About the Author

Richard L. Bushman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1931. He took his B.A., M.A., and PhD. degrees at Harvard University. He has taught at Brigham Young University, Boston University, University of Delaware, and Columbia University, where he is currently Gouverneur Morris Professor of History, Emeritus. His previous books are From Puritan to Yankee- Character and Social Order in Connecticut, 1690-1765 (1967), Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (1984), King and People in Provincial Massachusetts (1985), and The Refinement of America- Persons, Houses, and Cities (1992).

Reviews

“Remarkable. . . . A tale that’s as colorful, suspenseful and unlikely as any in American history...Bushman earns a place for his biography on the very short shelf reserved for books on Mormonism with appeal to initiates and outsiders, too.”—The New York Times Book Review“A fascinating definitive biography. . . . Stirs deeper questions about American religious convictions and how they shape lives and culture.” —The Christian Science Monitor“An exhaustively researched and beautifully written biography of Mormonism’s enigmatic founder.”—Christianity Today"Fascinating. . . .Bushman captures all the harrowing events of Smith's short life, rife with converts and cabals, while meticulously dissecting the revelations that continue to haunt the Smith story." —The Providence Journal“Well-researched and lucidly written. . . . An excellent source for learning about the Mormon faith.” —The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Remarkable. . . . A tale that's as colorful, suspenseful and unlikely as any in American history...Bushman earns a place for his biography on the very short shelf reserved for books on Mormonism with appeal to initiates and outsiders, too."-The New York Times Book Review"A fascinating definitive biography. . . . Stirs deeper questions about American religious convictions and how they shape lives and culture." -The Christian Science Monitor"An exhaustively researched and beautifully written biography of Mormonism's enigmatic founder."-Christianity Today"Fascinating. . . .Bushman captures all the harrowing events of Smith's short life, rife with converts and cabals, while meticulously dissecting the revelations that continue to haunt the Smith story." -The Providence Journal"Well-researched and lucidly written. . . . An excellent source for learning about the Mormon faith." -The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Bushman, emeritus professor of history at Columbia, crafts a thoroughgoing biography of Mormon founder Joseph Smith on the 200th anniversary of his birth. With a four-city tour. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.