Matthew Bowman, "The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith" (2012)

Bowman offers a generally 'soft' but not unreservedly sympathetic record of the evolution of the Latter Day Saints.

The New York Times has already run a review of this book that pretty much sums up my take.

In short, Bowman details the stories of the early years of the church, examining accounts of how Joseph Smith came to present himself as a prophet and recipient of the updated Word of God. The author offers a general account of the theological pillars of 'Mormonism', giving close attention to the emergence of values such as communalism, polygamy, and the importance of genealogical research to the faith. The book pays attention to a number of challenges that adherents to the religion encountered during the late 19th and early 20th-centuries, from state persecution of polygamy, rejection of communal ownership, and concerns regarding anti-feminist and racist positions regarding the hierarchy of the church.