I recently finished the latest book by Terryl Givens and Matthew Grow, Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism. I believe I can say with some degree of certainty that (so far) it is my favorite book of the year. I posted a review on Amazon.com which states:
"A marvelously written book. I wondered how much of this would be in PPP's Autobiography. There was some usage of the Autobiography (which is to be expected and required). However, there was a great deal of new information. The authors also did a great job of incorporating PPP's writings into the narrative and gave context to them in relation to his life. The biography of Brother Parley is a worthy companion to the Autobiography. It was clear to me that there is a genuine affection that the authors have for their subject. On the one hand, they did not seek to only share the perspective of PPP that you get from his Autobiography. On the other hand, they are willing to share the other side and what his contemporaries felt, wrote, and said about him. A very honest book. A book written with admiration. I felt it was in the same vein as John Adams by McCullough. I highly recommend reading this book."
I had the chance to have lunch with Terryl yesterday (October 13) with a few other people at the Wheatley Institution. It was a great experience and the conversation was fun. I am sure that I will post my review of my favorite books of the year soon (let's get at least closer to the end of year), but so far, this book is it! I cannot recommend it highly enough. The read was fast and exciting. If you read it, let me know what you think.
