The author is a Harvard Ph.D historian and a believing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This book presents a detailed historical analysis of Joseph Smith. The book does not seek to increase or destroy the reader's testimony. It just seeks to tell the historical story of Joseph Smith as it happened. The author leaves nothing out - any events or details about Joseph Smith, whether controversial or not, are explained, and the reader is left to make his/her own assumptions. A must read for any believing Latter-Day Saint, but a fair warning: this is not a "black and white" testimony that some teary-eyed ward member gives on Fast Sunday. If your testimony is based all on the heart and nothing from the mind and nothing from rational thought, you might have a hard time with this book. However, given the historical facts, one must deal with this information about Joseph Smith sooner or later. Personally, I embrace all the truth about the Prophet Joseph Smith, and...