Under the Banner of Heaven

Rating:
Summary: "Beach Read" for those who think, question and learn
Review: "Under the Banner of Heaven," Mr. Krakauer's latest book, is one of the best, most even balanced works written about the many colorful and troublesome aspects of Mormon Church history and doctrine. Mr. Krakauer supplies rich background and historical context which, when paired with his engaging narrative, equate to a provocative and engrossing read. His work dares to pose interesting questions of any faith, illustrating religious fundamentalism is not unique to Islamic extremists by weaving a chilling account of two heinous murders committed in 1984 by Mormon fundamentalists throughout this book.

As a direct descendant of several of the early Mormon pioneer settlers (including polygamists) chronicled in Mr. Krakauer's book, I was also born and raised Mormon in Utah, served a LDS mission and attended Brigham Young University. In writing this book, Mr. Krakauer has enraged many current members of the LDS faith. Should anyone choose to take the time and read "Under the Banner of Heaven," most will find a fair minded objective exploration of fanatical religious fundamentalism which happens to share the same roots with the Mormon Church.

As a resident in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, I experienced first hand the negative effects violent religious faith can have. While busy trying to decipher the fundamentalistic beliefs of others in far off lands, it doesn't hurt to examine the history and fanatical behavior by those closer to home as well. Read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Not biased, by any means
Review: I can't believe how many of the reviews here almost seem to have been written about another book!

First off, let me say that this book is excellent. Having been raised Mormon, having served a mission, etc., I understand the doctrine quite well. I, myself, noted very few errors in Krakauer's book, and none that seemed deliberately malicious (i.e. Krakauer states in a footnote that LDS members refer to Jews as "gentiles," which I've never heard (though it is true that other faiths are so termed), but this is also a negligable error). My take is that Krakauer stumbled across the polygamist colony in Colorado City, was astonished by what he found, and decided to investigate. Krakauer, unlike so many who undertake such studies, is not a disgruntled ex-Mormon, and has no reason to paint the Mormon church in an unfavorable light.

And, can I make one other slight clarification? The book is sub-titled "A Story of Violent Faith," not "Story of a Violent Faith." The "a" may seem a small difference to some, but it is most certainly not, in this context. Krakauer is specifically referring to the actions of Dan and Ron Lafferty, along with perhaps the early Mormons who committed the atrocities of the Mountain Meadows massacre. He is not calling Mormonism violent, as a whole; rather, he is referring to what can occur, at its worst, through religious fundamentalism of any kind.

As far as I'm concerned, this book was extremely interesting and readable, and I think it's the most balanced book of its kind that I've read. His prose does not resort to invective, and he rarely, if at all, impunes the modern LDS church. The problem, as so many others have stated here, is that some aspects of LDS history are controversial, with or without spin or commentary.

Rating:
Summary: About more than Mormanism and not for the closed minded.
Review: There is not a religious denomination that does not desire to avoid bad press coverage when one of their own is singled out for media attention, but the manner in which they deal with the situation reveals much about the true mindset of the church and it's members. Too often there is a desire to kill the messenger because the message is uncomfortable. This seems to be the case here. Negative reviews of Krakauer's work in the media and here at Amazom.com, posted only because he points to things that others would like to never get more public attention are not intellecually honest.

Many churches are affected by negative press coverage involving their denominational name. The Catholic Church has suferred greatly from the way they handled the crisis over clergy sex abuse, yet recent history shows that such is not always the case. David Korish's standoff and eventual death threatened at first to drag the Seventh-day Adventist Church into a bad public light, but unlike the Morman Church's circle the wagons mentality the SDA church was out in front of the story with news, information, and more important the fact they had internally dealt with this disturbed man long before he became a news story, hence they were spared much negative attention.

Krakauer raises legitimate questions every denomination must face about where the line between faithful follower of God becomes twisted and blurred into mentally unbalanced, religious zealotism. None should fear to examine these issues so curent to our lives today in the light of 9-11.

This is not just a story of a specific person or even a specific event. It is a opportunity to challenge one's thinking about much deeper questions of religious fundementalism and religious mysticism. It is no easy task to gain information from what is basically a closed religious community. Krakauer is doubtless burdened with some minor misunderstandings, but this in no way prevents the reader from grasping the deeper issues raised. Agree with him or no, and I don't always agree, Jon Krakauer has written a timely book about important issues that cross all denominational boundries.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth it
Review: Krakauer does an excellent job of showing the direct connection between the extremist views of the early Mormons and today's fundamentalist fringe. This book was presented in an interesting manner, going in a twisted chronological order, intermingling the story of the modern fundamentalists with the history of the early Mormon church. A must read for anyone interested in history.

Rating:
Summary: Well done and very interesting
Review: .... This is so far a very good book and Krakauer does distinctly distinguish these Fundamentalist Extremist from the rest of the LDS folks. A very interesting topic. It is hard to believe that some of this stuff is going on in the US unchecked.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I've been a fan of Krakauer since Into the Wild debuted. Since I have many Mormon relatives (I'm not LDS myself) and have spent a good deal of time in several different parts of Utah, I eagerly anticipated the release of this book.

Krakauer presents an objective, coherent and well-researched history of the Mormon religion, with detailed biographical info on its founder, Joseph Smith, and an explanation of key elements of the Book of Mormon.

The greatest strength of this book is Krakauer's ability to introduce the reader to a wide range of people connected to Mormon fundamentalism -- fundamentalists themselves, women and children who've suffered unspeakable degradation and abuse within fundamentalist communities, and "mainstream" Mormons who claim no connection whatsoever with the fundamentalist viewpoint, despite undeniable historical and contemporary ties. Readers get to know these people, making the impact of the story that much stronger.

If you've read Into the Wild or Into Thin Air, you're familiar with Krakauer's brilliant writing style and ability to tell an incredibly compelling non-fiction story. He's easily one of the greatest literary journalists ever published and he's to be congratulated for taking on a monumental project like this, one that he knew would upset some powerful folks in a very serious way. Hopefully, the book will attract enough attention for lawmakers to finally do something to help people trapped in hellish environments run by self-proclaimed prophets and their henchmen.

There've been news reports about the LDS church's negative reaction to this book, and some of the Amazon reviewers have unfairly (IMO) labeled it a one-sided attack on the church. I didn't get that impression at all. The book is exhaustively researched and Krakauer's language is fair and objective. I get the impression that he's guilty only of bringing to light some truths that some folks would prefer stayed locked away in a Salt Lake City vault.

I hope that LDS members will take the time to read the book and fairly examine its contents and intent before making judgements against it.

Rating:
Summary: Very engrossing, highly recommended
Review: I was pleasantly surprised that Krakauer's book was very engrossing and hard to put down, even as a beach read. The subject of religion was a bit off-putting to me at first, but as a fan of Krakauer's previous books, I took a chance.

For me, the real draw here was the fascinating story of the Mormon religion, which is a strange outpost of American history that I had never read about before. People who already know the stories of Joseph Smith and Mountain Meadows, etc, will probably find the book redundent and should skip it since long sections of it recount 19th century Mormon history -- less than half of it discusses the tale of the Lafferty murders and the current-day fundamentalist sects.

Krakauer is a very clean and fluid writer and does an excllent job of bringing in the voices of his sources. He keeps the various narrative threads going and the book is never confusing or obtuse.

My biggest problem with the book is that he dwells on a lot of sensational tales of incest and rape in the polygamist fundamentalist sects which, while shocking and sad, didn't really have much to do with the main story. It felt like he uncovered these things and forced them into the book just for shock value, especially the puzzling "Evangeline"-Mexico digression near the end. A few examples of depravity would have sufficed to make his point about hypocrisies in the sects instead of pounding it into us over and over again.

The other problem, which could hopefully be corrected in a future edition, is the lack of reaction to the Lafferty murders from the rest of Dan and Ron Lafferty's family, who are a big part of the story. It seemed odd to me that it's not even mentioned anywhere in the book how Dan's brother Allen reacted to the murder of his wife and child -- and whether he ever reestablished a relationship with his brothers. Perhaps the trial transcripts could have given us more context about the aftermath of the murders and how other "believers" reacted to the violent extension of their faith (which after all is the stated purpose of the book....)

But overall, an engrossing, fast-moving and highly recommended book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and disturbing look at religion
Review: Jon Krakauer has written a timely, thoughtful, balanced and intelligent book about the effects of a religion and the culture it has created on a group of people (with focus on two individuals in particular). He approached the sensitive subject of religion (a religion that, like other religions, seeks to write its own story (and rewrite its history)) very gracefully.

Rating:
Summary: You have to read this book!!!!
Review: When you're done reading this book you'll know why 9-11 happened, and you will discover the real enemy. He isn't necessarily a turbin-wearing brown-skinned fellow speaking with an accent. He isn't even necessarily foreign. In fact, he hides among us even occupying the highest offices of the land. This book exposes him and if enough people read it, the World will be a safer place.
Perhaps Dan Lafferty was right. Perhaps he was doing God's work by committing one of the most heinous, hidious crimes of this century. Perhaps God's design was to create a compelling story that a genius like Krakauer could use to expose the true enemy--religious fundamentalism.

Rating:
Summary: well written, well researched
Review: Jon Krakauer has long been a literary hero of mine. As a fellow agnostic, I have found his works to be a fecundity of insight and self-examination that result in an acute, if not critical understanding of the human spirit.

This book reads incredibly well and weaves the stupefying history of the latter day saints with the horrifying murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty. Ultimately, Krakauer makes the tacit polemic that the legacy of the LDS church, which is replete with both violence and polygamy, should not be underestimated when trying to understand the motives of the murderers--Ron and Don Lafferty. Although the LDS church is quick to distance itself from fundamentalist Mormon groups, which happily embrace polygamy, the history is undeniable. Both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were devout polygamists, and believed polygamy to be the most sacred of God's commandments.

Many from the LDS church (and reviewers on this site) decry the book as being one-sided. It most certainly is not. Rather ironically, it seems that the ruling patriarchy of the church is the one in fact that is bent on presenting a dubiously researched and one-sided view of its history. To be sure, Krakauer treats all parties mentioned in the book with respect and dignity, remaining an objective narrator throughout the text. This is definitely a recommended read.