Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life
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- $23.99
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Mormon History Association’s Best Biography Award
Book Synopsis:
As one of the LDS Church’s most widely recognized scholars, Hugh Nibley is both an icon and an enigma. Through complete access to Nibley’s correspondence, journals, notes, and papers, Petersen has painted a portrait that reveals the man behind the legend.
Starting with a foreword written by Zina Nibley Petersen and finishing with appendices that include some of the best of Nibley’s personal correspondence, the biography reveals aspects of the tapestry of the life of one who has truly consecrated his life to the service of the Lord.
Praise for Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life:
“Hugh Nibley is generally touted as one of Mormonism’s greatest minds and perhaps its most prolific scholarly apologist. Just as hefty as some of Nibley’s largest tomes, this authorized biography is delightfully accessible and full of the scholar’s delicious wordplay and wit, not to mention some astonishing war stories and insights into Nibley’s phenomenal acquisition of languages. Introduced by a personable foreword from the author’s wife (who is Nibley’s daughter), the book is written with enthusiasm, respect and insight. . . . On the whole, Petersen is a careful scholar who provides helpful historical context. . . . This project is far from hagiography. It fills an important gap in LDS history and will appeal to a wide Mormon audience.”—Publishers Weekly
“Well written and thoroughly researched, Petersen’s biography is a must-have for anyone struggling to reconcile faith and reason.”—Greg Taggart, Association for Mormon Letters
“Peterson gives us due access to the man behind the scholarship (a scholarly biography now begs to be written), a man as real as any of us, though greatly more gifted; one who excelled in learning and teaching the gospel—an exemplary consecrated life.”—Don Norton, Maxwell Institute-FARMS Review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hugh Nibley is generally touted as one of Mormonism's greatest minds and perhaps its most prolific scholarly apologist. Just as hefty as some of Nibley's largest tomes, this authorized biography is delightfully accessible and full of the scholar's delicious wordplay and wit, not to mention some astonishing war stories and insights into Nibley's phenomenal acquisition of languages. Introduced by a personable foreword from the author's wife (who is Nibley's daughter), the book is written with enthusiasm, respect and insight. It is organized into chapters alternating between chronological biography (childhood, mission to Germany, military service in WWII, etc.) and topical themes in Nibley's life (social criticism, faith, scholarship, Scripture and so on). A particularly powerful and timely chapter addresses Nibley's rather surprising views on war; he opposed the Vietnam War when it was very unpopular in LDS culture to do so. Although this format often results in repeated information, it also makes it easy to approach the book as a collection of stand-alone essays. Occasionally the author falls into the archival researcher's trap of including unnecessary information simply because he has access to it, but on the whole, Petersen is a careful scholar who provides helpful historical context. Although Petersen married into Nibley's family, and sometimes defends Nibley and his inconsistencies from his many critics, this project is far from hagiography. It fills an important gap in LDS history and will appeal to a wide Mormon audience.
