Richard Poll was one of the pioneers of "The New Mormon History", the intellectual movement of the '60's and '70's that sought a new openness in writing about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This slim book is his legacy and testament. It includes many of his most influential essays, including "What the Church Means to People Like Me." That effort has inspired whole generations of latter-day Saints to stay faithful to their heritage and to seek out the best of worldly learning (this essay can be found online, but every essay in this collection is a gem. This is an absolutely essential book for anyone interested in Mormonism.

The late Elder Henry D. Moyle's family commissioned the prominent LDS historian Richard D. Poll to write this biography of the influential church leader. It remained unpublished for over a decade until after Poll's death. Poll wrote it on the principle of "warts and all." The result is a fair and carefully balanced portrait that depicts the man's strengths and weaknesses. Moyle was a hard-charging, energetic man who was full of faith. He was greatly responsible for the church's explosive growth after World War II. Poll vividly captures this crucial moment in church history. But Moyle perhaps pushed too hard in some ways: the church was brought close to insolvency by Moyle's enthusiasm for new buildings. The pressure to bring in converts to help fund all this expansion led to some excesses in the missionary program--the famous "baseball baptisms", where young people became members after only the most cursory contact with the church's athletic programs. Eventually Moyle was relieved of much of his responsibility and died soon after, some said of a broken heart. His optimism was typical of his culture and times. Poll's book tells with sympathy and honesty this important edpisode in our history.