Utah

In this richly illustrated book, Ken Verdoia and Richard Firmage provide a vivid collage of text and photographs to retell the story of Utah's long and tortuous road toward statehood. With more than 400 photographs - many of them published here for the first time - and a wealth of line drawings and information boxes, Utah: The Struggle for Statehood offers a readily accessible account of the territorial period in Utah. The lively narrative describes the arrival of the first Mormon pioneers, the Utah War, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Civil War era, the arrival of the Pony Express, telegraph, and railroads, the Indian wars, and the hotly contested, pivotal issue of Mormon polygamy. This book gives readers a fascinating record of Utah's efforts to join the Union and serves as a lasting memento for the state's centennial celebrations.