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This book was written in 1945 by Mrs. Fawn M. Brodie.
This book is an biography of the life of the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. To my knowledge it is also the first book of this type.
This book dealt with all aspects of Joseph's life, starting with his ancestory and background. Mrs. Brodie did extensive research into Joseph's life before forming his religion, and also suggested some of the reasonings behind why he acted as he did.
Along the way you'll also learn the basic beliefs and foundation of Mormonism and how it progressed throughout Joseph's life.
Mrs. Brodie supplied footnotes and references for all of her work. It is written in an easy style that assumes the reader knows little about Mormonism but doesn't make the reader feel stupid because of it.
Reaction to her book among Mormons was as expected, they vilified her. She was excommuicated for it and it was ironic that her uncle, David O'McKay, was a member of the twelve apostles at the time (and later became Prophet.) Although he refused to read her book, a respected Mormon scholar named J. Reuben Clark asked the Deseret News to publish his long review of No Man Knows My History. In this review he did everything he could to discredit her, all pretty weak in my opinion.
The only thing I didn't like about this book is Mrs. Brodie trying to play psychologist. She assigns motives to some of Joseph's actions as though they was made known to her. Other than that it's a historically sound book and one I'd recommend as the first book to read.