The Gathering Place: An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is no ordinary place. Its "hard-gutted individuality", as Western historian Dale L. Morgan called it, gives it a "contradictory charm". The city has an extraordinary and complicated past, full of paradoxes and irresolution about its image. This is the story of a frontier outpost, founded as a haven for religious refugees, that eventually becomes a melting pot for different kinds of people -- different voices, experiences, points of view, traditions, values, and ways of life.In fact, the city has emerged from the crucible of conflict, based partly on religion but also on race, class distinction, and gender. The author's goal in his thought-provoking overview, accented by 125 historical photographs, is not to shift from the "feel good" emphasis of traditional photo-histories but to augment that approach with information about societal change, a history of groups and traditions and of the ideas and experiences that have made the city what it is today.John S. McCormick is the author of 'The Gathering Place: An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City', published 2000 under ISBN 9781560851325 and ISBN 1560851325.