From Mission to Madness
Last Son of the Mormon Prophet
The wide-ranging accomplishments and troubled life of Joseph Smith's son
Paper – $33
978-0-252-06701-3
Publication Date
Paperback: 01/01/1998
About the Book
Brilliant and charismatic, David Hyrum Smith was a poet, painter, singer, philosopher, naturalist, and highly effective missionary for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Valeen Tippetts’s biography chronicles the life of the last son of Joseph Smith and his first wife, Emma. Avery draws on correspondence for details of David's life and on his poetry to reveal his personality and the emotional struggles. The latter led to a probable breakdown 1870 and ended with his death in 1904 in the Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane, where he had been confined for twenty-seven years.About the Author
Valeen Tippetts Aver (1936-2006) was a professor of history at Northern Arizona University. She is the coauthor of Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith.Reviews
"Avery writes with grace and power. Drawing on rich primary archival sources, she presents a convincing argument and gives us valuable insights not only into the compelling personality of David Smith but also into the time in which he lived. . . . A first-rate biography."--William A. Wilson, Western Historical Quarterly"A full-bodied biography that thoughtfully illuminates a remarkable life from which much can be learned."--Richard L. Jensen, Journal of Mormon History
"Avery's immensely insightful, scholarly biography of David Hyrum Smith greatly enhances our understanding of this tormented son of the founding prophet of the Latter-day Saints."--Danny L. Jorgensen, Utah Historical Quarterly
Blurbs
“This is an astonishing accomplishment which not only tells the reader about a neglected historical figure, but about myriad neglected dimensions of both Mormon history and the history of religion in general.”--Jan Shipps, author of Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition
“Will stand alone as a biography of David H. Smith. But it is also an insightful look at the times and environment from which the Smith family, and its ideas, emerged.”--Paul M. Edwards, author of Our Legacy of Faith: A Brief History of the Reorganized Church
Awards
Winner of the Evans Biography Award administered by the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at Utah State University, 1998. Winner of the Ella Larsen Turner Award for the Best Biography in Mormon History, 1998. Winner of the John Whitmer Historical Association Best Book Award.Related Titles
