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Y Magazine > Writers > Richard H. Cracroft

Richard H. Cracroft

Research

On Being “Anxiously Engaged in a Good [Book]”

Common and spiritual sense shout to us that thoughtful and discriminating reading can not be ignored.

books stacked on top of each other with one book standing upright on top of this stack of books..

Research

Tracing the Great Plan of Happiness

Latter-day Saints’ distinctive worldview finds its way into most everything they write.

Faith

Literary Journeys

A few recent books offer fictional journeys and nonfictional sidetrips.

Behold the Man

Research

LDS Readers Take Their Reading Very Serially

There is no doubt about it—we live in the golden age of the Latter-day Saint serial novel.

No Good Stopping Place
Summer 2011
A good book in hand can foster a milieu of eternal progression.
Penultimate Picks
Spring 2011
Dr. Cracroft prescribes several “gotta-read” books for your enjoyment.
Books to Enlarge Our Souls
Winter 2011
Stories from exemplary lives can inspire and direct us.
Footprints on the Sands of Time
Fall 2010
Recent biographies can inspire readers with glimpses of exemplary lives.
One Eternal Round
Summer 2010
BYU authors share stories, insights, and comments on things eternal.
Great People, Great Endeavors, Great Books
Spring 2010
Inspiring stories from athletes and others seeking spiritual glory.
Seeking the Light
Winter 2010
Five books to help guide you through this mortal journey.
A Trio of Good Books
Fall 2009
Enjoy works about Eliza R. Snow, Thomas L. Kane, and cultural reinvention.
Something for Everyone
Summer 2009
Alumni writers enrich readers with their takes on life.
Errands from the Lord
Winter 2009
Insights into Joseph Smith, his “Beloved Emma,” and inspiring sermons from Elder Packer and Elder Holland.
Historical Miscellanea
Fall 2008
Educated perspectives shed light on the significant people and events of yesteryear.
There Are Various Ways to Get It Done
Summer 2008
Learning from the lives of Henry Eyring, Willard and Rebecca Bean, Kim B. Clark, and J. Golden Kimball.
The Essence of a People
Spring 2008
Mormon culture, Relief Society, and the Book of Mormon.
YA Novels and Mormon Memoirs
Winter 2008
Grads capture a nation of young readers; other authors share stories of growing up Mormon.
Revitalizing Lived Lives
Fall 2007
Diaries, history, poetry, and fiction can all give insight into people and times gone by.
Orson Scott Card’s “Love Song”
Summer 2007
Reissued in hardback, Card’s excellent Saints is little known among Latter-day Saint readers.
Tragedy and Inspiration
Spring 2007
Recent Latter-day Saint histories show that hard work prefigures the glory.
Footprints on the Sands of Time
Winter 2007
Biographies allow us to follow the journeys of great men and women.
Seeing Through a Glass Fictionally
Fall 2006
Writers of LDS historical fiction show that a spoonful of fiction helps the history go down.
Knowing Brother Joseph Again
Summer 2006
New biographies acquaint another generation with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Cracroft’s Picks–Help Yourself to These Self-Help Books
Winter 2006
These alumni have written books on topics that can help you in your life.
Quickening Paces and Lengthening Strides
Winter 2006
A new biography measures the mighty steps taken by a latter-day prophet.
The Continuing Outpour of Alumni Books
Summer 2005
With a variety of histories, novels, and picture books, alumni titles just keep coming.
Latter-Day and Olympic Lessons
Winter 2005
Recent titles offer insights into management, Church history, and doctrine.
Celebrating the Human Spirit
Fall 2004
Recent LDS fiction and nonfiction are records of "human conduct under fire."
Musical Notes
Summer 2004
BYU’s recording label, has produced some 40 music CDs featuring BYU performing groups and faculty members.
Mormon Lives in Fact and Fiction
Summer 2004
Glimpses at Latter-Day Saint lives will fill up your summer reading.
“Free at Last”
Spring 2004
Two new novels celebrate racial equality and freedom.
Illuminating Manuscripts
Winter 2004
Book of Mormon scholars and a latter-day Apostle provide enlightenment for the LDS reader.
More Cracroft Picks: A Quartet of Recent Novels
Fall 2003
Books by BYU alumni abound in the national and Latter-day Saints markets.
A Blue and White Cornucopia
Fall 2003
Books by BYU alumni abound in the national and Latter-day Saint markets.
A BYU Treasure
Summer 2003
A new biography of Hugh W. Nibley aptly defines the scholar-disciple.
Surveying New And Old Latter-Day Saint Classics
Spring 2003
LDS authors continue to build on the foundation of Mormon literary classics.
“Preach the Gospel. And If Necessary, Use Words”
Fall 2002
I've always liked the maxim attributed to St. Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel. And if necessary, use words."
The Joy of Reading–Shared
Summer 2002
READING is usually a solitary pleasure, but that pleasure is multiplied when we talk about books with friends.
Enriching Life Through Good Books
Spring 2002
Art and literature and science, secondary to life, enable mortals to understand life better and to live more fully.
The Saint-Making Experience
Winter 2002
Recent literary and cinematic additions portray and perform missionary work.
Waxing Bookish
Fall 2001
Because the books we read become part and parcel of our souls, they should be selected with some attention.
A Bibliophile’s Paradise
Summer 2001
You’ll find something somewhere in this issue’s picks to support you in your bibliomania.
Lund, Card, Hughes: Three New Books by Three Old Friends
Spring 2001
We are all the richer for these new old friends.
Eternal Perspectives in Print
Winter 2001
For us plodding disciples of Christ, reading these books can help us to have greater understanding in life.
The Atonement: Understanding “The Central Act of Human History”
Fall 2000
Before the miracle of the Atonement, everything else pales into relative insignificance. These books explain why.
President Gordon B. Hinckley Takes the Lead in Standing for Something
Summer 2000
Reading these books may very well be best thing for your life.
Millennia, Centuries, Decades Are Told in the Biographies of Great Human Beings
Spring 2000
There is much to be gained from studying the lives of Latter-day Saints who have fought the fight and stayed true.
A Literary Cornucopia: Choosing “Out of the Best Books” at Christmastime
Winter 1999
Our cup runneth over– with good books!
Seeing Clearly Through Others’ Eyes: Experiencing a Cluster of Recent Good Books
Fall 1999
"To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, all in one"
On the Way to Becoming “Fine Old high Priests”: Telling the Real Mormon Story
Summer 1999
Even more than most mortals, Latter-day Saints depend on stories to give meaning to their existence.
Many Good Things Come in (Literary) Series
Spring 1999
“The very shape of” popular Mormon fiction in the past decade has frequently found expression in the form of series.
BYU Alumni Authors: Anxiously Engaged in Writing “the Best Books”
Fall 1998
Sample these recent books by an impressive array of BYU alumni.
“With Proper Lessons Taught Therein”: The Flourishing of Home Literature
Summer 1998
Learn of the good that can come out of novels written by Latter-Day Saints.
The LDS Literary Version of “Das Ewig-Weibliche” Continues to Stir and Inspire
Spring 1998
The strong voices of faithful people inspire us to do and be better.
The Right Book: The Enduring Gift at Christmas
Winter 1998
The best and most enduring gift I can receive at Christmastime–or any time, for that matter–is a good Book.
Reading Sesquicentennially: Tracking the Mormon Pioneers
Summer 1997
I direct your attention to a few of the many recently published books which recount aspects of the early pioneers.
The Ongoing Search for Our Own “Sacred Books”: Some Recent Nominations
Spring 1997
May we all run across a book which bursts upon our souls with refreshing insight and revelation.
For Book Lovers at Christmas: Some Seasonal Suggestions
Fall 1996
Accompany me through a selection of recent books written by or about BYU alumni, all suitable for Christmas list.
“Sweet Is Thy Word”: Some Recent Books Herald the Godspell
Summer 1996
Latter-day Saints soon learn why we are called “the people of the book.”
“Now, How I See It…”: Some Illustrated, Bookish Thoughts on Perspective
Spring 1996
At the very moment the event happens, we begin to customize and individualize “reality”
An Exercise in Literary Peripateticism: Recent LDS Books by BYU Alumni
Winter 1996
Join me on a quick-paced, mind-swinging jog-walk through a selection of recent books written by alumni of BYU.