The half century between statehood in 1896 and the end of World War II in 1945 was a period of transformation and transition for Utah. This book interprets those profound changes, revealing sweeping impacts on both institutions and ordinary people. Drawing upon expertise honed over decades of teaching, researching, and writing about Utah's history, the authors incorporate fresh archival sources, new oral histories, and hundreds of scholarly articles

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"Iron we need and iron we must have"—so said Brigham Young in 1855. Utah's pioneers depended on it for survival. Necessities, such as nails, stoves, plows and sawmill bearings, required iron, which had to be shipped from St. Louis at great expense. Brigham Young envisioned a regional iron works that would fill the territory's need for iron and help make it economically self-sufficient. In April 1850, Church leaders established an Iron Mission

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Just as Hans's life is improving, he begins to suspect that German authorities are watching him again. Going back to prison would be painful, but worse is the thought that he might miss his opportunity for a future with Elli. Gene is surviving the terrors of a jungle war day by day, with long periods of boredom followed by moments of utter terror. Can he really make it home, when so many are dying all around him? And if so, will Emily and Danny

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"In the predominantly Mormon city of Draper, Utah, some seemingly perfect families have deadly secrets. Inspired by an actual crime and written by a practicing Mormon, The Bishop's Wife is both a fascinating look at the lives of modern Mormons as well as a grim and cunningly twisted mystery. Linda Wallheim is the mother of five grown boys and the wife of a Mormon bishop. As bishop, Kurt Wallheim is the ward's designated spiritual father, and that...

After her move in 1985 to Salt Lake City, thirteen-year-old Sadie finds a journal in a hidey-hole in the attic, and along with her sister and new friend she reads about the influenza epidemic of 1918.

"An historically rich novel that brings to life the fascinating story of America's first female state senator, Martha Hughes Cannon, who was also a doctor, suffragist, and champion of public health in the frontier territory of Utah in the late 19th century. As a young girl traveling to Utah by wagon in 1861, Martha, or Mattie as she was called, was deeply influenced by the early struggles her family endured as frontier pioneers, including the premature...

"After her mother's untimely death, the young Corin Dunbar is banished to live with her aunt Jessie, an obsessively religious spinster who runs a failing cattle ranch near a speck of a town called Paradox in southeast Utah. It's the mid-1950s, and Corin hates her new life until the Big Five Hollywood studios arrive, lured by the fiery red-rock scenery that provides a perfect backdrop to the blockbuster Westerns they plan to film. Overnight, Paradox...

Presents a study of F.W.C. Hathenbruck and Caleb Rhoades and the lost Rhodes gold mine of Utah, and chronicles the various endeavors to locate and claim the mines and how modern technology may lead to their discovery.

Besides dealing with eccentric roommates, his bishop-boss, an ex-Marine, an amorous 75-year-old woman, and the beautiful Hope Winslow, anti-terrorist agent Matthew Knight must go undercover in a Salt Lake City Mormon singles ward to get rid of a few terrorists, including his mother's killer--and his own inner demons.

A singularly compelling debut novel, about a desert where people go to escape their past, and a truck driver who finds himself at risk when he falls in love with a mysterious woman.

Ben Jones lives a quiet, hardscrabble life, working as a trucker on Route 117, a little-travelled road in a remote region of the Utah desert which serves as a haven for fugitives and others looking to hide from the world. For many of the desert’s inhabitants,...