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BOOK/ARTICLE/FILM REVIEWS


This page is dedicated to reviews of books, articles, and films.  Here we will review books/articles/films that are both pro and con towards the LDS Church.  Your submissions are welcome.


Bibliography Of Critical Reviews and Responses to Selected Books and Articles About Mormonism compiled by Danel W. Bachman

Reviews (on SHIELDS site)

Compton, Todd, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith.  Reviewed (with an Abstract) by Danel W. Bachman. (for an Adobe .pdf version, click here).

Compton, Todd, In Sacred Loneliness:  The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith.  Reviewed by Alma Allred and presented at the Mormon History Association's annual conference, 1999 (for an Adobe .pdf version, click here).

Heinerman & Shupe, The Mormon Corporate Empire, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985).  Reviewed by Malin L. Jacobs.

Rhodes & Bodine, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1995).  Reviewed/responded to by John A. Tvedtnes.

Tanner, Jerald & Sandra, "MORMON FARMS Battling the anti-Mormonoids," Salt Lake City Messenger, Issue No. 90, May 1996, reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes.

Luke P. Wilson, “Lost Books & Latter-Day Revelation: A Response to Mormon Views of the New Testament Canon,” Christian Research Journal, Fall 1996, 27-33. Reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes and Matt Roper.

Reviews (Elsewhere)

Anderson, Rodger I., Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reexamined, reviewed by Richard Lloyd Anderson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, Behind the Mask of Mormonism, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books Vol. 8/2.

Ankerberg, John, and John Weldon, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mormonism, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5.

Ashment, Edward H., "The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review", reviewed by John Gee in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1.

Bartley, Peter, Mormonism: The Prophet, the Book and the Cult, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon Vol. 2

Beckwith, Francis J., and Stephen E. Parrish, See the Gods Fall: Four Rivals to Christianity, reviewed by John McLachlan, "Knocking Over Straw Gods" in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/2.

Beckwith, Francis J., and Stephen E. Parrish, The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis, reviewed by Blake T. Ostler in FARMS' Review of Books Vol. 8/2.

Blomberg, Craig L., and Stephen E. Robinson, How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation, Reviewed by Paul L. Owen and Carl A. Mosser; Blake T. Ostler; and William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 11/2.

How Deep the Chasm? A Reply to Owen and Mosser's Review, reviewed by David L. Paulsen and R. Dennis Potter in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 11/2.

How Deep the Platonism? A Review of Owen and Mosser's Appendix: Hellenism, Greek Philosophy, and the Creedal "Straightjacket" of Christian Orthodoxy, reviewed by Roger D. Cook in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 11/2.

Afterword, by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 11/2.

Bloom, Harold, The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation, reviewed by Alan Goff in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

Bringhurst, Newell G.,  Fawn McKay Brodie: A Biographer's Life, reviewed by Louis Midgley, "The Legend and Legacy of Fawn Brodie" in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 13/1.

Brodie, Fawn, No Man Knows My History - Responded to in Hugh Nibley's No Ma'am, That's Not History (currently republished in Vol. 9 of FARMS Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Tinkling Cymbals and Sound Brass).

Brodie, Fawn McKay, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, reviewed by Louis Midgley in FARMS' Review of Books Vol. 8/2.

Brooke, John L., The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844, reviewed by William J. Hamblin, Daniel C. Peterson, and George L. Mitton in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/2

Buerger, David John, The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship, reviewed by Matthew B. Brown in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/1

Charles, Melodie Moench, "Book of Mormon Christology", reviewed by Ross David Baron in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Charles, Melodie Moench, "Book of Mormon Christology", reviewed by Martin S. Tanner in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/2.

Compton, Todd, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, reviewed by Richard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/2.

Compton, Todd, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, reviewed by Danel W. Bachman in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/2.

Cornforth, Leon, Meeting the Mormon Challenge with Love, reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes in Review of Books, Vol. 10/1

Crane, Charles and Steven, Ashamed of Joseph: Mormon Foundations Crumble, reviewed by LeIsle Jacobson in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 8/1

Decker, Ed, Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/2

Dr. Shades, "Review of FARMS Review of Books: How the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies deceives their fellow Latter-day Saints by creating the false impression that all is well in Zion", reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes, "Shades of Darkness" in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/2.

Farkas, John R., and David A. Reed, Mormonism: Changes, Contradictions, and Errors, reviewed by Craig L. Foster in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 9/1.

Fingerhut, Eugene R., Explorers of Pre-Columbian America?: The Diffusionist-Inventionist Controversy
Fritze, Ronald H., Legend and Lore of the Americas before 1492: An Encyclopedia of Visitors, Explorers, and Immigrants, reviewed by William J. Hamblin in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Geisler, Norman L., gen. ed., The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism

Geisler, Norman L., chap. 1, “Scripture”, reviewed by Alma Allred, “Coin of the Realm: Beware of Specious Specie”

Geisler, Norman L., chap. 1, “Scripture”, reviewed by Danel W. Bachman, “The Other Side of the Coin: A Source Review of Norman Geisler’s Chapter”

Beckwith, Francis J., chap. 2, “God”, reviewed by Richard R. Hopkins, “Counterfeiting the Mormon Concept of God”

Rhodes, Ron, chap. 3, “Christ”, reviewed by Barry R. Bickmore, “Not Completely Worthless”

Roberts, Phil, chap. 4, “Salvation”, reviewed by Russell C. McGregor, “Widening the Divide: The Countercult Version of Mormonism”

Tanner, Jerald and Sandra, chap. 5, “Terminology”, reviewed by Kerry A. Shirts, “Terminating Some Terminology Problems between Evangelical Christians and Mormon Christians”

Chap. 6, “A Word to Our Mormon Friends”, reviewed by D. L. Barksdale, “A Word to Our Anti-Mormon Friends”

in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/1.

Givens, Terryl L., The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy, reviewed by Richard H. Cracroft and Neal W. Kramer in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 9/2.

Hallwas, John E., and Roger D. Launius, eds., Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois, reviewed by Elden J. Watson, “Cultured Conflicts: History Served on the Half Shell” in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/1.

Hauth, Rüdiger, Die Mormonen: Sekte oder neue Kirche Jesu Christi?, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in Review of Books, Vol. 9/2

Helland, Dean Maurice, Meeting the Book of Mormon Challenge in Chile, reviewed by Louis Midgley in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

Hettinger, Glen J., “A Hard Day for Professor Midgley: An Essay for Fawn McKay Brodie,” Dialogue 32/1, review by Louis Midgley, "Comments on Critical Exchanges" in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 13/1.

Holley, Vernal, Book of Mormon Authorship: A Closer Look  reviewed by L. Ara Norwood in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon Vol. 1

Hullinger, Robert N., Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism, reviewed by Gary F. Novak in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Kunich, John C., "Multiply Exceedingly: Book of Mormon Population Sizes.", reviewed by James E. Smith in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1

Krakauer, Jon, Under the Banner of Heaven, reviewed on the LDS Church web site (Newsroom).

Langfield, Weldon, The Truth about Mormonism: A Former Adherent Analyzes the LDS Faith, reviewed by Matthew Roper in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 4

Larson, Charles M., . . . By His Own Hand upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri, reviewed by John Gee, with an addendum by John L. Sorenson and Michael D. Rhodes in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 4.

Larson, Stan, Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaelogical Search for the Book of Mormon, reviewed by John Gee in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/2.

Marquardt, H. Michael, and Wesley P. Walters, Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record, reviewed by Richard L. Bushman in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/2

Marquardt, H. Michael, and Wesley P. Walters, Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record, reviewed by Larry C. Porter in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/2

Martin, Walter, Mormonism; The Maze of Mormonism; The Kingdom of the Cults, reviewed by Louis Midgley, “A ‘Tangled Web’: The Walter Martin Miasma” in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/1.

Metcalfe, Brent Lee, ed., New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, reviewed by Kevin Christensen in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/2

Matheny, Deanne G., "Does the Shoe Fit? A Critique of the Limited Tehuantepec Geography", reviewed by John L. Sorenson in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1

McKeever, Bill, and Eric Johnson, Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friend: Effective Ways to Challenge a Mormon's Arguments without Being Offensive, reviewed by LeIsle Jacobson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

McKeever, Bill, and Eric Johnson, Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friends: Challenging the Claims of Latter-day Saints in a Constructive Manner, reviewed by D. Charles Pyle in FARMS' Review of Books Vol. 8/2.

Metcalfe, Brent Lee, "Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity.", reviewed by William J. Hamblin in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1

Metcalfe, Brent Lee, "Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity", reviewed by Alan Goff in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Metcalfe, Brent Lee, ed., New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, reviewed by Davis Bitton; John A. Tvedtnes; John Gee; Royal Skousen; John W. Welch in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1.

Metcalfe, Brent Lee, ed., New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, reviewed by John Wm. Maddox in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 8/1

Metcalfe, Brent Lee, "The Priority of Mosiah: A Prelude to Book of Mormon Exegesis." reviewed by Matthew Roper in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1

Morain, William D., The Sword of Laban: Joseph Smith Jr. and the Dissociated Mind, reviewed by Richard N. Williams, “The Spirit of Prophecy and the Spirit of Psychiatry: Restoration or Dissociation?” in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/1.

Owens, Lance S., "Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection", reviewed by William J. Hamblin in FARMS' Review of Books Vol. 8/2.

Persuitte, David, Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon, reviewed by L. Ara Norwood in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon Vol. 2

Quinn, D. Michael, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, reviewed by John Gee, "An Obstacle to Deeper Understanding'"; William J. Hamblin, "That Old Black Magic"; and Rhett S. James, "Writing History Must Not Be an Act of 'Magic'" in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 12/2.

Quinn, D. Michael, Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example, reviewed by Klaus J. Hansen; George L. Mitton and Rhett S. James in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/1.

Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power, reviewed by Duane Boyce in Review of Books, Vol. 9/2

Reed, David A., and John R. Farkas, Mormons Answered Verse by Verse, reviewed by Keith J. Wilson in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 8/1

Ropp, Harry L., with revisions from Wesley P. Walters, Are the Mormon Scriptures Reliable, reviewed by Diane E. Wirth in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon Vol. 2

Sampson, Joe, Written by the Finger of God: Testimony of Joseph Smith's Translations, reviewed by John Gee in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Shipps, Jan, Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, reviewed by Louis Midgley in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/2

Smith, Ethan, View of the Hebrews, reviewed by Andrew H. Hedges in Review of Books, Vol. 9/1

Smith, George D., ed., Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History, reviewed by Gary F. Novak in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

Smith, George D., ed., Religion, Feminism, and Freedom of Conscience: A Mormon/Humanist Dialogue, reviewed by Louis Midgley in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Spencer, James R., "The Disappointment of B. H. Roberts: Five Questions That Forced a Mormon General Authority to Abandon the Book of Mormon", reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in Review of Books, Vol. 9/1

Tanner, Jerald and Sandra, Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism of the Book "Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon," vol. 1, reviewed by Matthew Roper and John A. Tvedtnes in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/2

Tanner, Jerald and Sandra, Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism Raised by Mormon Defenders, reviewed by Matthew Roper in Review of Books, Vol. 9/1

Tanner, Jerald, and Sandra Tanner, Archaeology and the Book of Mormon, reviewed by William J. Hamblin in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

Tanner, Jerald, and Sandra Tanner, Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon, reviewed by L. Ara Norwood, Matthew Roper, and John A. Tvedtnes in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

Tanner, Jerald, and Sandra Tanner, Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon, reviewed by Tom Nibley in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

Tanner, Jerald, and Sandra Tanner, "Joseph Smith's Use of the Apocrypha", reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper in FARMS' Review of Books Vol. 8/2.

Tanner, Jerald, and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality?, reviewed by Matthew Roper in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 4.

The Bible II, reviewed by Royal Skousen in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/2.

The Mormon Puzzle: Understanding and Witnessing to Latter-day Saints, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/1.

Thomas, Mark D., "A Rhetorical Approach to the Book of Mormon: Rediscovering Nephite Sacramental Language.", reviewed by Richard Lloyd Anderson in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1

Tolbert, Keith Edward, and Eric Pement, The 1996 Directory of Cult Research Organizations: A Worldwide Listing of 752 Agencies and Individuals, reviewed by Louis Midgley in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/1.

Toscano, Margaret and Paul, Strangers in Paradox: Explorations in Mormon Theology, reviewed by Brian M. Hauglid in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/2

Toscano, Paul, The Sanctity of Dissent, reviewed by William J. Hamblin in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 7/1

Tryk, Loftes, The Best Kept Secrets in the Book of Mormon, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

Van Gorden, Kurt, Mormonism, reviewed by Daniel C. Peterson in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 8/1.

Van Gorden, Kurt, Mormonism, reviewed by L. Ara Norwood in Review of Books, Vol. 9/2

Vogel, Dan, "Anti-Universalist Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon", reviewed by Martin S. Tanner in FARMS' Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/1

Vogel, Dan, Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon, reviewed by Kevin Christensen in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon Vol. 2

Vogel, Dan, ed., The Word of God: Essays on Mormon Scripture, reviewed by Louis Midgley and Stephen E. Robinson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

Walker, John Phillip, ed., Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism: Correspondence and a New History, reviewed by Gary F. Novak in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 8/1.

Walters, Wesley P., The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon, reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes and Stephen D. Ricks in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 4.

Warren, Bruce W., and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, The Messiah in Ancient America, reviewed by Terrence L. Szink in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon Vol. 1

James R. White, Is the Mormon My Brother?, reviewed by L. Ara Norwood, "He Ain’t Heavy" in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 13/1.

White, James R., Letters to a Mormon Elder, reviewed by L. Ara Norwood in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 5

White, James R., Letters to a Mormon Elder: Eye-Opening Information for Mormons and the Christians Who Talk with Them, reviewed by Russell C. McGregor with Kerry A. Shirts in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 11/1.

White, James, "Of Cities and Swords: The Impossible Task of Mormon Apologetics", reviewed by Matthew Roper in Review of Books, Vol. 9/1

White, O. Kendall, Jr., Mormon Neo-Orthodoxy: A Crisis Theology, reviewed by Louis Midgley in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 6/2

Williams, Stephen, Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory, reviewed by Diane E. Wirth and John L. Sorenson in FARMS' Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Vol. 4.

Williams, Jeff, Who Was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, reviewed by John Gee in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 9/1.

Wilson, Luke P., "Does the Bible Teach Salvation for the Dead? A Survey of the Evidence" and "Did Jesus Establish Baptism for the Dead?", reviewed by John A. Tvedtnes in FARMS' Review of Books, Vol. 10/2.