Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

WOW!!!! FABULOUS READING! FASCINATING! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I have been in a reading slump with not too much interest in books for the last few years, well after reading this I am a total reader again! After my ski trip to Utah this winter I was a bit fascinated with the culture there...so this book was immediately appealing. It reads like an in depth newspaper article or nat. geo. article, but 1000x cooler! The layers are intense and complicated, but the author does an excellent job going back and forth. I was easily able to remember names and relationships combined with the history. To the Mormons who freak out that this book portrays the Church in a bad light- I don't think it does. The Mormon histroy is a more recent history, more memorable because of that. Last time I checked the Catholic Church has just as violent and cultish history! But we forget because it was at least 200 years to 2000 years back. Religion evolves; the Mormons evolved waaay faster than the Catholics did! The uniqueness of this book is the position that Mormonism is a inherently American religion; the philosophies are so uniquely American, that concept is an amazing exploration into what it means to be an American. The stories of the Mormons and the old west are sooo flippin cool! To an agnostic who was raised with no Christian background or belief- All the biblical stuff, book of mormon, old new test., saints, prophets, etc. are all meaningless to my frame of reference. At the end of this book Mormonism was no less legitamate or illegitamate than any other form of religion. It's funny when people say false religion and false prophets, because to someone who knows nothing of real prophets or "faith"...it just plays about as a fascinating invention of man. There is a chap. that decribes the murders, and I couldnt read it; it was extremely sad and gruesome. If youre a history buff with a short attention span this book is awesome!

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

"Under The Banner Of Heaven"

A thought provoking look into the world of the lives of those living within the extreme Mormon sects. The book includes interviews with those who have lived in these sects, some as victims and some who were convicted of crimes. The book goes back and forth from the founding of the Mormon Church and it's history and that of the fanatical sects that left the official church. A powerfully moving book with a wealth of information pertaining to the Mormon Church and of the leaders and lives of those living within the fringe sects. This book will astonish you on many levels. It will be disturbing at times. I feel this book was well written and extremely informative. A book to read if you are interested in a part of our society that most people might not even know of.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Typical Krakauer - Well researched and spellbinding

Great book. I have read every Krakauer book to date and am a real fan. I am still not sure why he. an admitted agnostic, wrote a book critical of the Mormom faith rather than his normal on-the-edge adventures. Even though, the book is atypical for Krakauer, it was a great read interweaving the history of the Morman religion with the recent fundamentalist break-off sects. Krakauer's research is impeccable and he presents his information in a very interesting, easily understood and enjoyable fashion. We read the book for our Book Club and had a great discussion of all of the issues. I look forward to reading Krakauer's next book with ledgendary Pat Tillman as the primary subject.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Latter Day Saints

Under the Banner of Heaven is a great read and well written. It clears up many conceptions about Latter Day Saints and the ruefulness of the fundamentalist. The writer tells us how the religion got started, by whom, and why. What I enjoyed was learning the history of the LDS without being bogged down with technical-speak and statistics. It¿s written like a fiction novel and is fast paced with twists and turns and mystery. I highly recommend Under the Banner of Heaven not only for the ability of its author to write about a challenging subject but for the ability of keeping me glued to his words page after page after page. Don¿t start this book unless you have time to devote to it because if you enjoy it as much as I did you won¿t want to put it down until you read the words `The End.¿

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Well written OBJECTIVE book!

As a native Utahn I am very familiar with the teachings of the LDS faith, have lived among Mormons'with little confrontation' most of my life, and do understand how members of the Mormon faith can easily take this book out of context and be offended by its theory. But one has to understand that the author clearly explains that the FLDS and the LDS are in fact very different, and he simply gives a general 'and well researched' history of how the FLDS church evolved from the mainline Mormon church, to supplement the story of the Lafferty Murders. If one'particularly LDS members' dive into this book with an agenda already in mind, I guarantee you will not like it one bit. But if one is purely interested in history and fact with an OBJECTIVE point of view, this will be an exceptional read.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

What a great book. Highly recommended.

This is perhaps one of the best books that I have read in the last few years. Truly informative, appears to have been well researched, and captivating. Dare I say, 'a page turner.'

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Ignorance and bias limit this misleading 'history'

Mr. Krakauer, in this error ridden diatribe against religion, makes so many errors of fact and logic that serious questions are raised regarding his competence and sincerity. As Prof T. Givens noted, 'To blame Judaism for Son of Sam would be anti-Semitic. To blame Mormonism for Dan Lafferty is no less an act of naked bigotry masquerading as journalistic investigation.' As Jane Lampman has noted in the The Christian Science Monitor, Krakauer's book 'delivers a skewed and misleading picture of a faith now practiced by 11 million people worldwide.' Perhaps Naomi Schaefer, in her review for the The Wall Street Journal put it best, when she wrote that Krakauer's book 'is all quite misleading.' Neurophysiologists may note that Mr. Krakauer's best excuse for producing this incompetently researched, deceptive and misleading book is that he spent so many weeks at high altitude with insufficient oxygen. One can only hope he beats a hasty retreat from subjects like history and religion -- subjects apparently far beyond his abilities. R. Chris Barden, Ph.D., J.D. Sun Valley, Idaho

3 out of 22 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

Jon Krakauer's most recent offering may be his most ambitious yet. Krakauer examines the grizzly murders committed by Ron and Dan Lafferty, supposedly as the result of a divine revelation. The Lafferty brothers were both members of a splinter sect that broke away from the mainstream Mormon religion, taking a fundamentalist view that the Mormon Church went astray when they relented to pressure from the federal government and abandoned the practice of polygamy. Krakauer bites off a pretty large bit trying to make sense of the bloody history of the Mormon Church (although probably no more bloody than the history of most religions), the nature of fundamentalism, and the fine line separating religious inspiration from insanity. The book is a fascinating read, and to Krakauer's credit he offers more questions than answers. The book does stray at times into areas that seemed to particularly interest Krakauer yet don't serve the narrative, and perhaps he should have presented more of the Mormon point of view (although there is a lengthy appendix in which Krakauer answers criticisms leveled by Mormon officials and scholars), but overall is an interesting examination of the complicated topic of murder in the name of God.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Don't waste your time on this book

Krakauer has only written this book to make a buck. The same reason he is now going to make it into a sensationalized movie.
The reasearch he did is so flawed concerning the LDS church, leaves me to believe that what he puts forth as fact through- out the book concerning the FLDS is also only half truths and hearsay. The false history he states about Joseph Smith and his testimony of what happened to him is so blatant that I decided to stop reading it at page 93. If you want to read the true history of the LDS church, The Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith go to the source; the preface of The Book of Mormon. Krakauer must have only read anti-mormon literature to present a comparison of the two churches. The LDS have nothing to do with the FLDS. Their only link being the original church before polygamy was abolished. To compare the two churches today is like comparing Christ and Satan. By their fruits ye shall know them.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Interesting read

This is a great book. A very interesting story and well written. I couldn't put it down.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent journalistic effort

I recently moved to Ogden, Utah and am seeking a better understanding of a culture driven by the LDS church. While this book recounts the events of a brutal double murder in southern Utah, at its heart is a story of the development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 'LDS'. Krakauer carefully distinguishes the FLDS 'Fundamentalist' from the mainstream church. At the same time, FLDS does emerge from an LDS tradition and history. Krakauer carefully explores the history of the church from Joseph Smith, through Brigham Young, to contemporary 'prophets' to explain how FLDS grew out of a dimension of the early church, now spurned by contemporary LDS members. At times I found myself agitated by some of the tendencies of the Mormon tradition. I have always been uncomfortable with what I perceive to be an irresponsible attitude favoring prolific reproduction. I am uncomfortable with the secrecy and lack of transparency with the church. I am uncomfortable with the clear patriarchal dimensions of their practices. Still, I respect many things I find here in Utah - among the people, their treatment of others outside the church, and what can be an incredibly generous attitude toward others. Krakauer's book has helped add dimension to my understanding of and even sympathy for what is a tumultuous history.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Under the Banner of Heaven Underperforms

The jacket of Under the Banner of Heaven describes Jon Krakauer's book about Mormon Fundamentalism as, 'vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction.' And I agree that it's vintage Krakauer, which is why can't rave about it. Krakauer has never delivered the gripping story I expect from him, despite the fascinating topics he chooses. Under the Banner of Heaven is a fluid, well-researched narrative that isn't captivating. The polygamous family tree of Mormon Fundamentalism is as confusing as the first 100 pages of a science fiction novel. I couldn't keep straight who was who or how they were connected, and I felt dragged through a history book in a jump-around 'let me show you this, then let me show you this' fashion. I didn't enjoy the book because I'm not sure what it was supposed to be. Krakauer confessed that the book as it turned out wasn't the book he set out to write (pg. 334). He intended 'to explore the inner trials of spiritual thinkers,' to analyze how intelligent people reconcile the contradictions between scientific and historical truth with faith in God. That book was to be called History and Belief, which is a rather academic title, and suggests why Under the Banner of Heaven read as stiff as a tradition-bound history department, belying the book's evocative title. I applaud Krakauer's talent and his honesty. In his remarks, he admits, 'I don't know what God is . . . In fact, I don't know if God even exists, although I confess that I sometimes find myself praying in times of great fear, or despair, or astonishment at a display of unexpected beauty . . . And if I remain in the dark about our purpose here, and the meaning of eternity, I have nevertheless arrived at an understanding of a few more modest truths: Most of us fear death. Most of us yearn to comprehend how we got here, and why - which is to say, most of us ache to know the love of our creator. And we will no doubt feel that ache, most of us, for as long as we happen to be alive.' I connect with the ache he mentions and with the questions that underpin his books, which is why I expect I'll read more of his books despite my disappointment with Under the Banner of Heaven.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An honest look at Mormonism

While I enjoyed many of Krakauer's other books, UTBOH was the most researched and well-documented of them all. Wake up Mormons, this is not a battle royal against your religion, rather a look into the beginnings of a religion that has begun to shape an entire region of America. How can you even say that Krakauer is biased against Mormoms? Not once did he come out and say that all Mormons were evil or try to distort facts. Also the conclusion makes one realize that Krakauer realizes he does not have all the answers the the Mormon religion or any other religion. He ends by saying that he does not yet know what he thinks. This book is written by a man who wanted to explore his own beliefs and the beliefs of everyone around when he was growing up in Corvellais, Oregon. Obviously there is some skepticism in the book, and how can there not be from a man who is not sure of what he believes? Also how can there not be when you look at the Mormon faith, a faith that believes God had sex with Mary, a faith that believes we can become God, a faith that originated with a man who coerced a 14 year old to have sex with him, a faith that is run by leaders who receive revelations directly from God. Read you Bibles please Mormons and realize that God says he is unchangeable from beginning to end (Hebrews 13:8). Realize Mormons that it is difficult for a nonbeliever to swallow all these things and not look on with some disbelief. Jon just lays out the incongruencies he saw all around as a child and reports them. He is not the anti-Christ, trying to rip apart your faith. Give such a confused spirit some room to write.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A truly important work

Truth be told, aside from the details of the Lafferty crimes (which are described with chilling detail), a lot of the information in Krakauer's new book was familiar to me (I had previously read Will Bagley's 'Blood of the Prophets,' another excellent text concerning the violent and extremist early days of the LDS faith). But, having said that, Krakauer's narrative flow, as usual, makes this a very compelling read. Further, the manner in which he clarifies the inherent dangers of some of Joseph Smith's pillar doctrines, by relating them to modern Mormon-fundamentalist practices (and the Lafferty's crimes) is truly frightening and thought provoking. This text should be required reading for any truly open-minded LDS church member. Krakauer almost completely avoids the usual inflammatory rhetoric of these skeptical examinations of religion, and the resulting portrait is even-handed, yet harrowing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Immensely informative and interesting

Krakauer is an excellent writer and is able to make any subject readable and interesting. He is good at exploring the human spirit, pondering what motivates people to do things like climb to the top of the earth, spend time alone in the wilderness. This book is not about sports, it is about the extremes of human behavior with religion as the subject. The book tells about the Mormon faith, how it started, changes that have come about and how groups that have split off have differed. Krakauer concentrates on fundamentalist groups, and this book is really about abuses of religious beliefs, a timely topic. What causes people to take on these extremist views and to believe that God wants them to harm other people? That is the question I found myself asking as I read the book. And Krakauer answers remarkably well for a layperson, neither a theologian nor psychologist. He includes many excerpts from related materials (listed in the Bibliography,) and some of that material is as interesting as the story he relates about the Latter-day Saints. A very readable book written from the viewpoint of a cruious person, it is immensely informative and interesting.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One major flaw

The author of this book has collected totally one-sided data. He has not seeked out or explored the input from current mainstream Mormon Church leaders to any extent. Why would a supposedly unbiased author want to write a documentary without considering both sides of the coin?

1 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Greatly disappointed

Into Thin Air: great! Under the Banner of Heaven: bad. Nothing Krakauer reveals is 'new', he has simply given it a different slant to make it fit the premise for this book. It reads, at times, only slightly less sensationally than the anti-Mormon literature you can get at the Cummorah Pageant that Krakauer refers to. I was bored, easily distracted, and lost interest in the book quickly. I will forever see this book on my bookshelf and wonder why? Why is it there? Why did I buy it? Can I get a refund? Maybe through personal revelation I might find an answer.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

fair-maybe borrow it from someone or "share" it from your Nook

The information is interesting but he tends to wander around a lot in my opinion. It is a lot of information with LOTS of players so it is difficult to keep up with who is who and how they are all related. But-I did learn a lot about the Mormon religion.

I love his books.

A great read.

Great Book -- A must read!

I live in Utah part of the year. Many of the places referred to by Krakauer are in my backyard. This is a compelling book about the FLDS, the history of the Mormon Church and the dark side of the religion. Krakauer did it again!