NONFICTION

The Vanishing Messiah: The Life and Resurrections of Francis Schlatter

by David N. Wetzel
Univ. of Iowa. Jun. 2016. 262p. illus. notes. index. ISBN 9781609384234. pap. $19.95. BIOG
COPY ISBN
Francis Schlatter (1856–96) gained popularity in the 19th century as a faith healer and pretender to the identity of Jesus Christ. Wetzel (I Looked in the Brook and Saw a Face) pens a riveting tale of Schlatter as the "New Mexico Messiah" in this meticulously researched volume. Particularly, the author investigates the enigmatic disappearance of Schlatter at the height of his notoriety in 1895 and throws suspicion on his subsequent "death" and the many claimants to his legacy as the 20th century dawned. We join Wetzel in an entertaining narrative of tracking down evidence of the likely fate of Schlatter and then are taken through the process of discerning fact from fiction; imposters from the genuine.
VERDICT This account is more thoroughly researched and documented than Conger Beasley's Messiah: The Life and Times of Francis Schlatter and Bill Blanning's Denver's Extraordinary Faith-Healing Messiah. However, it will appeal to a rather limited readership interested in faith healing or the history of the American Southwest at the end of the 19th century.
Reviewed by Daniel Wigner, South Plains Coll., Lubbock, TX , Apr 01, 2016
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