A review by bibliothecarivs
Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner

4.0

Mormon Country, first published in 1942, is my first Stegner work and I quite enjoyed it. Being a jack-Mormon in Utah, but with a strong sense of my heritage and love for my state, I was excited to delve into this respected look at the Mormon West by an inside-outsider. I also wanted to read it around Utah's unique state holiday, Pioneer Day (celebrated annually on July 24), which I did. The book is a collection of mostly unrelated historical topics which help us to understand "Mormon Country", which can be loosely defined as Utah plus the parts of surrounding states that border it. The topics, divided into those about Mormons and those about non-Mormons, consisted of some I knew nothing about and others I had discovered before, but all the stories were told in an entertaining way that made them a joy to read. As I travel around the state in the future, I think I will take Mormon Country along and share the relevant chapters with my family. I can definitely say I am now better educated about my land and my people.