I have a thread over on MA&D for book recommendations, and Blixa suggested I create a “companion thread” over here (which I think is a fantastic suggestion as I’m sure I’ll get some recommendations here that I wouldn’t get from over there).
So, pretty much this is what I’m after (I’m just going to copy/paste my OP from the other board). I've already spent the money from my tax return, but I'm still maintaining a list that I take with me everytime I go to the used bookstore.
I received my tax return, and I’m going to use it to help my library grow. I only started taking Mormonism (and non-Eastern religion in general) seriously a little over a year ago, so my library has about 2 hundred books that are literature, philosophy, and poetry, but only about 25-30 on religion/Mormonism/biblical scholarship/etc.. So… I was wondering if you would mind hooking me up with suggestions for the “must read” books in each of the following categories. “Critics” and/or non-believers, please feel free to contribute as well. Or if there’s a book that doesn’t fit in one of these “categories,” but you think it is still a “must read,” feel free to add it.
Old Testament/Ancient Israel
New Testament/Early Christianity
Early Mormonism/Biographies/History
Mormon Doctrine
Book of Mormon
Apologetics
Thank you, Stu
"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead." ~Charles Bukowski
I just read Faithful History, put out by Signature Books. It had some fantastic essays, including Objectivity and History by Kent E. Robson and Reflections on Being a Mormon Historian (and Its Aftermath) by D. Michael Quinn.[/i]
Look up the books by Bart Ehrman. They help put some perspective on the sources and history of the Bible.
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen
Don't forget to pick up apocryphal texts or you'll miss gems like these:
The following Bible stories were apparently written by real students and are genuine, Richard Lederer assembled them; they appeared in National Review magazine on December 31, 1995.
In the first book of the Bible, Guinness's, God got tired of creating the world, so He took the Sabbath off. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark, the animals came on to in pears. Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.
Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah. Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles. Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments. The First Commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple. The Fifth Commandment is to humor thy father and mother. The seventh Commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines. Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you. He also explained, "Man doth not live by sweat alone."
The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was, by profession, a taximan. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage. A Christian should have only one wife. This is called monotony.
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
Common Sense by Paine
The God Delusion that atheist dude everyone is pissed at right now
Origin of Species by Darwin
Have a Nice Day by Mick Foley
Lady Chatterley's Lover by Joyce
The Zombie Survival Guide by Brooks
Stupid, the Paris Hilton Story by Sum Guy
Heck I don't know....by some fun fiction stuff or something...I like the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough myself (despite her handling of Caesar)
Edit: All so you wanted real responses...well you know that isn't me Stuess! You know this!
Dunamis: Alright you've had your fun...now time for me to have some fun....you're on the queue Bondboy.
"Whatever appears to be against the Book of Mormon is going to be overturned at some time in the future. So we can be pretty open minded."-charity 3/7/07
Steuss: Here's some suggestions for your "Early Mormonism/Biographies/History" category.
I'm assuming you're already familar with the works of Juanita Brooks, Wallace Stegner, Will Bagley and Mike Quinn. If not, I recommend all their books. Bagley and Quinn in particular publish extensive bibliographies and one can glean an entire education from those alone.
You should also read the complete works of Dale Morgan, starting with, The Great Salt Lake. It's a fascinating history of Utah told through the history of the lake, wonderfully readable and entertaining. Also, The State of Deseret and The Humboldt: Highroad of the West. If I'm not mistaken Signature Books as some excerpts from his unfinished history of Mormonism and his letters available online, too. Every word written by Dale Morgan is golden and holy.
Juanita Brooks: Mormon Woman Historian --- Levi S. Peterson. This is interesting not only as a biography but also an account of a different Mormonism from a different time.
For Christ Will Come Tomorrow: The Saga of the Morrisites --- C. Leroy Anderson. Get your gore on. Blood atonement, severed spinal columns (while I'm at it don't miss the decapitations in Chapter Seven: Post-1844 Theocracy and a Culture of Violence, in Vol. II of Mike Quinn's The Mormon Hierarchy.)
Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896 --- David Bigler
Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder --- Harold M. Schindler
In Another Time: Sketches of Utah History --- Harold M. Schindler
Camp Floyd and the Mormons: The Utah War --- Donald R. Moorman and Gene Sessions
Platte River Road Narratives --- Merrill J. Mattes. Not about Mormonism/Utah per se, but fascinating accounts of the many bands of fleeing Mormon "apostates" encountered on route by other overland emigrants. The book is an index and summary of hundreds of journal/diary accounts of western emigrants, not the accounts themselves. Its useful for helping one sort through a huge amount of material and deciding which things need to be looked at more.
This is kind of off the top of my head. I'll try to add more, if I think of things.
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."
