American Zion

A New History of Mormonism

De: Benjamin E. Park

Narrado por: Tom Parks

The first major history of Mormonism in a decade, drawing on newly available sources to reveal a profoundly divided faith that has nevertheless shaped the nation.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in the so-called "burned-over district" of upstate New York, which was producing seers and prophets daily. Most of the new creeds flamed out; Smith's would endure, becoming the most significant homegrown religion in American history.

In American Zion Benjamin E. Park presents a fresh, sweeping account of the Latter-day Saints: from the flight to Utah Territory in 1847 to the public renunciation of polygamy in 1890; from the Mormon leadership's forging of an alliance with the Republican Party in the wake of the New Deal to the "Mormon moment" of 2012; and beyond. In the twentieth century, Park shows, Mormons began to move ever closer to the center of American life, shaping culture, politics, and law along the way.

A definitive, character-driven work of history, American Zion is essential to any understanding of the Mormon past, present, and future. But its lessons extend beyond the faith: as Park puts it, the Mormon story is the American story.

©2024 Benjamin E. Park (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great Book.

This is a great piece of historical work. Some of the names can be tricky for outsiders, but other than that the book is wonderful.

Great historical review

Dr Benjamin Park did a great job outlining this historical points and presenting the information with academic objectivity. I personally found the book very engaging.

The Definitive Mormon History for the Next Generation

Ben Park masterfully captures much of the nuance across the width and breadth and depth of Mormon histories. He is respectful of Mormon beliefs and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while not glossing over controversy or thorny issues.

Incredible historical narrative of LDS Faith

interesting history of how internal and external pressures forged and formed LDS Faith. The author goes into great detail in painting a full and fair picture of the formation, growth, challenges, and leadership within the “Mormon” context. As a member of this church I learned quite a bit.

The book’s narrative.

An excellent, well-researched, survey of Mormonism in America. The best book on the topic available.

Honest, balanced history

A refreshingly honest and balanced history of LDS Church up to the present day. Deals with controversial topic that institutional approved histories do not.

Eye opener

Park takes the reader through the 200+ year long history of Mormonism and demonstrates convincingly how political and societal pressures takes Mormonism from upstart faith with heretical yet uniquely American doctrine to a hulking corporate bureaucracy.

The audiobook performance is lacking because it is AI. The narrator makes pronunciation errors for many proper names that a human reader should have researched beforehand (eg Moroni, Manti, Strangism, etc.) The quality of the voice is pleasant but never changes in quality like happens with human readers.

Excellent book and narration

Engaging, thoughtful, thoroughly enjoyable single-volume history of Mormonism in America. Park traces the major social, political, and theological shifts as Mormonism reacted to, against, and integrated with the larger American culture. Park went far beyond the nearly all-white male priesthood hierarchy to highlight aspects of the larger story through the experiences of women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals. The book will appeal to a broad audience as Park successfully argues how the story of this home-grown American religion reveals much about how the United States has changed over the last two centuries. Strong audio performance.

Fascinating

As an outsider, helped me understand Mormonism. Thorough and well narrated. I recommend to history buffs.

entertaining and informative

This book is well researched and informative. it is honest but not an attack.
the only issue I had was that the reader misprounced several names.