Leland A. Fetzer

Leland Fetzer, the son of a part-time mine owner, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He spent thirty years as a San Diego State University professor specializing in Russian. Retired from teaching, Dr. Fetzer built a home in Julian's North Peak, a subject he explored in his collection of essays, A Year in the Cuyamacas. His book, A Good Camp, explores San Diego's Gold Rush in detail; another of his local history titles is San Diego County Place Names, A to Z. Dr. Fetzer is a popular speaker who lives with his wife in San Diego and Julian.

Bernard Devoto and the Mormon Tradition

Articles/Essays – Volume 06, No. 3

The career of Bernard DeVoto, the foremost writer and one of the greatest intellectual forces whom Utah has produced in this country, was conspicuously marked by achievements and honors. He wrote five novels, three books devoted to the history of the West, a classic study of Mark Twain, a stimulating study on the relationship between history and literature, another on the interdependence between psychology and literature, three volumes of essays which may serve as a chronicle of the issues dominating American life for twenty-five years (1930-1955), hundreds of reviews and articles on an astonishing range of topics, a monthly column for more than twenty years in America’s most widely read serious journal (Harper’s), and introductions to many books by other authors.

Tolstoy and Mormonism

Articles/Essays – Volume 06, No. 1

Although Tolstoy is remembered today as a great novelist, short story writer and dramatist—the Russians consider him to be nearly as significant as Shakespeare in world literature—he would no doubt prefer to be re membered…

Russian Writers Look at Mormon Manners, 1857-72

Articles/Essays – Volume 13, No. 1

The early years of the reign of Alexander II were among the most stirring in Russian history. After the repressive tenure of his father, Alexander brought hopes for innovation and projects for reform which the…