One Side by Himself

"Lewis Barney's life-span roughly covered the last third of a period which significantly influenced American culture. His death in 1894, after a lifetime of chasing civilization's edge, was coincident to the subtle closure of the American frontier. This story is about a man and his family for whom "frontier" and its alluring garb of freedom and independence, despite ever-present hardship, characterized the course of their lives better than any other word with the exception of one.".

"That other word is "Mormon"...In 1840 Lewis Barney subscribed to an unpopular religious organization whose theological outline overlay his latent religious inclinations to a remarkable degree. For the rest of his life, he adhered - heart and soul - to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...Being a Mormon was no easy life. For the first generation of church members, regular relocation was a requisite for belief.

Barney's propensity for westward movement dovetailed into what was required of him subsequent to his affiliation with the Saints. But once in the West, when settling down permanently was much more feasible, Barney ignored the option and melded his ambition to "establish Zion" with building his family kingdom on the American frontier."--BOOK JACKET.