LEATHER Carthage Conspiracy Trial of Joseph Smith Assassins Spec Ed. Mormon LDS
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Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith - LEATHER BOUND EDITION
by Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill
Published by Gryphon Editions / Notable Trials Library (2020)
This Notable Trials Edition has a full leather binding, gold gilded page edges and a sewn-in silk marker PLUS a 4 page Introduction by Alan Dershowitz.
FYI: Alan Dershowitz, a prominent legal scholar and defense attorney, is often recognized for his unwavering commitment to advocating for the rights and interests of the Jewish community. Throughout his career, Dershowitz has taken on the role of a vocal defender of the Jews, utilizing his legal expertise to address issues related to anti-Semitism, discrimination, and challenges faced by Jewish individuals and communities. His advocacy extends beyond the courtroom, as Dershowitz frequently engages in public discourse, lectures, and writings that seek to promote understanding and tolerance. With a dedication to justice and a passion for defending civil liberties, Alan Dershowitz has emerged as a staunch advocate for the Jewish people, contributing significantly to the ongoing dialogue surrounding their rights, security, and well-being.
If you don't purchase the book, at least take a few minutes to read the introduction in my photos. It's cool to know others that aren't LDS, get it!
Condition:
BRAND NEW 1st Edition of this Leather-Bound Edition! The binding is tight and all 248 pages within are bright white with no writing, underlining, high-lighting, rips, tears, bends, or folds. The book looks perfect, as can be seen in my photos. You will be happy with this one! Buy with confidence from a seller who takes the time to show you the details and not use just stock photos. Please check out all my pictures and email with any questions! Thanks for looking!
From the Authors:
Our book is intended to have significance for both scholar and layman. We have tried to look at the trial as a significant legal event in Mormon and American history. But we have tried not to lose sight of the fact that good history is good narrative. Our introduction and concluding chapter may be of special significance for the scholar, but for most readers the point of interest will be the story between.
Some Book Reviews:
5/5 Stars - Greg Newkirk rated it it was amazing - Flows well
A page turner of a legal and historical treatise. It is a sad and disappointing story, a tragedy. But it provides a great insight into conspiracy and extra-legal philosophy, explaining the deeper resources of reasoning and justification for murder. It is disturbing in its revelation that many people can be of like thinking in that they lack basic human decency while functioning normally in all other aspects of social life.
5/5 Stars -The Thousander Club rated it - really liked it
Latter-day Saint Sunday school classes are filled with commentaries, quotes, and doctrine related to the early years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those formative years of a growing but bewildered new religion are sources of inspiration (and sometimes controversy) for Latter-day Saints. In the Nauvoo period in particular, Latter-day Saints explore the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith mostly as it relates to the Saints' eventual exodus to the West, leaving behind the more nuanced circumstances of who and why. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith lets the reader linger and learn some of those nuances.
To begin with, I greatly underappreciated how much politics played into the assassination of Joseph Smith. Although he had declared himself to be a candidate for President of the United States of America, the real political forces working toward his demise were local. With the Saints' growing population in Nauvoo and by extension Hancock County, Illinois, the "old citizens" became increasingly worried over the shifting political balance. It is the nature of a democratic government to reflect the majority of those it governs. Therefore, with more Mormons comes more Mormon public officials or those sympathetic to Mormon interests. Although religious bigotry and persecution was clearly an element of the Saints' eventual expulsion, the more interesting story—in my opinion—is how those anti-Mormon feelings fed into political agitation and upheaval.
Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill's recreation of the conspirator's trial doesn't exactly explode off the page but was enthralling nonetheless. As mentioned earlier, well-known and much discussed Mormon history pivots after the martyrdom to the Western epoch and essentially leaves the fallout of the assassination to a small coterie of interested scholars. As a Latter-day Saint, I genuinely had no idea what the outcome of the trial would be, albeit I had my suspicions. As with any history, the true but refined version we're usually presented immediately becomes more subtle and opaque as you read the words of multiple witnesses—many of which had competing accounts to tell and disparate interests to protect. The trial is the central focus of the book and the periodic commentaries from the authors is instructive. In order to understand this trial, the reader must appreciate the workings of criminal law and the cultural influences of a different time and place.
Carthage Conspiracy is not for the layman when it comes to Mormon history. Although the authors attempt to provide as much background as possible to the events discussed, I imagine it would be difficult for a non-Mormon with little knowledge of the Mormon Church and its history to be able to understand or care much about what this book explores. I don't fault the authors for this since attempting to truly explain the origins of Mormon history and culture would be far too onerous for a book with a deliberately limited scope. I would think and hope that others who do have a background in Latter-day Saint history and culture would be able to enjoy this book. Although some may be turned off or confused by the commentaries on legal theory and practice, I found it utterly fascinating and appreciate this treatise as a lovely addition to my growing collection of books related to Latter-day Saint history.
Carthage Conspiracy is an exploration of a mostly unknown moment in human history (even for Latter-day Saints), which is of most interest to a very small group of people. It is nonetheless worth reading, especially for Latter-day Saints. We honor the man who was assassinated, but what came of his accused assassins? Carthage Conspiracy provides the answer and pushes the reader on to many more compelling questions.
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