In 1940 Edmund Wilson was the undisputed big dog of American letters. Vladimir Nabokov was a near-penniless Russian exile seeking asylum in the States. Wilson became a mentor to Nabokov and their intimate friendship blossomed over a shared interest in all things Russian. But then came Lolita, and suddenly Nabokov was the big (and very rich) dog. Finally the feud erupted in full when Nabokov published an unreadable literal translation of Pushkin’s famously untranslatable verse novel Eugene Onegin. Wilson attacked his friend’s translation in The New York Review of Books. Nabokov counterattacked in the same publication. Back and forth the increasingly aggressive letters volleyed until their friendship was reduced to ashes by the narcissism of small differences.

In AMERICAN CRUCIFIXION, Alex Beam tells how Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of Mormonism, went from charismatic leader to public enemy: How his most seismic revelation --- the doctrine of polygamy --- created a rift among his people; how that schism turned to violence; and how, ultimately, Smith could not escape the consequences of his ambition and pride.