New Mormon Books

[Ashby's] speedy rise and spectacular swan dive from Tinseltown’s high board is an old story, but a fascinating read as relayed by Nick Dawson in his scrupulously researched “Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel.” Ashby came reeling into the movie business from a dysfunctional Mormon (!) upbringing, his father’s suicide and the first of five marriages. Editing brought order to his chaos and an Oscar (for “In the Heat of the Night”) and a shot at directing. He directed — to Oscars — Lee Grant (”Shampoo”), Melvyn Douglas (”Being There”), Jon Voight and Jane Fonda (”Coming Home”). He also directed “Bound for Glory,” the cultish “Harold and Maude” and “The Last Detail” — edgy, eclectic, eccentric, like the man who made ‘em.

Author looks at courage of those willing to stand against the Third Reich:
Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel
By Star-Ledger Book Contributors
Newark NJ Star-Ledger, July 17, 2009.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2009/07/author_looks_at_courage_of_tho.html

…then the Harry Potter comparisons started rolling out. Media pundits everywhere declared Twilight the new Harry Potter. I wondered, flabbergasted, how any person could ever believe such a thing. Potter?! Really? What I saw onscreen was soap opera trash for the tween nation. It didn’t bear anywhere near the universal appeal of the Harry Potter series. But now I’m here, explaining how such a preposterous claim is less an arguable statement and more a joke, an unfunny one at that, like Will Ferrell trying to ice skate.

Do The Math: 8 Reasons Harry Potter Is Greater Than Twilight
By Tim Gomez
Cinema Blend.com, July 16, 2009
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Do-The-Math-8-Reasons-Harry-Potter-Is-Greater-Than-Twilight-13981.html

Jason Williams gives a detailed account of his life in the Mormon fundamentalist community. … Read the touching love story of two young lovers caught in the middle of the power and manipulation of one of the FBI’s ten most wanted, Warren Jeffs.

Warren Jeffs’ Victim and Ex-FLDS Citizen Finally Speaks Out.
Zero Chance Press Release
via WEBWIRE, July 08, 2009.
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=98760

Lance Allred is a bit of a sentimental favorite around these parts. Not only did he get his first break in the NBA with the Cavaliers two seasons ago, but he’s written a fantastic autobiography covering his youth growing up in a fundamental polygamous Mormon compound, to his deafness, to his struggles at Utah under Rick Majerus, to overcoming everything that had been placed in front of him and realizing his dream of making the NBA.

Keeping Up With Lance Allred.
By Vince Grzegorek.
Cleveland Scene, Jul 7, 2009.
http://www.clevescene.com/64-and-counting/archives/2009/07/07/keeping-up-with-lance-allred

In Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer interweaves this true-crime 1984 murder story with the fascinating history of the Church of Latter Day Saints, showing the undercurrent of violence and bloodshed prevalent in the religion since the early days, a legacy that endures in the Mormon fundamentalist sect which the Lafferty brothers wholeheartedly embraced.

Book Review: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
By Friend Mouse
Blogcritics Books, Jul 06, 2009.
http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-under-the-banner-of1/

Since leaving his accounting job last year, Mormon author James Dashner has been spending his days in libraries, bookstores and movie theaters. But he can hardly be accused of idleness. After all, Dashner is producing books that have him poised for arrival on the national youth fiction landscape.

Accountant to author: James Dashner trumps the odds
By Aaron Shill
Mormon Times, July 1, 2009.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705314078,00.html

In our communication of the good news to Latter-day Saints (as to anyone), we must ask basic questions like: In this culture, how do these people communicate? How do they make spiritual decisions? What do you value? How do they view themselves and others? What is their epistemology? What forces shape their religious identity? And how are the answers to those questions different in LDS culture compared to my own cultural norms, and compared to biblical norms?

Understanding the Book of Mormon by Ross Anderson
How Latter-day Saints experience the Book of Mormon, part 1
By Ross Anderson
Koinonia, June 08, 2009
http://www.koinoniablog.net/2009/06/understanding-the-book-of-mormon-by-ross-anderson.html

So now I have read the book. I did not like it very much. Most of my religious reading is unashamedly of Mormonism, by Mormons, for Mormons. There is a directness to this commentary that appeals to me. As I read the book, I felt that I was not Robinson’s intended audience. It seemed like he was writing about interfaith dialog, by a Mormon, for Evangelicals. It was almost like I was reading a book that belonged to somebody else.

Okay, So I Read ‘How Wide the Divide?’
By Eric Nielson
Blogger of Jared, June 26th, 2009.
http://www.bloggerofjared.com/2009/06/26/okay-so-i-read-how-wide-the-divide/

Among my many weird fascinations is polygamy. I have watched and read many books about polygamy. Frontline produces a series of shows on the Mormon Church that was really, really interesting and well done. Political feelings aside, I find the idea intriguing. Why would anyone want to share your husband and, on the other hand, why would a man want to be married to more than one woman?

Book Review: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
By Tracie Yule
Yule Time Reading, June 26th, 2009.
http://www.yuletimereading.com/2009/06/book-review-the-19th-wife-by-david-ebershoff/

Waddell’s sequel to 2008’s The Blood Detective, which introduced Nigel Barnes, a genealogist employed by Scotland Yard, offers an overly similar plot. Unfortunately, too many coincidences and a far-fetched motive for the crimes make this a less successful effort than its predecessor.

Reviews of New Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Comics.
Fiction Book Reviews
Publisher’s Weekly, June 22, 2009.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6665994.html