Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Under the Banner of Heaven caught my eye in the bookstore for two reasons: first, it was by Jon Krakauer, and second it was about the Lafferty murders and the Mormon church. Krakauer's books have been incredible and I have always been fascinated by the Mormon faith. This book is very readable, it captured my attention throughout, and it is balanced which allows the reader to really churn over the information in his head and go from there. Great read, I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys history.
Rating: 
Summary: A selective historical & present day perspective of Mormons
Review: Having read Into Thin Air, I expected an accurate and educational perspective into the LDS Church. Unfortunately, his review of historical events is rather selective, although it does contain some accounts on the violence faced by early Mormon settlers. Rather than focus on the Church's ability to overcome the mistreatment it faced in it's early years, he notes what he feels to be an environment that fosters behavior like that exhibited by the books main personalities. Krakauer intertwines chapters of early Church history and the radical Lafferty brothers. Yet, in doing so, he makes the Lafferty's reprehensible actions appear somewhat commonplace or representative of a greater number of Church members than is actually true. In providing a detailed narrative of the Laffertys, self professed fundamentalist Mormons, Krakauer fails to recognize their disassociation with the present day LDS Church. While Krakauer acknowledges a longtime association with many Mormons throughout his life, he also professes a disbelief in God (except when he is driven to prayer on a dangerous precipice). This view leads him an approach that will lead many readers to question the authority exercised by any sizable religion, despite the good they may espouse to. Perhaps, Krakauer should stick to real adventure writing. A disappointing account from a usually reliable author.
Rating:
Summary: Krakauer....What A Writer
Review: You have to admit that Mormon history is fascinating. They're such a clean cut, all-American group, who would think that their short history is so political, so odd, so violent.But that aside, while the focus of the book is LDS and it's various sects and practitioners(primarily the Fundamentalists) Krakauer really gives insights to Fundamentalist movements of all stipes and creeds. Reading about Ron and Dan Lafferty is to gain some understanding of Fundamentalist Islam or even Eco-terrorists or any other purist crowd you care to think of.You can also see something of the odd relation that the parent organization secretly keeps with it's Fundamentalist sect. An example would be how loudly LDS professes that the polygamist FLDS is not part of their Mormon religion. At the same time these polygamist families are supported by the Utah Welfare system. In the case of Tom Green,his multi-family received for than $1 million over 10 years. $100 thousand dollars a year heading into a tiny dirt town in the middle of nowhere....you can't tell me that the LDS leadership was unaware of this and lots more like it. It is reminiscent of Saudi Arabia decrying terrorism at the same time it sends out money and recuits to those same terrorists. Krakauer is a wonderful writer and journalist. As an outsider to LDS I didn't find he was biased for or against any group. I think you'll see he has tried hard to let each group speak it's mind and you can provide the bias. So no matter what you think of this subject, you will enjoy Krakauer's style and I'm sure you will be surprised by what you will learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Comments on the Debate
Review: As a non-Mormon who finds the story of Mormonism compelling, I don't understand what the fuss over this book is about. Krakauer is not writing as a serious historian, he's writing as a popular author. Obviously, if you want to get closer to the "real" truth of Mormonism, whatever your perspective, you're going to have to read more then this book, and the author tells you that.
After I read this book, I read Fawn Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith, and well, if you think this book is controversial, you ain't seen nothing. And Brodie's book was published in 1954! Mormonism was created, by Joseph Smith, to be a sensationalistic kind of religion. Brodie even refers to the temple ritual as a "mystery cult", and the ritual was itself reformed back in 1990. I think you can meaure the power of idea by seeing how often people go to extremes to defend their conception of the idea. That doesn't mean the extremist are right or that the idea is bad, it's just a testament to the POWER of that idea.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating exploration of the nature of fanaticism
Review: Whatever you may think of the way Jon Krakauer portrays the Mormon faith, he does an excellent job of presenting the foundation upon which he tells the main story... the Lafferty brothers' brutal murder of their sister-in-law and 15-month old niece. Mainline and Fundamentalist Mormons may not like the way their founders are portrayed, but beyond that, Krakauer explores the roots of fanaticism... both religious and political. This book does not necessarily challenge religious faith, belief in G-d, or even strong convictions. It does explore why these beliefs may turn harmful; through lack of empathy and absolute conviction of the righteousness of their acts... whether that is cheating, lying, kidnapping, rape or murder.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Reading, But Misses The Point
Review: Jon Krakauer is a gifted storyteller. His masterpiece is "Into the Wild", his gripping portrait of one young extremist's inexorable self-destruction on the American frontier. He returns to the themes of the allure and dangers of extremism and the West in "Under The Banner of Heaven." Most of the material in this book will not be news to inhabitants of Utah. We are all too familiar with the grotesque saga of the Laffertys. And most historically literate Mormons already know the stories of 19th-century frontier Mormonism that Krakauer relates. Although some of the more horrific details of life in fundamentalist communities are new, and chilling. The town of Bountiful, British Columbia sounds like it could come from a Stephen King novel. This is a riveting, fascinating read. I finished it in one night. Krakauer artfully weaves together the Lafferty murders with the colorful history of the Mormons. But in the end, Krakauer misses the point. He has indeed brilliantly created a picture of Mormonism *as it must seem to the twisted minds of a couple of killers.* But it appears he spent no time talking to modern-day Mormons. He has no clue about how they successfully reconcile the difficulties of their faith. He simply assumes that people who have faith in religion or God are not to be taken seriously as rational people. They are fanatics, only a few steps away fron the Laffertys. This demeans not just the ordinary, average Mormon, but anyone who goes to church or even tries to live their lives according to what they believe God wants for them. In his authors note, Krakauer says his first intention was to write a book titled "History and Belief" about how "heroes" like Teilhard de Chardin and the Mormon historian D. Michael Quinn continue to believe; how they negotiate their faith in the face of the problems of modern life. There is no trace of that ambitious project in "Under the Banner of Heaven." Instead, the author got sucked into the dark world of the Laffertys. It makes for an excellent true-crime book. But it's a not-so-good window on religious faith.
Rating:
Summary: Disappoint
Review: The author treads no new ground. The book relies on second hand sources to try and expose the Latter-day Saint Church. Not until the last paragraph of the book does the author finally confess his own bias. I felt the book was a cheap shot at the Mormon Church and its members.
Rating:
Summary: facinating study of the sociology of religious belief
Review: This well-researched book, I think, really leads up to the chapter dealing with the legal debate over the Lafferty brothers' sanity. The problem the law wrestled with circled around the fact that most people in this society, particularly in Utah, have views similar to the killers. Krakauer doesn't really give his take on this. My less objective view is that in a society where people are strongly encouraged to believe in invisible superbeings who give you orders and can punish you if you don't obey, some of the dimmer bulbs are going to take this notion and run with it. Most people are plugged into reality enough to ignore the parts of their beliefs which will get somebody killed. Fanatics lack the skepticism needed to keep them sane. The book is also a terriffic thriller!!!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but Fatally Flawed
Review: I was at first attracted to this book by its subject matter. I have known many Mormons, but not known anything about their faith, and Under the Banner of Heaven is described on the cover as a story of a violent faith. But, this subtitle is what causes the book's downfall. Krakauer had too many ideas for what to write about, and the result is an amalgamation of different, mainly unconnected topics. He starts by describing a murder by fundamentalist Mormons, then writes about a fundamentalist community, then writes about Elizabeth Smart, then moves on to the origins of Mormonism. This cycle continues throughout the rest of the book. Different topics are introduced but there is no cohesion, they are never convincingly related to each other. The information within the book is interesting and enlightening, but the book as a whole does not work. Essentially, Krakauer strung together random, interesting facts about Mormonism, and called it a book. There were parts where I had no idea what relevance a topic had to the surrounding chapters. For an overview of most topics relating to the Mormon Church, this is a good book, but don't come looking for a book as taut and driven as Into Thin Air.
Rating:
Summary: Real Eye Opener
Review: While reading the Salt Lake Tribune I notice an article that LDS church leaders were encouraging their flock to ignore this number one best seller on the non-fiction list. I decided it must be worth reading. My goodness, what an education I got while turning the pages...non stop. My wife also rates this a five star "must read" book. I used to think the LDS church was more of a cult than a religion...now that I've completed reading Under The Banner Of Heaven I think I was right. The downtown library has a waiting list an arm long and it took me a week and a half to find this book in the Salt Lake City valley. This book may or may not start arguements, but it certainly will be cause for many debates. Read it! You won't be disappointed.
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