Brigham's Destroying Angel

William Hickman's memoirs, famous for exposing the inner workings of the Mormon church as it was during the mid-19th century, are available here complete with the original appendices. A sensation upon their original release in 1872, the evocatively titled Brigham's Destroying Angel chronicles William Hickman's life as he traverses the ranks of the Mormon Church, which was at the time led by its second President, Brigham Young. Bill Hickman portrays Brigham as charismatic but controlling preacher, with sermons used to keep his followers and fellow settlers of the West in line. Hickman himself was a professional gunslinger, responsible for numerous assassinations which he confesses in this book. He was also a polygamist, having married a total of ten wives during his time in the Church of Latter-Day Saints. In 1868 Hickman was excommunicated from the church, and a few years he was later charged with murder. Following his arrest, Hickman was held under guard in an early form of witness protection.