One of the problems with literature about and by Mormons, is that, pro or con, there are very few texts without an extreme point of view. This is one of the few comprehensive histories of 19th century Mormonism which was written with a center of gravity close to what we moderns call a 'neutral point of view.' Written by (or under the aegis of) H.H. Bancroft, the foremost historian of the Western US, this massive book tells the story of the settlement of what would become the state of Utah. This is, naturally, closely bound up with the saga of the Mormon persecution and exodus.