In the book, Brooks demonstrated convincingly that the Mormon militia was responsible for the massacre, and that John D. Lee, the only militiaman executed, was effectively a scapegoat.

[6] Brooks writes, "While Brigham Young and other church authorities did not specifically order the massacre, they did preach sermons and set up social conditions that made it possible.

"[7] In Brooks' unflinching narrative, she painted the Massacre as an overreaction by the Mormon militia forces, one that was a tragedy for all sides, resulting in the death of settlers and the tarnishing of the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[9] "Brooks' honest examination of a topic many considered a taboo made The Mountain Meadows Massacre, like Brodie's book [No Man Knows My History (1945)], a milestone.

"[10] After Brooks's work was published to critical acclaim, the modest former Utah schoolteacher, a graduate of New York's Columbia University, campaigned for a proper memorial to those killed.