The Glass Looker Volume 2 details the treasure digging activities of the young Joseph Smith. (I wasn’t able to read Volume 1 since it’s out of print, but Volume 2 made sense to me on its own.) The artwork is great, especially the scary-looking toad. The end of each chapter provides quotes from the historical record so you know Elwood isn’t just making this up. Of course, the historical accounts are often contradictory and a lot of information is missing, so Elwood provides extensive notes in the back of the book justifying his narrative decisions.

The amount of work that went into this is impressive. Elwood researched the layout of the Smith family farm and did his best to determine which particular hill each treasure dig took place at. He also researched what types of animals would have been in the area and what time of year different crops would have been harvested. I was delighted to find out Alvin Smith had a white top hat. The attention to detail is amazing.

He presents the story the way people of the time told it, so supernatural events are depicted as actually occurring. Even those familiar with Mormon history may be surprised by a few of the details. There were several funny moments that made me laugh. I can’t wait for Volume 3!