American Legends: The Life of Joseph Smith
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American Legends: The Life of Joseph Smith
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Narrated by:
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Michael Gilboe
About this listen
Explains Joseph Smith's life and the founding of the Mormon Church.
"Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and in Germany, Palestine, New Holland, the East Indies, and other places, the standard of truth has been erected: no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." (Joseph Smith)
A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.
Among all the various figures in 19th-century America who left controversial legacies, it is hard to find one as influential as Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mormonism, and the Latter Day Saint movement. Revered as a prophet on the level of Moses by some, reviled as a perpetrator of large-scale fraud by others, what everyone can agree on is that Joseph Smith founded a religious movement that played a crucial role in the settlement of the West, especially in Utah.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 358
Two-time Pulitzer Prize - winning historian Barbara Tuchman explores the complex relationship of Britain to Palestine that led to the founding of the modern Jewish state - and to many of the problems that plague the Middle East today.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book, but not quite objective
- By Kellie on 04-25-11
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The Mormon People
- The Making of an American Faith
- By: Matthew Bowman
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
In 1830, a young seer and sometime treasure hunter named Joseph Smith began organizing adherents into a new religious community that would come to be called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and known informally as the Mormons). One of the nascent faith’s early initiates was a twenty-three-year-old Ohio farmer named Parley Pratt, the distant grandfather of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In The Mormon People, religious historian Matthew Bowman peels back the curtain on more than 180 years of Mormon history and doctrine.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nice overview of the history of the LDS church.
- By Daniel on 02-07-12
By: Matthew Bowman
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Brigham Young
- Pioneer Prophet
- By: John G. Turner
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 375
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 325
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Story4 out of 5 stars 324
Brigham Young was a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. He trudged around the United States and England to gain converts for Mormonism, spoke in spiritual tongues, married more than 50 women, and eventually transformed a barren desert into his vision of the Kingdom of God. While previous accounts of his life have been distorted by hagiography or polemical exposé, John Turner provides a fully realized portrait of a colossal figure in American religion, politics, and westward expansion.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Lion of the Lord says "Mind Your Own Business"
- By Darwin8u on 08-26-13
By: John G. Turner
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A History of the Jews
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 497
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 381
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 382
This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent History
- By Rilezmom on 06-06-09
By: Paul Johnson
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God, War, and Providence
- The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England
- By: James A. Warren
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
A devout Puritan minister in 17th-century New England, Roger Williams was also a social critic, diplomat, theologian, and politician who fervently believed in tolerance. Banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and laid the foundations for the colony of Rhode Island as a place where Indian and English cultures could flourish side by side, in peace. James A. Warren tells the remarkable and little-known story of the alliance between Roger Williams's Rhode Island and the Narragansett Indians, and how they joined forces to retain their autonomy and their distinctive ways of life against Puritan encroachment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Written Book on the Subject
- By Jeffropicc on 01-02-21
By: James A. Warren
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Jews, God, and History
- By: Max I. Dimont
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 224
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 177
Vitality floods its pages. Philosophers and kings, warriors and merchants, poets and financiers come alive as the story ranges across time and the globe. From ancient Palestine through Europe and the Orient, to America and modern Israel, Max Dimont shows how the saga of the Jews is interwoven with the history of virtually every nation on earth.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Grand in scope and depth
- By Joe on 08-27-12
By: Max I. Dimont
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America's Prophet
- Moses and the American Story
- By: Bruce Feiler
- Narrated by: Bruce Feiler
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 102
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4 out of 5 stars 53
The exodus story is America's story. Moses is our real founding father. In this groundbreaking book, New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feiler travels through touchstones in American history and traces the biblical prophet's influence from the Mayflower through today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another great book
- By TR on 11-06-09
By: Bruce Feiler
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Heaven’s Ditch
- God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal
- By: Jack Kelly
- Narrated by: Andrew Reilly
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4 out of 5 stars 49
The technological marvel of its age, the Erie Canal grew out of a sudden fit of inspiration. Proponents didn't just dream; they built a 360-mile waterway entirely by hand and largely through wilderness. As excitement crackled down its length, the canal became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. Zealots invented new religions and new modes of living. The Erie Canal made New York the financial capital of America and brought the modern world crashing into the frontier.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An under told story of the United States.
- By JayHey on 08-28-16
By: Jack Kelly
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God and Churchill
- How the Great Leader's Sense of Divine Destiny Changed His Troubled World and Offers Hope for Ours
- By: Wallace Henley, Jonathan Sandys
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
When Winston Churchill was a boy of 16, he already had a vision for his purpose in life. "This country will be subjected somehow to a tremendous invasion...I shall be in command of the defenses of London...it will fall to me to save the Capital, to save the Empire." It was a most unlikely prediction. Perceived as a failure for much of his life, Churchill was the last person anyone would have expected to rise to national prominence as prime minister and influence the fate of the world during World War II.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just excellent
- By Claude T. Stauffer on 01-10-17
By: Wallace Henley, and others
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How the Scots Invented the Modern World
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 491
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 436
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 437
Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the 18th and 19th centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics - contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. This book is not just about Scotland: it is an exciting account of the origins of the modern world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Eagerly Awaited Audiobook
- By Lulu on 09-01-16
By: Arthur Herman
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Constantine the Emperor
- By: David Potter
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths.
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4 out of 5 stars
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In this sign thou shalt conquer!
- By Darwin8u on 06-11-18
By: David Potter
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The Chosen Wars
- By: Steven R. Weisman
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
The Chosen Wars tells the dramatic story of how Judaism redefined itself in America in the 18th and 19th centuries - the personalities that fought each other and shaped its evolution and, importantly, the force of the American dynamic that prevailed over an ancient religion. Determined to take their places as equals in the young nation, American Jews rejected identity as a separate nation and embraced a secular America. Judaism became an American religion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A History of the Reform Movement
- By E. B. Weinberg on 08-24-18
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Destiny Disrupted
- A History of the World through Islamic Eyes
- By: Tamim Ansary
- Narrated by: Tamim Ansary
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,964
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,650
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,642
Until about 1800, the West and the Islamic realm were like two adjacent, parallel universes, each assuming itself to be the center of the world while ignoring the other. As Europeans colonized the globe, the two world histories intersected and the Western narrative drove the other one under. The West hardly noticed, but the Islamic world found the encounter profoundly disrupting.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A history of the world before the West mattered
- By David on 05-05-14
By: Tamim Ansary
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The Hidden History of the Knights Templar
- The Church's Oldest Conspiracy
- By: Conrad Bauer
- Narrated by: Charles D. Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 138
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4 out of 5 stars 120
The Knights Templar existed officially for less than 200 years. Founded to protect pilgrims who were travelling through the Holy Lands, their rise to power was sudden. They became some of the most feared warriors in the region, they had a mandate from God, they controlled perhaps the world's first real banking system, and they waged war against anyone who tried to wrestle Christianity and seize holy grounds from the control of the Catholic Church.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Insightful
- By Tina on 09-11-16
By: Conrad Bauer
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The Fearless Benjamin Lay
- The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist
- By: Marcus Rediker
- Narrated by: Cornell Womack
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
The Fearless Benjamin Lay chronicles the transatlantic life and times of a singular and astonishing man - a Quaker dwarf who became one of the first ever to demand the total, unconditional emancipation of all enslaved Africans around the world. He performed public guerrilla theater to shame slave masters, insisting that human bondage violated the fundamental principles of Christianity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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stunning story
- By Austin Choi-Fitz on 10-05-17
By: Marcus Rediker
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A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,046
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,395
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,381
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
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5 out of 5 stars
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an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
What listeners say about American Legends: The Life of Joseph Smith
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Evee Lane
- 10-01-16
Slanderous of the Gospel of Jesus Christ LDS
What would have made American Legends: The Life of Joseph Smith better?
If the author of the book wasn't an anti-Mormon.
Has American Legends: The Life of Joseph Smith turned you off from other books in this genre?
Not at all just from this author.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Gilboe?
He was a good narrator.
What character would you cut from American Legends: The Life of Joseph Smith?
All of it because it is slanderous.
Any additional comments?
Definition of slanderous: Webster, Merriam Dictionary. "To make a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone."
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