The Lost Book of Mormon

September 1, 2014
A search for the roots of Mormonism. Steinberg (Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian, 2009), who is not a Mormon, admires The Book of Mormon and its translator and publisher, Joseph Smith. "Joseph's ambition to publish his bible," writes the author, "struck me as a refreshingly honest acknowledgment of what it means to be a writer, a regular Joe with an unreasonable faith in oneself and in literature." Steinberg sees the book as an exemplary tale "about writing books." Every few pages," he notes, "the story's various narrators describe to us how the writing of this book is going." Moreover, he considers it a prototype of "the big American literary project...to create America in words and deliver it to the people in a book as big and shameless and unruly and haunted and deeply problematic as the country itself." He admits, of course, that the book is a religious tract and Smith, a Mormon prophet, so to investigate "the difference between prophecy and fabrication, angels and inspiration, delusion and fact," he "set out on a journey through the exotic locales of this lost Great American Novel." Steinberg's travelogue is more about those locales and his personal trials and self-doubts than about theology. His marriage was doomed, he confesses, and he was worried about his writing career, which explains his eagerness to learn about writing from Smith. His journey took him to Jerusalem, where the sect began; Central America, where seminal events occurred; the Midwest, site of the real Garden of Eden; and Hill Cumorah, in New York, where Smith allegedly dug up the golden plates on which the book was inscribed. A mixed bag. Relating his occasionally amusing adventures in breezy slang, Steinberg seems to be vying for the same audience that has made Broadway's Book of Mormon such a huge hit.

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October 15, 2014

Straddling the line between literary commentary and personal memoir, Steinberg's (Running the Books) new book considers Joseph Smith--the American religious leader who founded Mormonism and wrote The Book of Mormon--as an author rather than a prophet. Steinberg explains how his fascination with the religious text, in which Smith traced a path to several spiritual areas throughout the world, led him on a journey from the streets of Jerusalem, where the work is extremely difficult to obtain, to Central America, where a Utah-based company offers historical tours to spiritual seekers. (Steinberg is an ardent nonbeliever.) This sojourn became an odyssey of sorts as the author's quest began to teach him as much about himself as about the book he was researching. VERDICT Steinberg's sardonic writing style is a delight; his descriptions of the varied cities he visited throughout his travelog point out the ridiculousness of situations without truly mocking them. Using Smith as a backdrop, this enjoyable read raises questions about what it means to be an author and what type of person becomes one. It will appeal to a variety of readers, particularly those that appreciate a biting wit.--Keri Youngstrand, Dickinson State Univ. Lib., ND

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
The Book of Mormon, the sacred text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is one of the biggest-selling books in American history, with about 150-million copies in more than 80 languages. And yet, as Steinberg points out in this very personal journey, it's surprisingly difficult to find people who have read the book. Steinberg's goal here is to understand the difference between prophecy and fabrication, angels and inspiration, delusion and fact, to explore and analyze the famous story of how Joseph Smith was told by the angel Moroni where to find the buried golden plates on which the sacred text was engraved, and to determine, if possible, whether Smith was truly a blessed prophet or whether his talents for self-creation led him to, well . . . create a religion. Steinberg's mixture of memoir and analysis is sure to incite some fervor among LDS followersthe same kind of fervor, perhaps, that followed the debut of the Broadway smash, The Book of Mormon, with which this book is not affiliatedbut it should also spark plenty of discussion about the nature of religion, belief, and self-delusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)