An engaging narrative of the founding and growth of this town-turned-city in southwest Georgia. The authors captured the flavor and spirit of the area, enhanced by the intriguing photographs. A coffee table book that's "good to the last drop". --Brenda--

The first two chapters of Ashamed of Joseph caused me to think that the authors truly had a heart for the misled Mormon people and were honestly concerned for their spiritual condition.

However, after the second chapter, it became vividly apparent that the book was written for the sole purpose to viciously and scathingly mock the Mormon founder and "Prophet". The Cranes seemed to be having a fine time doing so. Based on some of their comments in the book, I could envision them sitting around the computer, father and son having a fine time trying to outdo each other in wit and satire.

Instead of simply presenting the facts about the Mormon "Prophet", and allowing the reader to come to his own conclusions about the foundations of Mormonism, the book was riddled with sarcastic, mean-spirited comments about Joseph Smith.

Although there are historical facts presented in the book, some of the necessary information is suspiciously left out. For example, the theory that Smith plagiarized the Book of Mormon from a contemporary named Spaulding was presented as irrefutable truth. The Cranes failed to mention, however, that there are serious doubts that the Spaulding manuscript ever existed! All of the evidence regarding the manuscript is sketchy at best. None of this important information is given in Ashamed of Joseph (By the way, the phrase "ashamed of Joseph" is used so redundantly throughout the book as to make one want to pitch it across the room every time it appears.)

After much research into the character of Joseph Smith, I'm confident enough to say that he was certainly no "Saint". After reading the Cranes' book, however, I can also say the same about them. They certainly had their own agenda in the writing of this book, and it wasn't a very loving, or Christian one.

There are no illustrations of any Mormon leaders, followers, or other Mormon points of interest. The authors made sure to include photos of themselves, however.

For the serious researcher into Mormon history, I would definitely not recommend this work

The Cranes, who were merely angry that 8.3 million people would belong to the Mormon Church when the book was written in 1993, must be throughly enraged by now. The Church currently has more than 12 million members, has been featured on the cover of TIME, has had its president on 60 Minutes, and, best of all, has become "mainstream." The Cranes thesis is that the Church is ashamed of Joseph Smith and downplays him whenever possible. There is no doubt that the Mormonism of today bears little resemblance to the 19th Century religion of Smith and Brigham Young. This is hardly a recent (pardon the word) revelation. However, I don't think today's practicing Mormons are ashamed of Joseph Smith. Rather, they are very proud of the Smith who has been so completely reshaped by the Church as to make him unrecognizable to the man of history. They are not interested in the historical Smith and are unlikely to change. The Church has done such a great job of both diluting Smith and convincing its members that anything contrary to the modern version must, of necessity, be ill-motivated, and thus false, that no full-fledged Mormon would ever bother to read this book, let alone believe any of it. The Cranes have done a good job of documenting the numerous problems of Smith - his "peeping," contradictory statements regarding the First Vision, lack of physical evidence to support the Book of Mormon, polygamy, power grabbing, etc. However, there is nothing here that isn't presented better elsewhere. There is a genuine need in the pantheon of Mormon history for a relatively short book that synthesizes the Smith of history versus the Smith of the late 20th Century. Unfortunately, the Cranes desire to deprogram Mormons and return them to the "true" Christian fold is as obnoxious as the Mormons desire to direct everyone to the "true church." Without the Cranes missionary zeal (and the use of countless exclamation points) the book would have been a much better product.

The Cranes present a revealing examination of the life of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose members are best known as Mormons. They document the deemphasis of Joseph Smith in the public presentations of the church. This shift in focus is not surprising when you consider that his doctrines include the outrageous statement that dark skin is a curse from God. They also illustrate many of the events of Joseph Smith's life, as well as examine a number of his unfulfilled prophecies. The truth could hardly be topped by any work of fiction. Many of the Cranes' references come straight from the Latter-Day Saints' own publications. Particularly compelling was the comparison between the humble and meek life of Christ and the violent and proud life of Joseph Smith. This book will not reveal much that is new to those who are familiar with the history of the Mormon church(es), but it is a good introduction for those who think that the LDS church is a group that is not too different than other denominations. I have also heard good things about Charles Crane's book comparing the Bible with Mormon scriptures, and Jerald and Sandra Tanner's exhaustive works on the LDS church have also been recommended.