The Humpherys Family

Porter Rockwell: A Biography

Record Added: 6/11/2013
Author 
Illustrator 
Setting United States
Topic Biography
 LDS: Church History, Pion
Publisher Paramount Books
ISBN 0961602406   Year 1986
Age Adult   Pages 593
Description Printed dustjacket
 
Read the true story of Brigham Young’s bodyguard – a man history has completely overlooked – the only man to kill more outlaws than Wyatt Earp, Doc Holladay, Tom Horn, and Batt Masterson . . . combined. A man who believed from a blessing he received from Joseph Smith that if he never cut his hair he could never die in a fight. Assassins ambushed him, but no one could kill him, as confirmed by the Deseret News in 1918, stating he had passed through dangers "unscathed, as numerous as those recorded in the most lurid fiction" after it had interviewed numerous settlers who had known him. Gunfighters traveled hundreds of miles to "get him" – none succeeded. Outlaws actually sang campfire ballads about him. Latter-day Saints are proud to view him as a folk hero. Reading this book allows us to see what a real hero is.

Richard Lloyd Dewey quotes hundreds of original sources – journals, letters, and court records – some from sources never before tapped – and weaves them all together in fascinating form. In the process he clarifies the controversies, dispels the shadows, and melts away the myriads of anti-Mormon myths. Journalistic, fast-flowing writing sweeps you through explosive early Mormon history with charm and style. He reports little known events and unravels a bizarre yet faith-promoting tale. The Deseret News of 1986 reports, "The writing is slick and the pace is fast. Dewey has done his homework." It’s a story told with breadth and feeling . . . the most intriguing, ACCURATE account yet of Orrin Porter Rockwell. Also the most comprehensive, by far. As the definitive work on him, this fascinating, epic biography is as exciting to read as a first-rate novel.