Miles Harvey

When we lived along Lake Michigan people would ask me if I knew about the King of Beaver Island. I had never heard of him. All I knew was that quilter Gwen Marston lived on Beaver Island. I had seen photos of her home and studio and the classes she held there. A lovely place.

Then along comes Miles Harvey's The King of Confidence: A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch, finally my chance to learn about this Michigan show more king.

I'll cut to the chase: Harvey's book is rollicking, page-turning, riotous good fun...and a sobering reminder of the American penchant to be taken in by quacks, con-men, and self-aggrandizing wannabes.

As a boy, J. J. Strang dreamed of the big achievements awaiting him--like marrying the girl Victoria who was destined to become queen of England. He wanted to be king.

Over his life, Strang reinvented himself, from teacher to lawyer, from atheist to the heir to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, from self-proclaimed king to pirate to legislator. And from husband to one wife to husband to a harem.

Harvey could have given us a somber, and perhaps tedious, exploration of Strang's place in American history, with insights into our current political craziness as well as Strang's antebellum social, economic, and political craziness.

OK; he did cover these themes. But with pizazz and ironic fun to create an entertaining narrative that makes one want to keep reading.

Chapters have lively titles and chapter quotations. Such as,"In which one charlatan is run out of town, only to be replaced by an even greater scoundrel", the following quote being a discussion between the Duke and the King from Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Yes, this is a book that Michiganders must read, but also those interested in how Americans gravitate to extremes during troubled times. Harvey's insights into human nature and society transcends time and place.

I was given a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. show less

Shortly before this, I had read Jack Kelly's "Heaven's Ditch." That one wasn't very good in my opinion, but "The King of Confidence" picks up right where that left off, and is a far better read. The construction of the Erie Canal connected western New York to a whole new world of beyond its traditional borders. It created new opportunities for ambitious individuals looking to "test radical ideas" or beliefs or break tradition. Joseph Smith was among those who participated in the “spiritual show more wildfire” of that era, eventually creating a new sect called Mormonism. But after Smith’s death in 1843 there was a power vacuum. The militant Brigham Young stepped up, but then so does wanted shyster James Jesse Strang.

Strang, a known fraud and former U.S. postmaster, was traveling the states looking for the next get rich quick scheme or job. Then, “miraculously” in 1844, he shows a letter from “Joseph Smith” naming him heir to the Mormon Church. He also produces three clay tablets, with unknown symbols etched on them that only he can “translate.” Before Young can dismiss this rival, he has to flee with his followers to Utah to escape federal charges of counterfeit. This leaves Strang to consolidate the scraps utilizing the tricks of “a confidence man.” Through the most outlandish methods you will ever read, Strang takes over Beaver Island in Lake Michigan and sets himself up as self-proclaimed King – with diadem and scepter- of a Mormon colony. To maintain control, Strang encourages his followers to steal from, attack and oust “the gentiles.” At one point he is even captured in a night raid, but the court fails to convict without sufficient proof. He becomes judge and jury, and is even elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, because of course the votes were unanimous. But it’s still not enough for Strang’s ego, and he fights for the governorship of Utah to oust Brigham Young. But just like Young, Strang’s life will end in the most violent way.

“King of Confidence” is incredibly engaging, and you will not want to put it down. Thankfully the author didn't spend chapter upon chapter on the formation of the Church. Smith is dead by this time, and Young is leading a whole other branch of Mormonism. The two appear only as needed, and Strang’s escapades are so wild that there’s no need for filler. We also get to know Mary, his wife, who has the patience of a saint and refuses to let her children join the Church. She is often left destitute by her husband and is eventually kicked off the island. But not before Strang marries Elvira Field and 3 others to replace her. Strang’s hypocrisy of practicing polygamy and preaching against it rankles his followers as you can imagine. You get to know Strang’s cronies as well, which include outcasts like “Dr.” Atkyn, con artists like John C. Bennett and violent muscle men like Jonathan and Isaac Pierce. Overall an amazing read and before you think to yourself, "how could anyone fall for this?" One can easily draw similarities between Strang's "confidence man" image and certain political personalities of today. show less

The impetus for this book was a news story about a man, Gilbert Bland, who was caught stealing maps from the Peabody Library in 1995. As it turned out, this was the tip of the iceberg, as he had already hit many other libraries. Miles Harvey became fascinated by the story and tried to learn more about it. This book is the result of his research.

Unfortunately, Harvey was never able to interview Bland to learn more about his life and his motives, because Bland just did not want to talk to show more anyone. But Harvey does delve deeply into the world of maps. He gives us a detailed history of maps and map making, the recent surge in interest in collecting maps leading to big increases in price, and a history of map theft, which is apparently a very long-standing tradition. As it turns out, maps were often state secrets, heavily guarded, and objects for theft by other countries.

Harvey also looks into the problem of theft from libraries. He spoke to several librarians and saw the damage that had been done to rare and valuable books mutilated by the thief. Since he was never able to speak to Bland, he investigates the public records of the man, tracing his history in the army and previous run-ins with the law. He also spoke to map dealers and collectors, to understand the passion for collecting maps. He interviewed psychologists who have studied the psychology of collecting. And he spoke to the FBI who had recovered a lot of the stolen maps and were attempting to return them to the libraries where they belonged--a difficult task, as it turned out. In the end, Harvey learns more about himself than he does about Bland.

I found this to be a fascinating tale, and the history of maps and map theft was just as fascinating. This book might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I certainly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in maps. show less

As a Michigan native who once spent a family week on Beaver Island as a kid, I couldn't pass this one up. I knew only barely that once upon a time there had been a weird guy who proclaimed himself king of the island, and now Miles Harvey has given us the full, sensational, lurid, melodramatic scoop. The mid-19th century antebellum period was an inflammatory time in American history, with all manner of cults, sects, spiritualists, con men, zealots, and flim-flam... up to and including the show more Mormons (see Jon Krakauer's eye-opening [b: Under the Banner of God|18207879|Victory Under the Banners of God|Vinton C De Villiers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374638874l/18207879._SX50_.jpg|25627848] for some background useful to reading this one). James Strang hailed from a region in western New York state that was such a hotbed of utopians and kooks it was known as the "Burned-Over District." John Brown was from there too.

James was an odd kid. As a teenager, he decided his destiny was to be a great leader, and the reasonable way to achieve that was for him to marry a certain teen-aged girl of royal family in England named Victoria. Right, that ought to do it. He was intense, driven, smart, and became a Mormon and a lawyer who could outtalk most of his adversaries. He married young, and his wife couldn't stand him. Once in the Mormon ranks, he wrangled and connived and manipulated his way up the echelons. But it was never enough for James. New York, Wisconsin, up into Michigan, where there was this large island in the lake that was just sitting there, not being used by anybody (except, um, some native Americans, hardy fishermen, and farmers). It belonged to the federal government and who cares about that, so how perfect would it be for a kingdom that was only waiting for a King! His wife didn't last too long there after he went off and he picked up a young man he introduced as his nephew and set to work as a dedicated, clever secretary. Only he wasn't a nephew... *she* was an ambitious young woman he'd married on a trip to New York, and passed as his nephew assistant for over a year. Even though he spouted opposition to "plural marriage," he seemed to like "spiritual wives" just fine and produced several very corporeal offspring among four wives. He robbed, stole, lied and bullied his way over a few hundred sad souls, stuffing ballot boxes, changing political parties, evading arrests and convictions, to become a state legislator in Lansing. (Let's be fair: he was an ardent abolitionist.) His minions staged piratical raids on passing ships, farms, and towns along Lake Michigan's coastline. He finally crossed a line for one local on the island who had refused to become a Mormon, and whose wife declined to wear the pantaloons Strang had decreed was required for all women on the island. The population splintered, coalesced, and it all came to a bloody end as the officer of a military ship in the harbor hummed a tune and looked the other way.

Harvey tells this dramatic tale a bit in the style of the time, with chapter headings like "In which various people whip their neighbors, bludgeon their colleagues, hack their enemies to death, and bring the United States to the verge of civil war while James Strang insists there's absolutely nothing to worry about." He lives up to the billing, with all manner of scoundrels and drinking and fighting and politics. Strang was so very strange, driven to the point of megalomania, that I wish Harvey had allowed himself a little armchair psychologizing of his subject: the grandiosity, the utter amorality of his behavior while professing deep religious belief (never mind that he made a lot of it up). Was he just crazy? Was he a sociopath or a psychopath? Did he *really* hear angels, or was all of it a scam? Harvey doesn't choose to speculate. Nearly 75 pages of notes and bibliography; and about a full page devoted to listing by name the librarians who helped him (which endears him to me forever). Loads of fun to read, and once again, a timely reminder of the damage that demagogues do. show less