it should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a pathetic attempt of a cover up
Review: I am very familiar with the Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping
and have given very serious thought to writing a book from a person who supplied information to FOX, CNN, NY Post, NY daily News, National Enquirer, and many others. To start off, I would feel sorry for the Smart family. But, It seems like they have fit in really well in the role of helpless Mormon Parents. I knew Daniel Trotta, the young man who Elizabeth Lived with for a week while she was traveling. Did Daniel Trotta know it was Elizabeth Smart? He told me he did not. I will withold judgement. Was elizabeth Smart Brainwashed? She could have been. She is a Mormon and some Mormons have lost track of the differance between faith and fiction. There are many fine books you can read that will calrify LDS/Mormons or whatever they are calling themselves these days. gerald Grimmett and his book Ferry Women, is fiction but a good primer to Mormon history. Krakauers book digs deep into the cults that have been spawn from Mormonisn. Under the Banner of Heaven, A story of violent faith
... John Krakauer , Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, Doubleday, 2003 ... Krakauer narrative intersperses sections of early Mormon history under the leadership of Brigham Young and others. The Smart family never met a camera they did not like.
They pushed Salt lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson off the story and
brought back some old SLC Mayor to be their spokesperson. I heard the horrible comments made by people about Elizabeth.
Questions have never been answered about why all these men were
working around the house for Elizabeth Smarts dad with a young girl
living at home? Did the Smarts pay taxes on their hired help. Why did the Ricci
death get such little publicity. Why did Mr Smart get so angry when some questioned his life choices? Most men would not care what the media was saying. Why did the LDS Church take such an active role in dissemination of information regarding Elizabeth Smart. I feel sorry for Elizabeth
and feel that a book like this does nothing to help her recovery.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a pathetic attempt of a cover up
Review: i don't buy it, i ve read extensively on this case and i am something of an authority on this issue in my home country and the loopwholes in this issue leave me both disdained and disgusted. Tons of kids go "missing" around the globe, most are actually raped, murdered, enter illicit paidophilia rings or, most, die in wars. This case just doesn't add up. From the mormon parents, to the hippy kidnapper, who never actually harmed or layed a finger on the girl, and it seems like she be much better off with that crowd than with their money and celebrity hungry excuse of a family of hers. And then bush photo ops, excuse me while i puke, g.w. bush had better repent for the thousants of innocent girls and boys he's maimed at iraq before ever coming close to an underage child in the world. But that being beside the point, it does come to illustrate the hype furvor sourind this case which imo is fluff. Btw, i wouldn't be as harsh hadn't this book been such a blatant propagandist, money making, entrepsise amaided at the most guilible white trash around. Thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: I loved this story because a Missing girl was found 9 months later and returned to her family. I can recall the day Elizabeth was found and was glad that the parents took the time to write this book because it's a wonderful story with an incredibly happy ending. The ending Bringing Elizabeth home to her family. I highly recomend this book for anyone who followed the Elizabeth Smart case. Pick it up today!
Rating:
Summary: Thsi book changed me
Review: It's obvious after reading the book that despite all the bad talk Elizabeth's parents didn't write the book for the money. They are deeply religious people and want to share their miracle with the world.
I followed the Elizabeth Smart story every step of the way and I will never forget where I was and how happy I was when she was found. I am not particularly religious but absolutely loved the book. I read it in 2 days, it was great to hear their view of the story after seeing all the news and the tv movie. They had the right to tell the world what really happened and their part on the story. I think people just made their judgements too fast and didn't really look at their motivation.
It's a book of faith, never giving up hope and that beeing there for your family at all times, even in horrible and hard times for you, is the most important thing. The book has taught me a lot!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time reading this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Let me start by saying how bored I was reading this so called book. It has nothing to do with Elizabeth and it has all to do with her parents. Like they want to make some money out of Elizabeth being kidnapped. Why are there pictures of her parents wedding, pics of them growing up? I just don't get this book. This book should be about Elizabeth and only her. Thank goodness this book was a gift to me so I didn't waste my money on it. I was really disappointed as I read this book. It took me 2 months to read it because I can only read a couple pages before I fall asleep. I'm telling you don't waste your money. What is the purpose of this book? It sure wasn't about Elizabeth. The movie they made was better then this. I am so glad I am finished this book because trust me, I will never read it again and I don't recommend it to anybody either.
Rating:
Summary: The subtitle says it all, really.
Review: The subtitle says it all, really. Readers expecting to learn details of Elizabeth Smart's captivity should look elsewhere; there are no such revelations in this book. Her parents leave it to Elizabeth to tell that story herself, someday, if she chooses to do so. This is Ed and Lois Smart telling their own story, and that of their family's other members, during the months between Elizabeth's kidnapping and her return.
Faith played a huge role in keeping the Smart family's hope alive during those months, so it's natural for them to speak of it often. For some readers this may give their book a "preachy" quality, while for others it may strike exactly the right note. True crime this is not - it's more like a series of essays, sharing each parent's feelings while walking us through the events as they remember them.
Worth reading, but oddly dry for all the material's tremendous emotional impact. I came away feeling that someone - authors, ghostwriter, editor(s), I couldn't be sure who - worked so hard at avoiding sensationalism that the effort backfired. 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
Rating:
Summary: I was inspired
Review: There is a lot floating around about the entire story of Elizabeth Smart...she brought it upon herself. She ran away with the man. Her parents staged the whole thing....and Heaven knows what else. I read this book as soon as I saw it and was very much inspired by it. I wasn't sure what to think about the Smarts at first, but this book altered my outlook. This is a family with a lot of faith and courage; they feel that they have been blessed in their lives, and they are choosing to share it with the world. Okay, so there's the whole publicity question: Why are Elizabeth's parents throwing their daughter into the media after all the trauma she has been through? My feeling is this: Imagine going through what the Smarts did and hearing all the horrible things that are circulating because of it. If all the things been said are indeed untrue, then it is an act of true injustice to this family, and I admire Ed and Lois Smart for seeking to earn their daughter and their family some justice. It seems like they are doing it out of respect for Elizabeth, and they are to be commended for that. This is a beautiful book that draws its strength from the fact that Ed and Lois Smart do not try to put words in their daughter's mouth or relate her whole ordeal for the entire world to read. They speak of everything from their point of view, explaining how this whole thing made them feel and how it affected them, NOT the actual details of Elizabeth's experience. As they wisely state, "Sharing her story is Elizabeth's choice to make, not ours." They respect her wishes while being courageous enough to move forward with their beliefs and their desire to bring some truth to the world. Whether or not people choose to believe them or support them, they can know that they at least spoke the truth for their child and their family's sake. This book touches base with many faith-related issues, sometimes wandering from the subject of Elizabeth but never failing to motivate and inspire. Elizabeth's parents tell us why God is such a moving force in their lives and how it has helped them before, during, and after their daughter's kidnapping. There is a lot of good to be found from this book if people took the time to read it and not just think the worst about the Smart family. Some may think I'm oblivious to the truth; some may call me naive or clueless. But I personally choose to support the good and give respect to this family. They know that the very fact that their daughter was kidnapped and returned to them 9 months later makes them a rare minority, and they know that things like that don't just happen. May God bless the Smarts for all they have had to go through and the way they have handled it. After reading this book, I would have to say that I think they have done very well for themselves. I strongly encourage you to give their story a chance, even if you have mixed feelings about the facts. If anything, a refreshing new perspective is always worth it.
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