Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
This extraordinary work of investigative journalism by Jon Krakauer takes readers inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities, where some 40,000 people still practice polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God.
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Readers say *Under the Banner of Heaven* offers a compelling blend of true crime and religious history, providing a deep dive into Mormon fundamentali...
I didn’t read it. I watched the series. If fucked me up a bit and greatly increased my suspicions of LDS/Mormons as well as organized religion in general. All Cults!
4/5 stars
I found this book very interesting. The author uses the crimes committed by the Lafferty brothers to examine mormon fundamentalism, all the way from the humble beginnings of the religion until present day. I was very much enthralled by the history itself, maybe because I'm a history nerd. The description of the crimes committed against and by the mormons during the foundation of their towns had me glued to my kindle.
Having said that I found the book a bit disjointed a couple of times. While I think the use of a shocking event as a starting point and a way to string together the different points the author wanted to make was a good idea, sometimes it took to long to get back to the main crime to the point that I had forgotten where we left off.
The author tried to include everything he had found, and I understand the inclination but in giving all the polygamous sects a little bit of spotlight he never really dug deep into them. This last observation didn't bother me so much since I have seen documentaries like Keep Sweet over on Netflix, but if you haven't you might find youself confused. I will also say that the author doesn't seem to care much for mormons (and even religion as a whole) and it shows, which may rub some people the wrong way.
I found this book very interesting. The author uses the crimes committed by the Lafferty brothers to examine mormon fundamentalism, all the way from the humble beginnings of the religion until present day. I was very much enthralled by the history itself, maybe because I'm a history nerd. The description of the crimes committed against and by the mormons during the foundation of their towns had me glued to my kindle.
Having said that I found the book a bit disjointed a couple of times. While I think the use of a shocking event as a starting point and a way to string together the different points the author wanted to make was a good idea, sometimes it took to long to get back to the main crime to the point that I had forgotten where we left off.
The author tried to include everything he had found, and I understand the inclination but in giving all the polygamous sects a little bit of spotlight he never really dug deep into them. This last observation didn't bother me so much since I have seen documentaries like Keep Sweet over on Netflix, but if you haven't you might find youself confused. I will also say that the author doesn't seem to care much for mormons (and even religion as a whole) and it shows, which may rub some people the wrong way.
Wow… this book was amazing and full of great information. I learned a lot not just about the murders of Brenda and Erica but also the Mormon faith.
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