I've recently become interested in early Mormon history, but my knowledge is just reading through the Wikipedia articles and the like. I'm hoping to learn more about Joseph Smith specifically and the early Mormon days more generally. I've seen Kingdom of Nauvoo by Benjamin Park recommended on here and plan to read it. I've seen others mention Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman, but I'm not certain how it is regarded by historians. Any recommendations for this period and Joseph Smith would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
By far the most comprehensive work is History of the Church by B. H. Roberts. The first six volumes (it's a seven volume work) are focused on Smith, the seventh volume chronicles the Mormon exodus after his death. Towards the last few years of Joseph Smith's life the books document his actions and sermons nearly every day. Roberts was a faithful Mormon so the book assumes all the supernatural claims are true.
D. Michael Quinn's The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power offers a more critical view, collected from many different sources, both Mormon and non Mormon, but it's more about the founding of the organization, not specifically about Joseph Smith.