Bill Hamblin's Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View

In 2000, a lengthy review of D. Michael Quinn's Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (rev. ed; 1998) was published by the late Bill Hamblin:

"That Old Black Magic"

So devastating was this view that one long-standing anti-Mormon was forced to admit the following:

There is evidence that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in activities at least significantly influenced by magic, but much of the evidence comes from the testimonies of people who knew the Smiths before Joseph published the Book of Mormon and who were for various reasons critical of the new religion. Quinn’s book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View provided an exhaustive (or at least exhausting) case for seeing magical objects and activities as pervasive in the lives of the Smiths family, though Mormon scholars such as Hamblin have effectively questioned many of the detail’s of Quinn’s argument (See also John Gee, “Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, revised and enlarged edition, by D. Michael Quinn,” FARMS Review of Books 12.2. [2000]:185-224). Nevertheless, some evidence of magical influences simply cannot be explained away. (Robert M. Bowman Jr., Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism [Tampa, Fla.: DeWard Publishing Company, 2020], 179)

John Gee's review, referenced above, can be found here:

"An Obstacle to Deeper Understanding"