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A Mormon friend requested that I review this book, and I will begin with what I told him: Mormon history is not my area of specialty, and I do not consider myself qualified to offer more than a few observational comments. One Nation Under Gods is a large book -- and it gets one thumb up alone for the wealth of primary material that it brings to the fore. That said, ONUG is under heavy fire from Mormon commentators for alleged use of material out of context. Are they right? I have no way to say who is right; primary sources are out of reach, many cached miles away from me in Utah. If you get this book, simply be aware that you will not get a free ride from any informed Mormon you talk to about it.
My one example where I can judge adequately comes from a place where Abanes attempts to show that Joseph Smith was a tempermental and combative sort. Here context was not even necessary to see that he had used examples of Smith engaging in competitive sport and misplaced them as evidence of a specially combative nature -- especially for a person living in the rough and tumble times of 19th century rural America. (On the other hand, Abanes also records after these quotes instances of Smith reportedly beating up preachers who disagreed with him. Update: We have received a note on this from Abanes: Allow me to explain that my apparent misappropriation of quotations about Joseph actually are a result of an editorial error wherein the quotes about Joseph and his sporting experiences (pulling up sticks) were juxtaposed with the wrong explanatory comments. This incorrect positioning of text, as well as other numerous hard cover typos and editorial errors, will be corrected in the soon to be released paperback edition (July/August). Please do compare that edition with the hard bound book. You will see that the quotes remain, but the order of them is inverted and previously deleted prefacing comments are re-inserted. I know the feeling, having had an editor do the same to me!)
I leave it in the hands of the reader to engage these issues for themselves.
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