Victims: THE LDS CHURCH AND THE MARK HOFMANN CASE

Customer Reviews:

The Used Car Saleman Is Your Friend!!!.......2005-04-30

Turley's book is the official public Mormon version of the sordid story of Mark Hofmann's brilliant double cross forgeries. To read balanced accounts, check out Salamander and, more recently, The Poet and the Murderer.

No LDS version of this story, in which the current Prophet earns his chops as Hofmann's bag man, is going to account for the implications of a church buying documents that discredit the church, because they think the documents are authentic.

What Hofmann did was horrible, characteristic, and even predictable. He chose his target brilliantly. And Turley's other moment of fame is his denunciation of Jon Kracauer's "anti-Mormon" Under the Banner of Heaven, the "anti-Mormonism" of which consists in telling "faith-damaging truths."

the first reviewer..........2003-05-26

The first reviewer to this book is probably robert lindsey himself, or at least some one who's trying to slyly sway the opinion of some unsuspecting shopper toward the 'anti' end of the spectrum.

Poorly written, no background.......2002-05-14

Unless you know a lot about Mormon history, and about the Hoffman bombings, this book can only confuse. It's poorly written, a long recitation of facts and supposed facts. It reads like an attempt to defend the Mormon church, rather than provide any history or narrative. It's unfortunate, because it's certainly a fascinating subject.

After reading this, the only thing I wanted to do was re-read A Gathering of Saints, Robert Lindsey's book about the same period.

A complicated book for a complicated case.......2001-07-18

This is one of several books written in the wake of the murders and forgeries committed by Mark Hofmann in the early 1980s. Hofmann forged hundreds of documents, but it his forgeries affecting Mormon history is the focus of this work. Several of these forgeries went to the heart of Mormon origins, and were done in an apparent effort to embarrass The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In financial trouble, Hofmann murdered Steven Christensen and Kathleen Sheets to delay discovery of his duplicity.

Turley begins his account by reviewing the canonical account of the Church's origins and a history of other prominent forgeries intended to discredit the Church. Turley then goes over the history of the Hofmann case. An appendix lists all known documents acquired by the Church from Hofmann. Unlike other writers, he had access to a wealth of Church documents. The result is a well-documented account presenting the Church's side of the story. Though he is hardly objective in his account, he avoids the sensationalism characteristic of the so-called true crime novel. His tone is mainly that of a scholarly historian.

The Hofmann case is extremely complicated, involving Church officials, Mormon historians, document dealers, journalists, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and others. Turley attempted to keep the major characters in focus, but the reader is still liable to get lost. I found myself going back over previous material several times to keep everything straight. Fortunately, this book contains an index.

Complicating things further, Turley often digresses from the narrative. Sometimes, the digressions are faith-promoting stories more suited to Church magazines. In others, they seem like personal attacks against real or perceived enemies of the Church. Turley also occasionally pauses to score an apologetic point. Turley should have omitted these things entirely or relegated all of this to the notes. This material is not very appropriate to what is supposed to be a scholarly history.

Hofmann said he was not afraid of being caught by divine inspiration (316). Some people have raised the question of why the Church's "prophets, seers, and revelators" did not detect Hofmann's forgeries. To his credit, Turley does not attempt to answer this question. While this is perhaps an interesting theological question, it would be out of place to try to answer it in a historical work.

This book exists in relationship to other books on the Hofmann case. Turley has relegated most of the direct interaction to the notes. Discerning Turley's intent concerning these books is not easy without reading them. It seems clear he wants to refute the work of Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (The Mormon Murders [New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1988]). Other sources tell me this work is most distorted account of the Hofmann case. Richard Lindsey's A Gathering of Saints (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988) is not mentioned as often. Turley may be correcting misconceptions, but does not accuse Lindsey of willful distortion.

Though Turley perhaps comments on Linda Sillitoe and Allen D. Roberts' Salamander (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1988) the most, the relationship is harder to discern. Some Latter- day Saints portray Signature Books as an anti-Mormon press, but Turley is rarely dismissive of the book. At times, he may be trying to refute it. Sometimes he treats it as though its perceived misconceptions were due to lack of information available to him. At other times, he accepts its information at face value. It will be interesting to see if and how the second edition of Salamander deals with Victims.

The weaknesses aside, Turley has given us a well-balanced account of the Hofmann case. What it loses in complexity is more than made up for by its thoroughness. It is remarkably free from speculation, and highly recommended for those looking for a book placing the focus of the Hofmann case there it belongs: on Hofmann's victims.

A Very Solid Treatment of the Case.......2000-04-10

This is a fine and careful account of a very difficult and complex subject. Much better than the several more lurid books out there on the market. Incidentally, if the reviewer below thinks that inspired people cannot be deceived and believes that the biblical Joshua was an inspired man, he should have a look at Exodus 9.

Average customer rating:

One of the best true crime books ever written
Rewrite
Great insight
A solid thriller
A Great Book

The Mormon Murders
Steven Naifeh , and Gregory White Smith
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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The Mormon Conspiracy
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The Mountain Meadows Massacre

ASIN: 0312934106
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Book Description

On October 15, 1985, two pipe bombs shook the calm of Salt Lake City, Utah, killing two people. The only link-both victims belonged to the Mormon Church. The next day, a third bomb was detonated in the parked car of church-going family man, Mark Hoffman. Incredibly, he survived. It wasn't until authorities questioned the strangely evasive Hoffman that another, more shocking link between the victims emerged....It was the appearance of an alleged historic document that challenged the very bedrock of Mormon teaching, questioned the legitimacy of its founder, and threatened to disillusion millions of its faithful-unless the Mormon hierarchy buried the evidence.Drawing on exclusive interviews, The Mormon Murders reconstructs a secret conspiracy of God, greed, and murder that would expose one of the most ingenious con men in the annals of crime-and shake the very foundation of a multibillion-dollar empire to its core.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best true crime books ever written.......2007-09-09

This is a very detailed story of the infamous Mormon Murders case, wherein a fraudulent dealer in rare documents decided to kill off everyone who might reveal his deceptions.

Delves deeply into the daily routine and hierarchy of the Mormon Church. Does not whitewash anything. Also highlights the mountain of evidence against the murderer. Blends the elements of the criminal case with the culture that surrounds it.

This book will shock people and educate them as well.

Rewrite.......2007-08-12

The book by Lindsey, A Gathering of Saints was written in 1991, and it is the exact same story. A new book should have something new in it. NN

Great insight.......2007-07-20

I've always wondered what goes on behind the closed doors of this religion and while I may not ever know it all, this book made me really think.

The book gives so much "insight" intot he Church and the way it operates and hides it's behaviour. If you've ever been curious about the Mormon Church, have a read!

A solid thriller .......2007-03-17

This book is a solid real-life crime thriller. As others have covered the good points I'll cover only the bad. This book has 2 things against it. The first is that it concentrates so much of the story on the faked items that were sold to the Mormon Church. This is a disservice to the whole story. He also forged documents "signed" by Emily Dickinson, Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain, among many others (by some accounts over 100 different people). While it concentrates the story into something easy to fit into a paperback it isn't the whole story.

The second thing this book has against it, is about halfway through the book becomes a stream of who he's trying to con to pay off someone else. It gets tedious quickly as you can't possible keep track of how much he owes so you just wait until the author summarizes how much Mark Hoffman really owes(A staggering 1.2 million). It is virtually impossible to follow until you get the total. So many names come and go and amounts change that it just becomes too overwhelming to follow.

One thing I would have also liked was a complete list of items Hoffman had forged. Unfortunately this book didn't have that.

A Great Book .......2006-12-29

Two themes are very evident in this book. The first is a story of a very clever forger who knew the weaknesses of his customers. When he could no longer cover his forgeries, he murdered two people before accidentally setting off one of his bombs and being injured. That, by its self in an interesting story.

The second part of the story is the Theocracy of Utah and the political power of the dominant religion there. A few people sincerely tried to get the evidence and prosecute the crime. Others on the case drug their feet and presented every possible obstacle. The Mormon Church made it very clear they did not want media attention and did not want to testify. Gordon B. Hinckley went so far as to say that they just wanted the matter dropped. The FBI agent leading that part of the investigation was Mormon, some of the police investigators were Mormon, the Prosecuting Attorney was Mormon, the Sheriff was Mormon and the Federal Attorney was Mormon. They all took orders from the Mormon Church. Here is a quote from the book:

If the Church didn't want the truth out, then neither, it appeared did Brent Ward. If the Church didn't want this case in the headlines, didn't want to get itself involved in the legal process, who was Brent Ward to put it there? As for his sworn duty to uphold the law, well there were laws and there were laws. As one investigator on the case saw it: "Brent Ward's motives are above the law. Do you think a good Mormon in the U.S. Attorney's office is going to hesitate for one minute deciding to do what's correct for the law or what's best for the Church? This guy was on his way to being a GOD(emphasis in original). Next to that, US attorney looks pretty insignificant."

The reason the Mormon Church did not want the press, is because Hoffman dealt with the top leadership of the Mormon Church. He was on a first name basis and could get in to see them any time. To admit that they had dealt with him and purchased documents from him would be admitting that their much vaunted "power of discernment" did not exist. If it had existed, they would not have purchased the documents and would have known he was a forger. While Gordon B. Hinckley was not the official head of the Mormon Church, however one of the people over him had advanced senility and the other had suffered a massive stroke. He was essentially in charge and he had been dealing directly with Mark Hoffman.

Because of the influence of the Mormon Church, and the desire of the Mormon Church to end any media involvement, the prosecutor took a solid murder one case and bargained it to one Murder two guilty plea with a sentencing of Manslaughter. Mark Hoffman got 5 to life for premeditated murder. This was the same sentence that another Utah man recieved for robbing a fast food restaurant. The two men entered prison at the same time. The prosecution's evidence was overwhelming that he was guilty.

Anyone who wants to understand the inner workings and power that is wielded by the "Brethren" should read this book. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery

Average customer rating:

Good read but I wanted more
Bad Midwife of a Story with GREAT Potential
Terrific book - couldn't put it down
Emily's just a teaser for the Hofmann forgery/bombing tale
Opportunity missed ..

The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery
Simon Worrall
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0525945962
Release Date: 2002-04-25

Book Description

In The Poet and the Murderer, acclaimed journalist Simon Worrall takes readers into the haunting mind of Mark Hofmann, one of the most daring literary forgers and remorseless murderers of the late twentieth century.

He was a young Mormon boy who loathed what he believed to be the hypocrisy of his faith, and who devised secret ways to infiltrate and undermine the church. Mark Hofmann began his career by forging and selling rare Mormon coins, and quickly moved on to creating false, highly controversial religious documents that threw the Church of Latter-Day Saints into turmoil. But it was his infamous Emily Dickinson poem that would prove his greatest deception, stunning the art and literary worlds and earning him thousands from the most distinguished Dickinson scholars. It would also prove his ultimate undoing, when his desperation to keep his greatest forgery a secret drove him to commit ever more heinous crimes-including acts of shocking violence.

Filled with the page-turning suspense and tantalizing sleuthing techniques of a literary thriller, The Poet and the Murderer gives us an unforgettable portrait of a deeply irreligious man and a brilliant con artist whose greatest talent-and greatest tragedy--was his ability to conceal his mad genius behind the unique gifts and enduring celebrity of others.

Customer Reviews:

Good read but I wanted more.......2007-04-01

Simon Worral is clearly an accomplished writer and his book, The Poet and the Murderer, demonstrates that skill. It's a fascinating story about a forger who earns a good living faking historical documents, mainly those that could be important to the Mormon Church. The reader learns a great deal about how document forgery is accomplished, about how little concern the nation's major auction houses demonstrate for the validity of what they put on the block, and about the roots of Mormonism.

The only problem with the book is that the story wanders around in interesting but not necessarily riveting detail --- detail that sometimes loses sight of the story line. What was auctioned off as a poem of Emily Dickinson frames the story in an opening that zeros in on the purchaser, Daniel Lombardo, then the curator of special collections for the Jones Library in Amherst, Massachusetts, the center of Dickinson lore.

The character who turns out to be a forger and murderer, Mark Hoffman, fails to come alive in the sense one can identify with him, or pity him or even be truly appalled by him. Raised a Mormon and obsessed by the church, he is portrayed as mechanical man. If his crime had been foreshadowed in greater detail, with a more sympathetic portrayal of the victims, I think the story would have held more of my attention.

But it is wrong to be too critical of Worral's work, which is an easy read. I just wanted more. That is not a bad way to leave a reader, but it does seem that more might have been available to Worral, more of what I wanted to know about Lombardo as well as Hoffman's victims. Finally I'd like to have footnotes on Worral's detailed analysis of the early years of Mormonism, or at least some citations of his secondary sources, so I could easily follow up where my interest was stimulated by this book.

Bad Midwife of a Story with GREAT Potential.......2006-10-09

The only reason I think this book warrants two stars instead of one is because at least Worrall had the sense to recognize a story rich with possibilities. His "Wikipedia" version, though, is disappointing. Worrall spends way too much time practicing cheap psychology, repeating cheesy pet phrases (ex. "Hofmann was beginning to sense the thin line separating reality from illusion"), and way too little time on the key elements of the tale. There are significant connections to be made from this intersection of poetry, Mormonism, and murder!! But he DOES NOT make them. It's still a fun read, but ultimately disappointing. I really wish someone with more scholarly dedication had written this book - it should have been about 500 pages long and intensively researched, and NOT dumbed down for the reader. See "Death of Innocents" for a good example of what true-crime nonfiction can be.

Terrific book - couldn't put it down.......2005-07-15

I read this in a couple of hours.

Fantastic book. Well written, well researched. Now I want to read a bio of Emily Dickinson.

It made a lot of people angry? Too bad!

Sad to see that, although Dorie Olds, Mark Hofmann's ex wife, has moved on with her life in many ways, she still clings to both the delusion that Hofmann did not commit the murders and a religion that keeps women submissive and in the dark about the real world.

The cover of the book says "bizarre beliefs" - absolutely.

I would highly recommend this book.

Emily's just a teaser for the Hofmann forgery/bombing tale.......2005-01-11

I liked this book more than most of the 42 earlier reviewers, although most of them did like it. I'm kind of the perfect reader for Simon Worrall, for two reasons: first, I've spent the past 25 years, part-time, researching all things Dickinson because in the 80's I wrote a play about the surviving kin who brought her poetry to the world amid adultery and feuds and greed and envy. Second, I've read three books about the astonishing and evil career of forger/murderer Mark Hofmann. So not everything in the book was new to me, although the information which was new was fascinating. It is not a perfectly written book, nor a perfectly organized one, nor a perfectly edited one. It would have benefitted from lots more photos of Hofmann's forged documents and of the victims of his bombs and deceit. Prior reviewers all make those points. However, it still is a worthwhile read, and the more so if you do not know as much as I do about Emily or about Hofmann's criminal activities. I won't rehash here the history of the Mormon Church, which is an essential ingredient in the tale and has nothing to do with Emily but everything to do with Mark Hofmann and why he became a killer. Some of the other reviewers chose to comment on that aspect in detail. Likewise, Mr. Worrall takes a few liberties with Emily which do not really belong in this story, such as relating a dream of taking a walk with her, and later trying to solve the mystery of the famous "master" letters---items which Hofmann did not forge, and which might relate to one of three men Emily probably had crushes on during her life (some think a woman might have been the object of these sad love letters.) Worrall tells us his pick, but there is no better evidence for it than for any of the other candidates, although I would also pick the same guy. Those few pages are unneeded in this tale, and should have been saved for some future magazine piece about Emily's life. Those criticisms aside, this remains a good read. One of the "heroes" is former special collections curator Dan Lombardo, then of the Jones Library in Amherst, Mass., Emily's hometown. I never met him, but during the creation of my play, which took a couple years of research and a couple more to put in final form, he and I corresponded. He was quite helpful to me, a total nobody, and I have always been grateful. It was nice to find out that during a huge crisis in his professional career, he behaved with honor and courage. (Yes, even librarians can have situations which can mean life or death to their reputations, jobs or institutions!) Mark Hofmann tried to pass off one of his own poems as an Emily Dickinson manuscript in order to make money and to make fools of the experts, and he almost succeeded. That's part of what the book is about. The rest of it details his anti-Mormon forgeries and a few other of the hundreds of fake items he sold in the late '70's and early '80's, before he killed two people to try to stave off financial ruin and exposure for himself. It is, then, at heart, a true crime story. Hofmann has been the subject of a bunch of other books, but none in which the Dickinson forgery is the starting point. If you like Emily, or true crime tales, this one is worth reading. I also recommend "The Mormon Murders." And for more on Emily, there is nothing as good as Richard Sewell's "The Life of Emily Dickinson" which will take months to read, but is wonderful.

Opportunity missed .........2004-09-01

The premise linking a forged Dickinson poem, forged Mormon documents, and the forger enticed me to read this book.

Parts of the book describing how forgeries are done and detected were very interesting. Alas however, there are no pictures of the forged documents that the author talks about. Thus you are left to your imagination when things such as "the second loop in the S" come up. Finally, I printed off samples of "The Oathe(sic) Of a Freeman", "Salamander Letter", and "Anthon Transcripts" from the web. Do this if you want to follow the descriptions in the book.

Often the author states "in pictures of Hoffman from the...". But NONE of these pictures are in the book. This took a lot away from the quality of the work. Behind the book there are two pictures of Dickenson poems, one forged and one real. That's it.
The writing is good in parts but somewhat disjointed as a flowing narrative.
There is nothing new in regards to the forger, Mark Hoffman, and his Mormon forgaries.

Average customer rating:

The Tales of Hoffman
Another recommendation
More fiction than fact.
one of the best books that I have ever read!
*****

Gathering of Saints, A
Robert Lindsey
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Mormon Murders
The Poet and the Murderer
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By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri
No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith

ASIN: 0440205581
Release Date: 1990-03-02

Customer Reviews:

The Tales of Hoffman.......2004-04-29

This book, detailing the history of the Mark Hoffman case is very solidly researched. It does present, I believe, the history of Mormonism and the Hoffman case in a relatively balanced fashion without the sensationalism of the Naifeh book.

To all those who wish to learn more of the "Tales of Hoffman", I can't reccommend this book enough.

Another recommendation.......2003-09-15

Read The Mormon Murders: A True Story of Greed, Forgery, Deceit, and Death, by Naifeh. A well told, thoroughly researched book covering both Mark Hoffman as well as a study of the foundations of Mormonism. When I read reviews of books covering this story that say the treatment of the history or Mormonism is innacurate and to read the Book of Mormon for the truth, I have to laugh. The strange history and early beliefs of the Mormon religion are well known to be at best odd, or at worst cultish. Mark Hoffman, although a horrible murderer, scared the heck out of the LDS church hierarchy by forging documents from their dubious past.

More fiction than fact........2002-07-27

This book is based on the murderous actions of Mark Hoffman, and in this regard is fairly accurate. However, when it comes to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), the Church's founding prophet Joseph Smith, and current Church leaders and doctrine, this book is slanted, twisted and just plain wrong. Its inaccuracies cause the book to end up being more fiction than fact. If you are really interested in learning the truth about the Mormon religion you should read The Book of Mormon, visit with some missionaries, and pray to know the truth. Reading this book is not the answer unless you wish to be misinformed.

one of the best books that I have ever read!.......2002-01-10

I am a lover of suspense books but I don't read them because when I do, I feel guilty, like it's a waste of time. I also love to study religion. When you mix the 2 together, you have an excellent book.
Have you ever read a book that you speed read because it's so exciting yet at the same time, you try to read it as slow as possible because you don't want the book to end. This is that kind of book.
Have you ever read a book that immediatly after you read it, you know for a fact that you will read it a few more times...this is that kind of book.
Anyone interested in mormonism, or religion in general will love this book. (well maybe not mormons). Anyone who just loves a good page turner, will love this book.
If the author of this book is reading this review, please turn this book intoa movie. I have read probably close to a thousand books, I'm sure. A book has to be real good to get on my top ten list.
religion enthusiasts, this is the most exciting religious lesson you will get. take advantage of it. Oh by the way, another good book about mormonism is housewife to heretic by sonia johnson.

*****.......2001-06-26

A real page-turner. Not just for the story of murder and forgery in the modern day...but for the history of the Mormon church. Joseph Smith originally intended THE BOOK OF MORMON to be a novel, that he hoped would make him some money. When people mistook it for real scripture, he was shocked, then thought he could make even more money this way, starting a religion. After the religion got going, he had dissenters assassinated. I had no idea the Mormon Church was based on such a flimsy, corrupt, foundation. As flimsy and corrupt as Scientology. Give the Church of Scientolgy 150 more years, and it will be as respectable as Mormonism. It's as like if the readers of THE CELESTINE PROPHECY believed that was truth, and its author as a result started a religion. The truth of Joseph Smith is almost as riveting as the truth of Mike Hofmann, the forger and murderer in the modern day, who is the main focus of this book. Hofmann said he and Josepth Smith were very much alike. He may be more right than we'd like to think. Not just a page-turner, but an eye-opener.

Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders

Average customer rating:

Unintelligble garbage
A correction...
Fascinating Account of one of the Most Bizarre Crimes in Utah History
Learning about Forgeries.
A normal essential to all mormologists great and small.

Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders
Linda Sillitoe , Allen D. Roberst , and Allen D. Roberts
Manufacturer: Signature Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Murder & Mayhem | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0941214656

Customer Reviews:

Unintelligble garbage.......2007-02-09

When I found myself in Salt Lake City on business in the early '90s with an unexpected free day on my hands, I thought to use it for pleasure reading and was directed to the Deseret Book Store. It looked like a Barnes & Noble. I did not know it was in thrall to the Mormon Church.

There, I asked a female clerk if there happened to have been any books written about a series of bombings I recalled reading about in the New York Times some years earlier. I was interested in knowing if the culprit had ever been captured and, if so, what had happened to him.

She replied there were two books. "One is historical fact and the other is fiction," she said. "The fiction is pretty bad." At this, she actually wrinkled her nose as if the fiction had left a bad smell she could still detect.

So I bought the 'historical' book she recommended. It was "Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders." Despite the turgid prose, jumpy time lines, and bucketfuls of shibboleths and cliches, I managed to wade through the whole thing in half a day. I found it crushingly dull, very poorly written, and at times completely impenetrable to a reader like me with little or no recollection of the actual case.

"Salamander" suffers from many defects of writing, style, organization, sloppy editing, and negligent proof-reading -- but none so severe or nettlesome as the fact that it makes no narrative sense whatsoever. The largest mystery in reading this book became, for me, wondering over the seemingly indeterminable motives of quite a few of the key characters. Most of them abruptly drop in or fade out of the story like indifferent actors at a crowded theater audition where only bit parts are on offer.

The next day, I happened to mention my frustration with the book to two friends who live in SLC. When they heard how I had come to read "Salamander" they howled with laughter.

"That bookstore clerk steered you to the official Mormon Church version," one explained. "You'll never be able to understand what really happened until you read the other book -- the one she called fiction."

They reminded me of the title of the book I should have read. It was "The Mormon Murders," written by Naifeh and Smith. I read it that night. It is superb.

Naifeh and Smith lay out a clear, well-written, and compelling narrative of the murders. Not only do they explain and document all available evidence about the motives of the perpetrator and intentions of his victims, the total environment in which the killings were conducted, and the dramatic preliminary hearing, they also show the reader in detail how and why powerful political and religious forces were at play behind the scenes.

In short, The Mormon Murders by Naifeh and Smith cleared up two mysteries I had encountered on my visit to Salt Lake City: the murder case itself and why the "Salamander" book I had just read was so atrocious.

If you happen to collect books that are so notoriously bad they have become collector's items for that reason (some folk do, you know), go ahead and buy "Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders." But it's a waste of your time if you try to read it.

A correction..........2005-08-29

Not remembering the alcohol plant mentioned in the quote in the following paragraph, I asked Allen Roberts, my friend and one of the authors of this book, as to what the reviewer was refering. Allen had no clue as there IS no alcohol plant mentioned anywhere in the book. Allen Roberts and Linda Sillitoe are people of high integrity and spent many, many, many hours doing meticulous research for this book so that an objective account of the events COULD be told. Either the following quote does not refer to this book, or the reviewer needs to read the book again.

Don't believe everything you read!, January 8, 2001 Reviewer: A reader: "My family was involved with the alcohol plant in New Mexico that the authors of the book claimed never existed. I know it actually did exist, I was there. If the authors had done a minimum amount of research, they would have known it too. So this makes me wonder what else they got wrong. I tend to think there was a lot that really didn't fit together, so I'll keep searching for the truth. I hope everyone else does too."

Fascinating Account of one of the Most Bizarre Crimes in Utah History.......2005-08-27

"Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders" is a very fine analysis of one of the most bizarre stories in Mormon history. It tells the story of the Salt Lake City bombings on 15 and 16 October 1985 that killed Steven F. Christensen and Kathleen B. Sheets and seriously injured Mark W. Hofmann.

One of the scenarios developed during the period immediately following the deaths of Christensen and Sheets on 15 October, associated the bombings with high finance and the crumbling business empire of J. Gary Sheets, husband of Kathleen and former associate of Christensen. Sheets' business, CFS Financial Corporation, was in a well-publicized nose-dive. His investors and creditors were clamoring for repayment and Sheets was considering bankruptcy. Christensen had left CFS a few months earlier unhappy with the direction Sheets had charted for the company. Could Sheets have planted the bombs to collect insurance money on the victims or to keep them from talking about illicit business dealings? Could disgruntled investors have placed the bombs? No one knew.

If this were true, it bore no relationship to the Mormon church. The monkey-wrench in this scenario was what appeared to be the attempted murder of Hofmann on the morning of 16 October. He was not associated with CFS in any way, but he had a business relationship with Christensen revolving around the discovery and sale of Mormon historical documents. Christensen had purchased from Hofmann the so-called "Salamander Letter" of Martin Harris to W.W. Phelps, which had been unveiled in a circus-like meeting of the Mormon History Association in May 1985. After Hofmann's bombing most of the speculation suggested that the murders were linked to that document and the study of Mormon origins.

Dated 23 October 1830, this letter narrated a strikingly different story of Book of Mormon origins than most were familiar with from the standard faith story. It suggested that Joseph Smith was intimately involved in folk magic (one aspect of which involved a white salamander who guarded the gold plates) and money-digging, and that the Book of Mormon was simply one more instance of these practices. Moreover, the messenger who delivered the plates to Joseph bore little resemblance to the benevolent being traditionally associated with the story. Instead, he was a crusty and malicious spirit who jealously guarded the treasure. The document seemed to hold the potential to destroy the underpinnings of faith for many naive believers.

The "Salamander Letter" appeared to be a connecting link between the victims in this scenario for the bombings. Christensen had acquired this document from Hofmann; Kathleen Sheets' husband, who seemed to have been the real target of the bomb in this scenario, had been a business associate of Christensen.

Most Mormon historians dismissed as absurd charges made by police investigators within a few days after the bombings that Hofmann was the primary suspect in the murders and that he had cold-bloodedly murdered Christensen to cover up illegal business dealings and Sheets to make it look like the killings were CFS-related. His own injuries, they thought, coming a day after the first murders were the result of the accidental detonation of a third bomb intended for yet another victim. Mark Hofmann was the closest thing the Mormon historical community had to a genuine celebrity. As the discoverer of several overwhelmingly important Mormon documents, he was both nationally known and invariably well-liked. It seemed impossible that Hofmann was a forger and con-man par excellence who committed two grisly murders to stave off financial ruin and a public unmasking of his illegal business dealings.

As it turned out, the police were right. Authors Sillitoe and Roberts describe how Hofmann had brutally murdered Christensen and Sheets and had injured himself while handling a third bomb in his car. He had committed murder to mask a complex array of white-collar crimes that extended back to his student days in the late 1970s at Utah State University. These crimes demonstrated a pattern of deceit and manipulation that was impressive in its size, scope, and length of time.

The immediate causes of the murders, according to the authors, revolved around a complicated collection of documents worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the McLellin Collection. William McLellin had been one of the original Twelve Apostles of 1835 but had left the church in 1838. Evidence suggests that he collected considerable material on the development of Mormonism. The McLellin Collection was fabled as a treasure trove of important historical materials, many of them damaging to the church's traditional view of history.

In 1985 Hofmann claimed to have found the collection and borrowed huge sums--a $185,000 signature loan that Hugh Pinnock, a high-Mormon leader, had arranged in one instance--from several different people, each unknown to the other, for the purpose of acquiring it. In effect he sold the same collection to several different people. Hofmann did not produce the collection for any of his investors and during the fall of 1985 increasing pressure was bore on him to repay his creditors or to produce the collection. He staved them off for a time with some very slick tap-dancing and even secured backing for his bank loan by having Pinnock arrange for a wealthy Mormon to buy the collection from Hofmann and donate it to the church. The money obtained from this sale would not only pay back the $185,000 bank note but also provide Hofmann with a tidy profit.

Christensen, who had dealt with Hofmann before, volunteered to serve as a middle man for the movement of the collection from Hofmann to the church. As such he became a key player when Hofmann defaulted on the $185,000 loan and Pinnock asked him to press Hofmann for settlement. Christiansen was persistent and Hofmann was increasingly unable to avoid his probes. The bombing of Christensen would buy him time since his main protagonist would be out the way, Hofmann thought; maybe the church would drop the matter entirely. The bombing of Sheets was a diversion that would make Christensen's murder appear CFS-related.

The authors suggest that the 15 October murders did not dissuade the church from completing the transaction for the McLellin collection. In one of the most satisfying sections in the entire book they describe how Hofmann was informed after the Christensen and Sheets murders, which most people at first thought were CFS-related, that the deal was still on track and Christensen would be replaced by Donald Schmidt, the retired LDS Church Archivist. Desperate action was required, so Hofmann built a third bomb. The victim would be another decoy, this time one associated with Mormon document dealings.

Brent Ashworth, a successful lawyer and businessman who also bought collectible documents, was the ideal target. He and Hofmann had been meeting most Wednesdays in Salt Lake City for years, 16 October was a Wednesday, and he could easily get him to accept a bomb wrapped in a package similar to the first two. Afterward, Hofmann believed, there would be no pressure to proceed with the McLellin deal. This time, theoretically, all of Hofmann's objectives would have been achieved. But Ashworth did not meet him in Salt Lake City on 16 October and the bomb accidentally detonated. Hofmann was seriously injured and the police investigators at the scene quickly found tell-tale clues implicating him in the bombings.

The police pursued the leads discovered at the site of the third bomb to a logical conclusion and built a tremendously convincing circumstantial case against Hofmann. Although it took months, Hofmann was finally charged with the murders and several lesser crimes in February 1986. The evidence presented in the preliminary hearings thoroughly convinced Judge Paul Grant. According to the authors, "At the beginning of the preliminary hearing, Grant had thought perhaps Hofmann was innocent. But by the end, he thought him clearly guilty, a pathological liar with no conscience and no remorse" (p. 454). A plea bargain resulted, with Hofmann pleading guilty to certain of the charges and promising to answer questions about his operations in return for a commitment not to seek the death penalty.

The authors of "Salamander" perform an admirable service by sketching in most of the details of the bombings, the document dealings, and the character of Mark Hofmann. They describe a man who was outwardedly a believing Latter-day Saint but who was motivated in his crimes by a lust for money and an opportunity to embarrass his church. Always gracefully and with a touch of pathos, the authors narrate the complex events leading up to the murders, the peculiar circumstances of the murder investigations, the discovery of the evidence incriminating Hofmann, and the legal fireworks surrounding the case.

A forensic analysis by George J. Throckmorton, the technician who discovered the secret of the Hofmann forgeries, rounds out the volume and conclusively proves the illegitimate origins of 106 documents coming from the dealer, including all of his major finds.

Learning about Forgeries........2002-12-15

I bought this book for my wife, who is a Romantic Suspense writer. I did a keyword search looking for books on forgeries. This is the best book I have found if you want to learn about an example of this particular type of crime.

A normal essential to all mormologists great and small........2002-10-09

This is better that Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie married and had a child. Pure power to the mind. All crimes must be paid for as this book revealsed. I hate being lied to since this book reveals the truth of all truth.

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THE SHADOW MASTER SCORES
Recommended!
Fantastic Trip
Chacko is master of his craft in "The Shadow Master"
Chacko is master of his craft in The Shadow Master

The Shadow Master
David Chacko
Manufacturer: Authors Choice Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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Less Than a Shadow
The Peacock Angel
Like A Man
Graveyard Eyes
The Last Spymaster

ASIN: 0595158617

Book Description

Set at the end of the Cold War, this psychological thriller crosses Eastern Europe following the trail left by the mysterious death of an archeologist and his even more mysterious "find."

Customer Reviews:

THE SHADOW MASTER SCORES.......2005-04-28

After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Klement Zeman, an intelligence officer, comes home to find his brother dead in a strange hotel room. The "natural" death quickly becomes mysterious as Klement begins a furious hunt through the wreckage of the old system and the chaos of his brother's life. Beautiful women, invaluable treasure, angry spirits of the dead, archeological digs and mass murderers, are just some of the things he encounters. They all fall by the side of the road when Klement comes to the end of his journey in the New Europe on the verge of a New Millennium.

THE SHADOW MASTER is an almost perfect book. This one should have Six Stars.

Recommended!.......2002-02-13

In May, 1990, Klement Zeman left The Horn of Africa for Hungary. There, he would identify his brother's body and transport it to its final resting place. Karel, the brother, had been an archeologist. His site was a crypt in Hrad Luchov, near the boundary of Moravia and Slovakia. Karel had found something at the site that had changed his life completely. A life that somehow ended in a high class hotel of Budapest.

Dangerous people were after what Karel had found, "The Vigesimal Hours" and the hosts! The book was "illuminated" (painted) by one known only as The Shadow Master. Within it were prophecies. Revelations. It told of The Second Coming!

Klement simply wanted to know how his brother had come to die in a hotel that was way above his financial means. The question leads Klement on a quest of epic proportions.

**** This is one of those books that begins with a mysterious death and several questions, then steadily builds up steam until everything explodes at the end! Very climatic! In a few spots, I found myself fascinated and repulsed at the same time. Recommended reading. ****

Fantastic Trip.......2001-03-30

David Chacko's new novel is an exciting piece of work that succeeds in doing everything it says it will. And that's plenty. The Shadow Master takes place after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It begins as an espionage story that becomes a novel of politics and finally ends in a shakey walk along the bridge between the living and the dead. The action and horror are well set up as the tale unwinds from its central event--the death of an archeologist, Karel Zeman. His brother Klement, a spy come in from the cold, conducts an investigation that inevitably leads to the discovery of Karel's secret life--a beautiful woman who haunted his last days in Budapest; a mistress in Prague; an object of fantastic value unearthed in an ancient castle; and the man of great wealth and greater cruelty who emerges from behind the curtain at last. How does The Shadow Master end? Not where it began, and not with characters who have the same perceptions that they held in the beginning. By that time, the miraculous has become the expected and the dead a part of the living past.

Chacko is master of his craft in "The Shadow Master".......2001-03-20

If you missed David Chacko's earlier novels, don't pass up this page turner. Once again he proves he is master of his turf in both a literal and a literary sense. Let him take you into the shadows of the lush landscape of Eastern Europe where you will meet some equally shadowy and intriguing characters.

Chacko is master of his craft in The Shadow Master.......2001-03-20

If you missed David Chacko's earlier novels, don't pass this one up. It is a page turner. Chacko proves once again that he is master of his turf in both the literal and literary sense. Let him take you into the shadows of the lush landscape of Eastern Europe where you will meet some very interesting and intriguing characters.

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Attack? On who?
Less Than A Star, Really....
The tales of Hoffman
A vicious attack on Mormonism
excellent book

The Mormon Murders
Steven Naifeh , and Gregory White Smith
Manufacturer: Onyx
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Murder & Mayhem | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
The Mormon Conspiracy
By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri
The Mormon Murders
The Mountain Meadows Massacre

ASIN: 0451401522

Customer Reviews:

Attack? On who?.......2005-02-20

This book is no more an attack on the Mormon church than a history of slavery in the South is an attack on America. It's just a well-written book about facts.

The book is not pro or anti-mormon. The reader is left to make his/her own decisions.

It is all too easy to spot those who have not read the book by the way they word their criticism and use Amazon as a forum to promote thier religious beliefs.

Less Than A Star, Really...........2004-05-11

To be quite honest, this book stinks. At first, the book does grasp you and you feel like "This is a really good book, nothing bad about it." But then, as each chapter goes further into a "momon bashing fit", the story deteriorates into what read as a "I Hate Mormons" campaign/manifesto. It feels as though the writers started not caring about what they wrote, as long as it was seen that mormons "are bad people, becuase they are human...shame on them, shame!....".

All told, I wasted $2.50 for a used copy of this book and increased my stupidity for it.

The tales of Hoffman.......2004-04-29

This book details the history of Mark Hoffman, one of the most controversial figures in modern day Mormonism. This was the first book that I had read on Hoffman. I read it as a young man (about 16 years of age), and it prompted me to do further study on certain questions regarding Mormonism that I found troubling. In a sense, I owe the authors of this book a debt of gratitude, as it was through them that I eventually learned of Fawn Brodie and the Tanners. I've been out of Mormonism for nearly 13 years now. I am deeply grateful to be out of Mormonism.

I re-read this book again recently. It is a fascinating tale, certainly. However, it does seem to be too sensationalistic in points (not that the Hoffman story isn't sensational!). For a more balanced version of the Tales of Hoffman, I would reccommend Robert Lindsay's A Gathering of Saints.

A vicious attack on Mormonism.......2004-04-12

At first sight, this appears to be an engrossing true-crime narrative. But it soon becomes evident that the real agenda of the authors is to use the crime case as an excuse for attacking the Mormon church. All of the Mormon leaders are presented as scoundrels and all of the followers are presented as fools. In short, Mormonism is demonized. The book is full of cheap shots. No stone is left unturned in the authors' quest to ridicule Mormonism. This is out of place in a true-crime book and hopelessly detracts and distracts from the narrative. We are expected to believe that two-thirds of the inhabitants of an American state are scoundrels and fools. Nonsense!

excellent book.......2003-05-19

If you read the other reviews of this book, or any other book which Mormons might consider uncomplimentary of their faith, it is easy to pick out who are the Mormon reviewers and who are not. If the book criticizes Mormonism, the Mormon reviewers inevitably slam the book, call it fiction, say that it slanted, biased, uninformed, etc., etc.

That being said, I thought "The Mormon Murders" was excellent. The authors obviously had extensive information from insiders on the case, particularly some of the police officers and prosecutors. Mark Hoffman, perhaps the most accomplished forger in American history, manipulates and tricks everyone he comes in contact with, duping them like the con-man extraordinaire he is. And despite their alleged power of discernment, the Mormon leadership is duped even more easily than the common people in the book.

There was never a thorough, public accounting of the Hoffman case because the LDS leaders pressured the prosecuting attorney to lower the charges and let Hoffman plea-bargain---thus saving high-ranking LDS leaders from having to testify under oath.

This story has been depicted by a few different books. After this book, "Salamander" and "A Gathering of Saints" painted uncomplimentary versions of the LDS Church's complicity in these crimes the Church fought back in a round-about way by having some LDS scholar write a book called "Victims" and publish it through the Univ. of Illinois. Don't be fooled--the book's main purpose is to try and exonerate the LDS leaders from looking like idiots at best and conspirators at worse.

Book Description

In this delightful novel, both mystery and comedy of manners, A. N. Wilson continues the strange tale of Julian Ramsay, chronicler of that distinguished literary family, the Lampitts. The story opens in the mid-1960s on a note of gruesome drama, as the fabulously wealthy Virgil D. Everett, Jr., is pushed to his death from a Manhattan skyscraper. Does Everett's murder have anything to do with his ownership of the manuscripts known as the Lampitt Papers? Over thirty years later, actor and Lampitt biographer Julian Ramsay finds himself in New York with his "One Man Show" about James Lampitt's life and experiences. Ramsay's recollections take us on a fascinating journey back to the late 1960s, encompassing America, England, and Italy at a time of groundbreaking scientific research and intense theological debate. It is a journey that may reveal the secret to Everett's death and, ultimately, the true content of the Lampitt Papers. This witty and insightful drama will enchant readers already familiar with the Lampitt family, and it is a richly rewarding novel in its own right.

Customer Reviews:

Tough beginning.......2000-03-31

This is my first A.N. Wilson book, so maybe I started with the wrong one, but just trying to get going with this one was extremely rugged. However, I managed to stay the course, and the last part kept me. Still a tough read.

Not great AN Wilson but any AN Wilson is better than most........1999-08-30

I have to agree with the New Jersey reviewer but I'd still give it 5 stars. The earlier Lampitts are better. I find it interesting that Anthony Powell also nodded when he tried to bring his "Music of Time" characters into the 60's. The gurus and hippies could not be satirized as easily, or had to be satirized in a different way. Esther Freud's "Hideous Kinky" does a better job on them.

Lampitt series going downhill.......1998-02-13

What started out as a magnificentseries of novels beginning withINCLINE OUR HEARTS and A BOTTLEIN THE SMOKE(2 of my favorite books of all time)has become a bore.While Wilson can stillwrite with great panache and wit;his characters have become dreary and turgid.I actually hadto force myself to finish this novel,something I thought I wouldnever have to do with a novel ofA.N.Wilson who still is one of my favorite authors.

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Hide in Plain Sight[hardcover]

Manufacturer: pocket books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GDTLYM

Product Description

the popular michelle albert has written another sizzling romantic suspense!fiona kennedy can tell a forgery from the genuine article in a snap.drop dead sexy grif laughton,however,is not so easy to read.he's asked her to appraise a priceless manuscript,a masterpiece.but someone is willing to kill for the manuscript and fiona finds out that grif was an ex-mercenary hired to protect her.....this edition also includes an excerpt from ms albert's next novel.

Average customer rating:

Manuscript for murder
Richard Martin Stern
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006CPGVA

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