Mormons at the Missouri, Winter Quarters, 1846-1852

By: Richard E Bennett

Narrated by: Alan J. Gardner

The Mormon trek westward from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley was an enduring accomplishment of American overland trail migration; however, their wintering at the Missouri River near present-day Omaha was a feat of faith and perseverance. Richard E. Bennett presents new facts and ideas that challenge old assumptions - particularly that life on the frontier encouraged American individualism.

With an excellent command of primary sources, Bennett assesses the role of women in a pioneer society and the Mormon strategies for survival in a harsh environment as they planned their emigration, coped with internal dissension and Indian agents, and dealt with tribes of the region. This was, says Bennett, "Mormonism in the raw on the way to what it would be later."

©1987 University of Oklahoma Press (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A major contribution to the historiography of the western movement. . . . Bennett documents . . . the tremendous suffering that took place at Winter Quarters as people waited for their trip to the West." ( Missouri Historical Review)

"A prime demonstration that detached and objective scholarship can still produce books that are emotionally compelling." (Patricia Nelson Limerick, author of The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West)

awesome deep dive into this oft neglected period

though written by a believer, this book is wonderfully comprehensive, honest, and thorough. it has a place on my shelf with other greats like bushman's rough stone rolling, Turner's Brigham Young biography, Bagley's blood of the prophets, McBride's Joseph Smith for president, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's a house full of females.

fascinating history, great story, and most importantly fair and accurate. will definitely do a re read in the future.

A lot of information

I enjoyed this book. I was not written like a story but rather a collection of information.
The author does a good job of entertaining the reader while giving a non biased account of leaders and decisions that had to be made In the wilderness. The narrator has an enjoyable voice and has great intonation changes.

Good information otherwise missed.

This is a very informative history. However, it is certainly biased in favor of the LDS narrative.

The story that Mr. Bernard tells is well written

Mr. Bennet admits at the beginning of the story that he is an active Mormon and that he will try not to let that enter into the storytelling.
However, I do believe he was not successful. He does not go into the more interesting parts of Mormon history such as polygamy, the Danites and the Kroul side of bridge