John Hajicek writes:
Andy became interested in Bennett through his book The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery from the University of South Carolina Press. (Bennett is
credited with popularizing the tomato). He sold 5,000 copies of that
book since it came out 2 years ago. Mormon history books usually come
out in runs of 2,000. His book
Pure Ketchup was released this month and
immediately sold 5,000 copies (it
mentions Bennett). That book has been reviewed by the NY Times and Washington Post, and he's already flown to a dozen cities to promote it.
The Bennett book is fascinating. Bennett's life has episodes with
(1) tomatoes, (2) chicken breeding, (3) Mormonism, (4) James J. Strang,
(5) mid-wifery, (6) mail-order diplomas, (7) military, (8) masonry, etc. I
reviewed the manuscript. The Saintly Scoundrel is the most
interesting Mormon biography this decade, and written by an outsider who
liked Bennett but is not a Mormon--no predetermined conclusions
either way (thus
its title).
I disagreed with many of his interpretations (for example,
"spiritual wifery" and Mormon sincerity), but I thought the
biographical research methodology to be as good as any in the Mormon
historical community.
An avid reader comments:
I like works like the new John Bennet bio. It is exciting on every page.
I like Andrew Smith's writing style. Very pleasant. I
can't express how refreshing it is.