Product Description
Describes the geography, history, government, people, culture, and attractions of Utah. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Compelling and Comprehensive Book!!!
I was absolutely hooked on this book as soon as I started reading it.It is a very compelling approach to identifying Book of Mormon locations.I've read probably most of the rest of the BoM geography books.This one is by far the best.Just as the BoM asks people to have an open mind when reading it, so should a reader approach this book.I can unconditionally recommend this book to anyone interested in BoM geography.Did I mention this is my favorite BoM geography book?

Preceeding from a Wacky Premise
The only thing more confusing and bizarre than the premise, which is that the place names in Mesoamerica is the key for locating actual places in the Book of Mormon, is the author's incredible certainty that he is correct. In fact, the entire tone of the book reflects a confidence that his arguments simply fail to support.

As he explains it: "[I] assume that current Mayan dialects have undergone a lengthy metamorphosis starting from ancient Hebrew, Sumerian, and the other Middle Eastern languages spoken by the three groups mentioned in the Book of Mormon, coupled with extensive Oriental infusion. Using the three oldest secular histories of the region (Popol Vuh, Titles of the Lords of Totonicapan, and Annals of the Cakchiquels), numerous dictionaries and word lists for the indigenous dialects and related languages, ancient maps, current archaeological charts and reports, and the geographical descriptions contained in the Book of Mormon, [I] meticulously trace place names in Central America to Book of Mormon cities."

"Assume" is the key word here.

Unfortunately, this results in a silly and unscholarly approach that reflects poorly on true Book of Mormon geological research, which has been more effectively and responsibly furthered by Dr. John L. Sorenson and Dr. John E. Clark. Even newcomers like James Warr offer new and insightful possibilities to an increasingly respectful field that is growing with the knowledge of Mesoamerican peoples and cultures.

Alas, Pate's approach is marred by his overbearing audacity and certainty that he is right and everyone else is wrong. He is the sort who packs his slides under his arm to give informal talks and fireside addresses to easily impressed and grossly uneducated audiences.

His belief that similarities between modern place names and formal names in the Book of Mormon can be traced and linguistically correlated should raise a red flag on common sense alone. Only in confirming sites could it even serve in this capacity (and then only very carefully). But the ease of Pate's overactive imagination impressed even him: "A propitious linguistic link led me to examine Guatemala and El Salvador as a potential Book of Mormon site. From there, locations kept falling into place until it became apparent through the mounting evidence that I had hit pay dirt. As I began finding city names on maps and in the old indigenous literature, I thought, This is too easy, am I missing something?"

No kidding! In short, this book is even poor speculation. The author would better serve this field by taking up UFO and crop circle research.

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Product Description
Introduces the geography, history, people, industries, and other highlights of Utah. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Utah (Hello USA) Review
I bought this book for an 8 year old.The part of the book that described a Mormons killing people in the 1860's and about Mormons having, in the past, more than 1 wife was a little much for an 8 year old.I would not have bought the book if I had known about those references.I know that this happened in the past, but I do not think it is something an 8 year old can understand.Other than that it was a good book. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Geographical Review, published by American Geographical Society on July 1, 1997. The length of the article is 8456 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Keywords: citizenry, material landscape, Salt Lake City, setting, travel accounts.

Citation Details
Title: Gentile impressions of Salt Lake City, Utah, 1849-1870.
Author: Martin Mitchell
Publication: The Geographical Review (Refereed)
Date: July 1, 1997
Publisher: American Geographical Society
Volume: v86Issue: n3Page: p334(19)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Edition for Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming Natural School Geography ... Read more