Thomas Ferguson was, according to Stan Larson, an earnest, if not zealous young lawyer who was determined to "prove" the authenticity of the Book of Mormon by virtue of archeology. He was not the first to do so, nor was he the last, and indeed, archeological "proof" continues to surface among church members. What he found during his Quest was that the evidence he was certain he could find turned out to be more problematic than he ever dreamed. So much so that he became convinced that it would never be found...indeed, COULD never be found.

What rocked his faith, however, was not the lack of archeological evidence, for there were always still possibilities why they hadn't found it yet. What collapsed Ferguson's faith was the dubious authenticity of the Book of Abraham once the original Joseph Smith papyri were found in a musuem in New York. Ferguson had the papyri translated by reputable Egyptologists, only to learn that the so-called source of the Book of Abraham was nothing more than common funerary papyri from a common Egyption mummy. His research proved, much to his dismay, that Joseph Smith had no knowledge of hieroglyphics, nor could he have interpreted the writings or facsimilies in any legitimate way and produce the Book of Abraham. From Ferguson's point of view, it could only have been a fiction from the mind of Joseph Smith. With this realization, coupled with the gross lack of ANY supportive archeological evidence, Ferguson concluded that the Book of Mormon was a similar fiction...the product of an imaginative genius, but probably not the divinely inspired and protected record that he had previously believed.

The rest of the story is how Ferguson tried to walk a double life, living out the duration of his life as an active, though unusual member of the church, singing in the choir, attending the meetings and socials he chose to, for the purpose of maintaining some ties with the people and the "fraternity" he loved. He became convinced that religion is of itself a healthy exercise for a moral society, and he had concluded that the Mormon Church had as worthy a formula for good as any. So he maintained his affiliation, but not without certain sacrifices.

To me, the most inspirational part of the story is the courage it requires to undertake an honest quest, and be changed by what you find regardless of how much it challenges what you had previously believed. That is an essential element in all human growth and development, and were it not for courageous men like Ferguson, (or Galileo, or Einstein, or Darwin, or others) who are willing to question their own beliefs and study objectively what they observe, then civilization would never advance. Thomas Stuart Ferguson is a shining and intriguing example of one who was willing to make the quest, regardless of the outcome.

I bought this book while reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I was intrigued by the various aspects of ancient life that Joseph Smith describes in the Book of Mormon from their cities to their great battles to even their coinage, food, and animals (including elephents, horses, sheep, cows). I wondered who was right since I have been taught by non-LDS antropologist that none of the above listed in the Book of Mormon has been found.

Then I bought this book. This book is both the story and the findings of Stuart Ferguson in his search for archeological remains of various Book of Mormon listings. He begins his search in Central America (the most common area believed by Mormons to be the site of the Book of Mormon accounts). The books is neither pro-Mormon nor anti-Mormon but is simply Ferguson's own pursuit of the truth. What he finds will amaze you!

The book also deals with Ferguson's desire to know the truth concerning the papyrus that Joseph Smith claimed to have translated from Egyptian into the Books of Abraham and Joseph (although he did not publish the Book of Joseph). Modern Egyptianologist have since disproven Smith and his "translation" of the papyrus but Ferguson was bent on disproving the modern findings in favor of Smith. Again, his findings will amaze you.

Whether you are a Mormon or not, this book will offer great insight into not accepting the standard answers for faith but willing to search out evidences for your faith and religion to see if they are objectable and clear. You will be glad you read this book.

This is an excellent book, treating the heroic but ultimately doomed quest of one man for support for his beliefs.

This book, as described in the Preface "focuses on the efforts of Thomas Stuart Ferguson to verify the authenticity of the Book of Mormon through archaeology." The story in fact shows not only Ferguson's failure to identify a single Book of Mormon city, mountain, or river, but ends in Ferguson's disillusionment with Joseph Smith and his loss of faith in Smith as an alleged prophet, not only because of the years wasted in central America looking for evidence that wasn't there, but also by Ferguson's realization that the exposure by renowned Egyptologists of the "Book of Abraham" papyri, accepted as canonical by the LDS church, as nothing more than pagan funeral texts, proved the supposed prophet Smith very much in error, and certainly unable to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Earlier in his search, Ferguson had apparently encouraged himself with the publication in 1958 of "One Fold and one Shepherd" as described on page 59 of this book. This earlier work was supposed to present evidence of the antiquity of the Book of Mormon, but, as reported in the book, in actual fact gave evidence only of 16th century post-Conquest Spanish Catholic misssionary influence, even down to the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity ( whch is rejected by Mormonism). So it was quite meaningless for Ferguson to cite this sort of material as evidence for the antiquity of the Book of Mormon. That, and the "shopping list fallacy" mentioned on page 62 (that is, the idea that parallels between cultures, such as idols, sacrifices, slaves, are supposedly significant is erroneous because the parallels are either not complex or not uniques to the two cultures under consideration) effectively destroy any claim of archaeological support for the Book of Mormon.

At the end of the book is given a list of tests for the Book of Mormon, under the categories Plant Life, Animal Life, Metallurgy, Script, and Others. It is quite noteworthy to see that the evidence required to substantiate the Book of Mormon is found failing in every category.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is Mormon or to anyone who is considering converting to the LDS church, as it contains information that missionaries will not readily admit.

It is ironic. Some books have great themes but get written about with little substance. Others are written with great beauty and poetry but have nothing to say.

This book is of the former.

Wilford Eng was a wonderful photographer. Of this, there can be no doubt. However, Orton seems to be playing upon the Eng unknowns or created unknowns so he can have something to make up for his lack of imagination. Otherwise, why would he pack his book with erotic sex and the like? If it is not sex that he is writing about then he digs up betrayal at every other dark corner of his almost literature of third rate porn.

Now, all this may be excused if we, the reader comes away with a better understanding of himself, circumstance and philosophy. Don't hold your breath as you will not. The only reason for holding your breath is to stop the bad smell of a rotten novel and time wasted reading it.

Robert Armour, a photo dealer and historian, is called by Judith Lund, a rich and fledgling artist, to appraise a group of glass plates (photo negatives.) He suspects they are self-portraits of famous nineteenth century photographer Wilfred Eng. When he later discovers more glass plates in Judith's basement which he believes are nudes of Eng's mistress Ellen, he sets out to dupe Judith into believing they're worthless and introduce them to the world himself.

He teams up with Parker, a former associate, and together they put a plan in motion which ends up with more complications than Armour bargained for. In the meanwhile, the more he involves himself in the research of Eng's life and the stealing of the plates, the more distant Armour becomes in his personal relationships with girlfriend Diane and her son Budge, a relationship further complicated by Diane's growing affection for her ex-husband's attentions.

Most of this is fairly engaging, despite the fact that Orton often takes us into territory which doesn't really further the novel. Where Orton really shines is in his creation of Wilfred Eng's personal and professional history. This is where the story is most involving, as we learn about Eng's contributions to the art world, his personal shortcomings, and his love affair with Ellen. Much of this is revealed in Ellen's own voice via a journal she kept during the affair, which Armour is reading. It's a complicated, believable, involving biography that meanders through the novel. It is also set up in such a way that loosely parallels Armour's own personality and ultimately, self-discovery.

Despite a few typical first-novel pitfalls, this is a fine debut.

Without giving anything away, I'll say that this first novel is so good that I almost wept when the girlfriend of our hero, Robert Armour, said she was leaving him. How often do we meet characters so wonderful and fully-formed that we would dearly like to meet them? How often do we find a novel that we read in its entirety in one evening? In my experience, not often. This is a touching, sexy, funny and intellectually-satisfying story set against a background of the history of photography. I highly recommend it. I look forward to Mr. Orton's next work. A+!