Wife, No. 19

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderfully Vivid Book
Review: I have the original 1875 book. Ann-Eliza Young's writing style is wonderful. I did not want to put the book down.

She brings you right into the story/history of the Mormons and of her family.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughts on this work
Review: I just want to make clarifications on some of the reviews I have read here. First off, Anna Young was not Brigham's 19th wife. A brief look at his family history will clarify this. Furthermore, most Historians agree that Young's autobiography lacks significant substance when it comes to her accusations against both Brigham Young and the Mormon Church. Her writing style is at best entertaining, reflective of similar accounts of frustration with Mormonism. See T.H. Stenhouse's "Female Life Among The Mormons" as an example published in 1872. More critical accounts of polygamy and the like can be found. Consider reading Van Wagner's "Mormon Polygamy" or Hardy's "Solemn Covenant."

Rating:
Summary: no wonder
Review: This is an amazing book about the founders of a new faith in a new world. It's no wonder that the Mormon church tried to destroy these. My mother found a first edition copy of this book at an estate sale, and so we bought it here because we were afraid to read the old one (it might fall apart). It's a well told story by a brave woman who speaks with clarity and force about the beginnings of the Mormon church in Utah.

Mormons will not like this book. Non-mormons with open minds probably will.