The Giant Joshua

By Maurine Whipple

Book Overview

Set in the 1860s at Utah's Dixie Mission, The Giant Joshua is the deeply moving story of a far-flung outpost in the desert where a band of Mormons, like the giant Joshua, fight to survive in an arid land. A young Mormon girl--innocent, tender, courageous--finds herself torn between fear of her older husband and love for his son; between her passionate faith in the stern tenets of Mormonism and her equally passionate desire for beauty and gaiety.

Considered a classic in historical fiction, The Giant Joshua was first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941.

Distributed for Western Epics Publishing.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0914740172
• ISBN13: 9780914740179
• Release Date: July 1976
• Publisher: Western Epics
• Length: 654 Pages
• Weight: 1.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent. Too bad Maureen did not complete her Trilogy on the Mormons

heart-wrenchingly honest

There are many accounts of how it was to live a life of Polygamy for the early Mormon Pioneers, but Maureen Whipple's "Giant Joshua" is honest and forthright, without having any goal other than for the reader to understand the sacrifices and sorrows of the women (and men) who were called to settle Sounthern Utah, plus asked to live such a difficult tenent by their Mormon leaders.

a jewel

Whipple's novel is beautifully written and was meticulously researched. The reader gets real insight on Mormon pioneer polygamous life. It's amazing that this is the only novel Whipple ever wrote. She gave all of herself, I feel, to writing it and her finished product is a unique masterpiece. I would especially recommend this book to Mormons. The touchy subject of polygamy-which a new generation of LDS might deny once existed-can really be understood in this novel.

The reality of Polygamy

I grew up in Utah as a non-Mormon. While I was surrounded by the culture of the Mormon church all of my life, I never fully understood it and always felt like an outsider. My parents kept me away from their teachings - wanting me to focus on my own religion instead. A couple of years ago my sister told me about this book. I read it last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. It gave me a deeper understanding of the history of the church, the mentality behind polygamy and a more sympathetic view of the situation in general. I did notice, however, while reading this book that if you don't have a basic understanding of the Mormon culture you may not understand everything that is going on as the author doesn't go into a lot of detail about why certain things are happening. Ms. Whipples writing is incredible - very moving and descriptive. I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the reality of polygamy.

Hard but Interesting Read

The Giant Joshua was first published in 1941. Maureen Whipple grew up in Southern Utah and was able to capture a great deal of the culture, folklore and local color in this rather stinging indictment of polygamy. She has an interesting subject in and interesting area. The book is a little harder to read than today's best sellers...but was worth the struggle.

Beautifully evokes the old West

I read this book several years ago,while I was living on the East Coast and missing the West. I found Ms. Whipple's descriptions of a vanished way of life - polygamy in the early days of Mormon settlement - and a vanished landscape - the West of the past - honest and sensitively drawn. I recommend it to anyone who seeks to understand the human element in the polygamist culture.