Builder

Brooks deals with the Massacre more thoroughly in her appropriately-titled _Mountain Meadows Massacre_, also available on this fine website. But the picture is incomplete without an understanding of who John D. Lee was. That picture is provided in great detail by this book, and it is sometimes startling.

Lee was not some renegade Danite chieftain. Raised on the American frontier, he joined the Mormons and became a pillar of the southern Utah community -- a church leader, the federal government's Indian farmer, and an officer in the militia. He was widely respected and reputed to have spiritual gifts of prophecy and healing.

And on the day of the Massacre, he was in a bad spot. Caught between conflicting and ambiguous military orders and facing the alternatives of killing not-completely-innocent travellers and alienating the native american population at a moment when the U.S. Federal government had declared war on the Utah Mormons, he made a tough choice.

Eventually, of course, Lee was banished for his crime, living out his last years as a ferryman with a greatly reduced family on the Utah-Arizona border. Some odd details strike you when reading Brooks' account, though:

1. There's plenty of evidence that people talked about Lee's excommunication, but in the well-kept church records, no sure indication that it actually happened.

2. Lee was a spiritually powerful man and a firm believer. Moreover, he was an intimate of Brigham Young (Young's adopted son, in fact).

3. Lee was a frontiersman through and through, one of the few Mormon pioneers (along with, say, Orrin Porter Rockwell and Bill Hickman)really equipped to deal with the harsh desert environment.

4. Lee was banished not when Brigham Young found out about the Massacre, but years later, and almost certainly in response to public sentiment.

So ask yourself this: if you were Brigham Young, and you needed to sacrifice someone to protect the church, who would it be? It's hard not to wonder whether John D. Lee's banishment was a calling. Maybe he wasn't excommunicated at all, but sent away as a visible sacrifice for the good of the community. Only a man with Lee's faith, independence and wilderness skills could be called on to make such a sacrifice.

Likewise, Lee seems to have virtually surrendered to his own execution, but it's not clear why. Was he again sacrificing himself for Brigham Young and the church? Did he feel the guilt of the Massacres and seek to atone by offering his own life?

I don't know, but I know this: if you're interested in Mormon history, Utah history or even the history of the American West, you should read this book.

I was surprised to learn that the group of 12 or so men known as the "Misouri Wildcats" who were probably the target of the massacre had parted with the Francher company the day before the the first Indian raid and hence escaped being in the massacre.

I am not a descendant of John D. Lee.

There is much that I appreciated about this book, not the least of which is the fact that Ms. Brooks did not shy away from the possibility that Brigham Young sacrificed J. D. Lee in a manner consistent with a Book of Mormon account, in which it is stated by God that "it is better that one man should perish, then a whole nation dwindle in unbelief." Lee himself implicates his "adoptive father," Brigham Young, in his farewell letter to his wives. At the same time, she does not for a moment lose the perspective of the seige mentality, the war-time thinking of both the perpetrators of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, and the leaders of the Church. Without this context, it is easy to stand in self-rightous judgement of what hindsight clearly dictates was a horrible act. With that psycho/social context, the fair-minded reader can at least admit that while John D. Lee was indeed a participant in an evil day, he was not an evil man. Far from it. Indeed, he may have paid the price with his life because he was in fact a man of high principles, and utmost regard for the God who gave him life. His faith sustained him through remarkable hardship, and sustained him in his own noble imprisonment and ultimatly his execution.

You will not be able to read this book without a strong sense of compassion for his wives, either. They were called upon to endure extreme hardship, and appear to have risen to the challenge. From their march across the plains, to the numerous times they were asked to open a new settlement, to eventually living practically alone in Navajo country to fend for themselves, even to birth children without so much as the help from an older daughter, these were women of enormous faith, incredible fortitude, and proud devotion to a man that their Church had marked as a scapegoat and sacrificial lamb.

It is likely that decendents of the Fancher Party would read this book with different emotions than I, but I found it to be highly stimulating and engaging, both to the sensitivities and the mind. It is a story of faith, of perseverence, of work and sacrifice, and ultimately betrayal by a man's dearest friends. If the book is too forgiving of Lee for his role in the Massacre at Mountain Meadows, it is only because his life was so much more than that one, dark day. The rest of his life was a labor of love, for his God, his Prophet, his friends, his wives, his children, and for the establishment of the Kingdom of God, of which he believed he was a key builder, in partnership with his God and his prophets.

I liked that this book is hard covered. The diagrams used to explain the concepts are accurate and concise. It is not "exotic" in the types of layouts it covers but covers the basics well. Lead carpenters and journeyman layout carpenters won't find much new here. But for apprentice and carpenters and builders still learning there trade it has merit.

There are detailed accounts of travelling to many stone circles around the world - new and old, with even chapters on how to build a stone circle and the alignments.

An excellent new, fresh look at the stone giants that haunts us today and their relationship with our lives.

The beginning section of the book presents a discussion of the primary considerations in airport design today (number of floors, terminals and satellites; carparking, landscaping, etc.) which is thankfully neither ponderous nor overly casual. Following are overviews of 46 airport and terminal projects, with interesting and easy-to-understand descriptions of the problems overcome in each design process, structural considerations and noteworthy aesthetic features for each airport.

This is a book written for architects by an architect, as evidenced by the wealth of plans, elevations, model views, artist renderings and computer-generated perspectives. Each airport/terminal project takes up between two and ten pages (Denver International gets the most), including text, photos and illustrations. The most superb photographs are the large color ones which show innovative roof and ceiling concepts, exterior perspectives, and exquisite interior spaces formed by glass and structural elements.

Aside from being enjoyable to read, the book is well-constructed and printed on quality paper.

We often think of great Bible teachers as somehow belonging to a different level of humanity. Wiersbe destroys that illusion with a real flesh and blood picture of himself, a man whose idea of exercising is walking to the library and who experiences both the joys and aggravations of people. Good reading.

Art Ludwig has cut to the core of wastewater issues. He's obviously done all of his homework, mulled-over the variables, and come up with a common sense, economically reasonable, environmentally responsible approach to wastewater. I expect to save money that I would have spent on a post-septic tank, aerobic unit that would seemingly have been ecologically responsible; but because of the technological overkill, ultimately that system would have defeated my altruistic environmental concerns.

The sheer volume of information in each of his greywater books puts other sources to shame. Each volume is very well written, being clear, amusing, and concise. I can't imagine improving these books, other than keeping the information updated with future editions.

These books talk the talk and walk the walk better than anything else that I've seen. Buy a set for yourself, a set for your neighbors, and a set for the regulators.

You can say that the building industry has been slow to change and adopt technology.... but the Internet is very different and will be (and already is) a significant enabler for any party (either from within or outside) the industry to change the traditional rules of the game. This will lead to disatrous results for those who are not reacting on a procative basis now!!!

A great read.... I look forward to the next one

It's times like these that I think we need a guide, a visionary, someone with enough foresight to predict the changes and lead the way for all builders, by demonstrating how to incorporate the Information Revolution's changes and use them to manage ourselves to sure profitability. The building industry has found a true visionary in Keith T. Brown.

Keith Brown presents one of the shrewdest critiques of market trends and one of the most accurate predictions available of how integrated computers and on-line services will be incorporated into the running of our day-to-day business. This book is a must-read. In fact, after reading it, I know you'll agree with me that there's no doubt that Keith T. Brown has his well-tuned ear to the ground... both at the job site, where he's experienced firsthand the problems builders face, and in the high-tech world, where he's sought solutions.

Using a lively presentation style, peppered with instructive anecdotes that make it clear Keith is a job site veteran, The Builder's Revolution lays out where the building industry is today and more importantly where those of us who want to succeed should be going. Best of all, Keith tells us just how to get there. The solutions offered here are practical and field tes! ted.

If you're interested in surviving the brave new world of the Information Revolution, I recommend-no I urge you-to read this book. I assure you it will be some of the most productive time you've ever spent preparing your business for the coming decades of change. Let's face it, if we builders don't re-tool, we most assuredly will be left in the sawdust of our own making.