Product Description

One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley's genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study- all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #185785 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

About the Author
Hugh Nibley received his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkley, in 1938 and was a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. He was widely recognized for his brilliant mind, his linguistic abilities, and his his concern with detail. He served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Switzerland and Germany and worked in military intelligence during World War II. He was a prolific writer and a gifted lecturer. Dr. Nibley passed away Febuary 2005.

Customer Reviews

Luminous Fragments from the Lifework of a Genius
This delightful little volume (seventeenth in a long series on the works of the late Hugh Nibley, beginning with Old Testament and Related Studies (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley)) is really a collection of miscellaneous documents, speeches and short monographs from a variety of sources. The book is divided into six parts, including works of autobiography, interviews, book reviews, forwards and personal documents by Nibley, concluding with an excellent section on Temples.

The miscellaneous nature of this book might be a harbinger that we are approaching the end of the Nibley documents, hopefully to be crowned in the not distant future with Nibley's yet unpublished magnum opus, "One Eternal Round." But, although the book seems to be without a unifying theme like previous books in the series, yet it contains a goldmine of precious little nuggets which will be discovered and hoarded by the careful reader. In that respect, it calls to mind this journal entry by Thoreau: "The art which only gilds the surface and demands merely a superficial polish, without reaching to the core, is but varnish and filigree. But the work of genius is rough-hewn from the first, because it anticipates the lapse of time and has an ingrained polish, which still appears when fragments are broken off. . . . Like the diamond, it has only to be cut to be polished, and its surface is a window to its interior splendors." (Henry David Thoreau, The Journal of Henry D. Thoreau (In Two Volumes 1962), August 28, 1841). This little volume may be the finest illustration of Thoreau's words--even the miscellany of Nibley's lifework "reaches to the core" with a deep, ingrained luster. And, like a diamond, the fragments of his work sparkle like diamonds!

Additional comments, both negative and positive:

Negative comments:

1. The lack of a unified theme hurts the book somewhat. It lacks the vast punch and sweep of such earlier presentations as Approaching Zion (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol 9)and Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment (Nibley, Hugh, Works. V. 16.). Since those books deserved more than five stars, I am still content to award five to this work.

2. I was greatly put off in reading the Foreword by Editor Stephen D. Ricks, which felt uncharacteristically pompous and self-important. Indeed, for the first three pages I wondered if I was reading a book about Ricks himself and not Nibley (Ricks refers to himself as "... a studious and highly energetic young man..."; states that Nibley "blazed the trail for me..."; and then spends most of a page discussing his earliest encounters with Nibley including seeing Nibley sitting on the stand in Church "... when I was a young boy.") (After reading the Foreword, I wondered if Ricks had even read Nibley's letter on page 125 entitled "Nobody to Blame," in which he quotes Justice Learned Hand in the 1936 case of Burton v. Crowell Publishing Co.--a famous libel case--"It is indeed not true that all disagreeable comment is actionable; a man must not be too thin-skinned or a self-important prig.") Fortunately for us, the book itself is infinitely superior to its uninviting Foreword. I forgive Ricks a thousand-fold for the excellent book which he assisted in bringing forth.

Now a few positive comments--representative diamonds culled from my first reading:

Representative Diamond No. 1: Nibley's excellent little autobiography, "Some Very Vital Statistics," is delightfully iconoclastic, energetic and humorous--focusing on the way in which he "conformed to those patterns of intellectual nonconformity." He discusses his "four regrettable years at UCLA," but then notes (in academic fairness) that he found that at BYU "everyone claimed to be an expert on the ancient world--the library did in fact possess one Greek book (Homer) and one Latin book (Manilius), even if nobody could read them..."

Representative Diamond No. 2: Jerry Johnston's little article entitled "A legendary Passion for Books and Languages," contains Nibley's account of his six favorite books of all time, including a couple of surprises.

Representative Diamond No. 3: There is a very moving essay entitled "The Christmas Quest," which is so insightful and beautifully written. It focuses on the historical development and present practice of Christmas. "Christmas," says Nibley, "is a small light in a great darkness." It is a "moment of lucidity" returning once a year to a world which denies revelation, a time when "men are permitted to hope" before returning to the "old disastrous routine." Powerful and eloquent stuff.

Representative Diamond No. 4: "A House of Glory" is the title given to a 1993 talk by Nibley at BYU, and which shows the master teacher at his best. He goes verse by verse through D&C 109, showering the reader with a myriad insights.

This, and much, much more in this book which is truly "a window on the interior splendors" of Nibley's vast lifework.

Nibley's unique perspective
I have read a great deal of Nibley's writings and have never ceased to be amazed at his perspective on things. In this volume we get see some of the rare things he says about himself and a big variety of things he says about others and additional subjects. The largest section contains several essays of his on temples.

When I first saw this book, I was afraid that the lack of a common theme would annoy me. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a great introduction to Nibley's thought and life. This would be a good sampler for someone who doesn't know much about Nibley to learn about his life and get a good idea of how his mind works.

As far at the material goes, I've seen maybe about half of it published in other locations, and the other half I hadn't read before. I understand from a review in the FARMS Review that about 9 of the 36 essays published in this book have never been published before, and 8 other were published in periodicals that are not widely available. The rest of been published in fairly accessible locations.

My favorite letter was probably "Nobody to Blame" (#17). This was a letter to a graduate student that had asked Nibley for his advise on whether or not to get a PhD in religion from BYU back in 1960. The response was a gem that not only criticized the weaknesses of BYU at that time (I hear it's better now), but it was a great essay on what a true education should be.

I also loved the essays on the temple. For anyone who has not read Nibley's books on the temple, this is a good place to get an overview on his thoughts and research on this subject.

This book is highly recommended. This is one I'll keep for reference.

great book !
this is a great book for mormons.it makes you think about the church and your place in the kingdom.