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Originally Posted by MikeWaters
what is it then that makes her work controversial?
easy answer. One, selective reporting. Two, coming up with a theory first, and looking for facts second. Three, speculative Freudian spin.
Brodie is a mildly interesting figure in that she came out of the Mormon heartland, shed Mormonism at a young age, and wrote the first non-hagiographic biography of JS.
Of course we will be interested in the psychodynamics behind this process. After all, that is what Brodie was interested in.
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Its controversial because there are people who don't want you to believe the facts that she presents so are more than willing to have you question her motives. You could say there is a parallel there with the subject of her biography, but, for the most part Joseph Smith didn't present facts, just visions, interpretations, "translations", and prophesies which time has proven the interpretations to be largely contrary to scientific evidence and some key prophesies reversed (Native American DNA, accepted scholars' translations of the papyri, timing of the second coming, location of "Zion", polygamy dogma, etc.) so, yes, its quite appropriate to question more fully the source of those.