American Crucifixion

As Mormonism continues to increase in size and influence in American culture, the assassination of the founding prophet Joseph Smith has become one of the great underreported episodes in American history. The weeks at the end of Smith’s life, marked by scandal, sex, imprisonment, and ultimately his shooting in a Carthage, Illinois prison cell in 1844, represent not only the central event in Mormon history, but also one of the most dramatic killings in national memory. Yet to date these events have never been the subject of a book by a non-Mormon writer.

In American Crucifixion, Alex Beam tells the tale of Joseph Smith's final days: how his own followers turned against him; how that prosecution turned to violence; and how, ultimately, Smith could not escape the consequences of his ambition and pride.

In the hands of Beam, this is not merely a great story but a moment with profound implications for the future of a religion that now has about 14 million adherents worldwide. American Crucifixion describes the succession crisis that followed Smith's death, as a scramble for power pitted the dead prophet's family against a host of rival claimants, one of whom—Brigham Young—transformed the Latter-day Saints from a tiny, regional religion into a potent force in American culture and politics.

American Crucifixion exposes a gripping narrative at the heart of one of America's most prominent religions, and a key moment in our national history.

“High drama as one of America’s greatest—and most mystifying—characters, Joseph Smith, meets one our most incisive writers, Alex Beam, at a crossroads of our history.”—Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler and The Shakespeare Wars

“If Mormonism is the most American of religions—and it is—then the story of its founding is an American epic. In this gripping book, Alex Beam tells the story of the fate of Joseph Smith amid the Mormons’ rising tensions with ‘gentile’ neighbors—and among themselves. With an acute eye for character, he depicts Smith, Brigham Young, and their enemies as vivid, complicated human beings, immersed in struggles over money, power, survival, and the controversial doctrine of polygamy. With its dramatic and consequential ending, this book throws new light on the trek to Great Salt Lake and the birth of the LDS Church we know today.” —T.J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

“American Crucifixion is an engrossing, powerful account of the rise and fall of one of the most remarkable figures in American history. Alex Beam’s portrait of Joseph Smith—equal parts P. T. Barnum, Huey Long, and the prophet Jeremiah—captures the man in all of his contradictions and complexities.”—Gary Krist, bestselling author of City of Scoundrels