Under the Banner of Heaven

Rating:
Summary: This book is a real eye-opener!
Review: Krakauer's writing style is easy-going. His ideas flow seamlessly, culminating in an insightful perspective on a little-known religious community. He pulls no punches when describing the atrocities in polygamous communities. He is also perfectly honest about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, Mormon church history, Mormon culture and how all of these relate to Fundamental Mormonism. I recommend that you ignore the Mormon naysayers who protest too much (and who have likely not read the book). This book is an engaging read, whether or not one is connected in any way to Mormonism or Fundamental Mormonism.

Rating:
Summary: Under the Banner of Heaven
Review: An excellent book ... Krakauer tells the truth. It is sad to realize that these fundamentalist beliefs continue to be perpetuated.

Rating:
Summary: Faith and Murder
Review: "I was doing God's will, which is not a crime." - Dan Lafferty

The above quote is from a man who brutally murdered his fifteen month-old niece and her 24 year-old mother in their home while his younger brother was at work. Lafferty's older brother Ron convinced him to commit the crime by claiming that God had spoken to him and instructed that it should be that way. Both men were born and raised Mormons, but turned to radical Mormon fundamentalism as adults. Through their horrific story and the history of the Mormon church in genral, author Jon Krakauer examines the larger issue of how relgion leads some people to commit unspeakable acts.

"Under the Banner of Heaven" is not an anti-Mormon diatribe, as anyone who has actually read it can attest. Krakauer, who had such a massive success with "Into Thin Air," should be applauded for taking a risk following up that work with a potentially controversial project well outside his area of expertise. Part travelog and part history, "Under the Banner of Heaven" is a very unique true crime book as the various narrative threads are wound together by the author. The simple yet forceful narrative style that made Krakauer's Everest such compelling reading are very much evident here.

Overall, "Under the Banner of Heaven" is an outstanding true crime book that raises some disturbing theological questions.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book
Review: This is an amazing book, written with all the excitement of Krakauer's previous work. It tells a great story about fanaticism and murder in the Mormon Church. The author has taken great pains to present a fair picture, but it is still damning nonetheless. I urge all readers of "Into Thin Air" to get this book at once!

Rating:
Summary: When Faith Goes Too Far...
Review: Krakauer uses the 1984 Lafferty Murders in Provo to launch an
exploration into the roots and evolution of the present-day Mormon (LDS)
fundamentalist movement. Krakauer presents what may be the most
comprehensive and current assesment of the polygamous/fundamentalist
movement -- the origins, the key players, the major communes, the legal
battles, and the abuses of women, children and the welfare system.

Krakauer devotes appropriate attention to the history of mormonism,
which is refreshingly less glossy (and concerned with PR) then other
mainstream accounts have been. Krakauer, unlike many authors who need
the church's assistance with their research, is not afraid to make
frequent reference to "No Man Knows My History", D. Michael Quinn, and
numerous unflattering historical documents and sources.

Joseph Smith is portrayed as the cunning, charismatic, delusional,
egomaniacal charlatan that he was, and his frequent run-ins with the
law, the government, supporters, wives (including women that were married to other men) are laid out in
brilliant detail.

The historical background of Joseph Smith and the beginnings of Mormonism is detailed, flows well, and dares to include details that most books by LDS authors omit. The historical review covers Joseph Smith's rise to power, his unquestioned spiritual power, and his plans for glory. The reader will learn how 14 year old girls were forced to marry the prophet (or face "spiritual destruction"), and how roving bands of Mormon "avengers" dispatched those who stood in the way of Joseph's kingdom.

The story moves to Brigham Young's reign (after Joseph's assasination and a schism over polygamy), the arrival of the saints in the Salt Lake Valley and the ensuing battle with the US government over polygamy. The Mountain Meadows massacre is explored with a precision not seen since Juanita Brooks landmark work on the subject. The Massacre was the premeditated, rehearsed and sanctioned slaughter of an entire emigrant wagon train from Arkansas that was unfortunate enough to pass through Utah. Visits to the site by Federal Investigators revealed a field "strewn with bodies..." and mangled bones of "men, women, children and infants." The massacre was a sort benchmark for the church in Utah; it established that the practice of slaying those who stood in the way of the kingdom would continue in the new Zion (Utah). As the Lafferty murders clearly illustrate, this practice continues to this day.

Krakauer makes the argument that it
was polygamy, and the church's love/hate relationship with the practice,
that gave birth to the fundamentalist movement and continues to fuel it to this day.

The history of polygamy is laid out right up until the present day,
where the focus is turned to the backgrounds of the Lafferty brothers,
who brutally murdered a sister-in-law and her infant daughter.

Instead of simply retelling the sick and gory story a la "USA Movie of
the Week", Krakauer delves into the twisted psyche of the mormon
fundamentalist, and explores how these men went from upstanding members
of the church to self-proclaimed prophets to cold-blooded killers.

This detailed and well-thought examination of the knots, bumps and
bruises in Mormon history and theology is unique to non-academic
writing, and is very engaging. Krakauer effectively draws upon
testimony from the trial (psychologists, witnesses, etc) and his own
interviews with the convicted at The Point Of The Mountain to point the
blame exactly where it falls: upon the mormon church, and it's
founders and leaders.

His concluding analysis of the current state of the LDS church and its
many fractured spin-offs is refreshingly up-to-date, and the author's
after word provides valuable insight into his opinions on organized
religion, and specifically the mormon faith.

This book is a breath of fresh air into LDS studies, and has the unique
benefit of being written by an immensely well-respected nonbeliever
under a major publisher.

This is one of the strongest examinations of mormonism in print,
because it is not an "anti-mormon" work. As indicated by modern church
leadership and public relations, nothing is more "anti-mormon" then the church's own
history, leaders, and fundamentalist members. "Under The Banner of
Heaven" is a factual, analytical treatise of a religion that has an
extremely dark and bloody past, and dares to bring to light the painful
legacy that that Mormonism perpetuates to this day.

For anyone who has left the church, is investigating the church, is LDS
or knows someone who is LDS, I strongly recommend this book.

Sociology, American History, Current Affairs and Religion bookworms
will also find this to be an especially compelling read...

Rating:
Summary: Just scratches the surface
Review: This compelling piece of dramatized fiction, told in the style that is unmistakably Jon Krakauer's, only begins to scratch the surface of what is wrong with Mormon fundamentalism. As an individual who once lived and practiced medicine in a small town just east of the Utah-Montana border, I have seen the results of the practices of these groups. Some so shocking and stomach turning that I could no longer continue to be there. These "fundemental" mormon groups take the original tenents of their faith and twist them beyond all recognition. The harmful results are either ignored by those around them, or efforts to intervene fall on the deaf ears of authorities. While the practices of these groups do not relect the practices and beliefs of the LDS, I know better than to believe that they do not know they exist, and fail to understand their shock and outrage regarding the publication of this book. Jon Krakauer's interpretation of this story, and the underlying circumstances that made this horrible crime possible, is well-balanced, thoughtful and presented in a way meant to enlighted the public, not attack the modern mormon church. Understanding the role of fundementalism in our world, why some people gravitate toward it, and its role in a wide number of atrocities, may help to heal or prevent the wounds that it can create. Rather than condem Jon Krakauer for writing about the elephant sitting in the temple, perhaps all of us should consider this crime an opportunity to reflect on what is wrong in our own societies and how these problems create and nurture these groups. Only then cane we work to prevent such extremist behavior. In a post 9/11 society where fundementalism has come to the forefront of our conciousness, this book is a timely look at the cleaning we need to do in our own closet.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reporting, compelling reading
Review: Jon Krakauer's earlier books, "Into the Wild" and "Into Thin Air," were remarkable for their meticulous reporting and neat writing. Anyone who appreciates good non-fiction will not be disappointed in "Under the Banner of Heaven," which carries the subtitle of "A Story of Violent Faith." Krakauer is not writing about Palestinian suicide bombers or Al-Queda's willing recruits. He's writing about residents of what another writer called "the Republic of Clean"-the Mormons.

In 1984, Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter were brutally murdered by Dan and Ron Lafferty, her brothers-in-law. The brothers said that God had been ordered them to kill the young woman and her little girl because she vocally opposed her husband's participation in his family's attraction to an offshoot of Mormonism that embraced polygamy. Krakauer uses the murder as a springboard into his examination of the roots of the Mormon religion and its increasingly rancorous relationship with Mormon fundamentalists, the breakaway groups which do not accept Salt Lake City's edicts in regard to banning polygamy or accepting blacks into the religion.

The history of Mormonism is fascinating and bloody, but the real chilling stuff is in the sections on remote fundamentalist enclaves where interpretations of "celestial marriage" has lead to child abuse, incest, degradation of women and children, and always more violence. Krakauer touches on the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart as well as the Lafferty case.

One of the most important tenets of the Mormon religion is that everyone can speak personally with God, and that God will guide them. In the prison interviews with Dan Lafferty years after the murders, the coherent, affable killer maintains that his only motive was to fulfill God's command. Jon Krakauer does not have to draw comparisons between this type of thinking and the Taliban-in this balanced and farsighted book, they are all too obvious.

Rating:
Summary: An objective, eye-opener
Review: I had read this author before and liked his work. I checked this book from the public library. I could not have guessed that he grew up Mormon until he tells the reader near the end of the book. There's so much here that I did not know. Fascinating.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, but author interprets history
Review: This was a fascinating book, but when I finished the last page I felt like I had read a 365-page story from the National Enquirer. The book oozes with juicy descriptions of fundamentalist Mormons, murderers who kill in the name of God, and the checkered history of the Mormon Church.

If you're expecting a clinical dissection of a murder, skip this book. It claims to focus on two brothers (Ron and Dan Lafferty) who murdered a woman and her baby two decades ago, but only one-third of the book really talks about the murder. Another third covers the history of the Mormon church, and the final third is a startling (and equally gossipy) survey of polygamist communities from Utah to Canada to Mexico.

As a story, the book hits a home run. Krakauer is a great writer, and his eye for detail is devastating. You read descriptions of the polygamist communities and you feel like laughing at the crackpots and crying for the victims at the same time.

Unfortunately--and this is why I give the book only three stars--Krakauer can't merely document the history and describe the events. His book quietly advocates two stealth theses. They don't belong in a book like this, at least not secretly, and I think the second thesis is wrong anyway.

His theses, which are never spelled out completely but nevertheless lurk below the surface in every chapter, are that (a) religion is a waste, and (b) the mainstream Mormon church has infused its followers with such a spirit of violence that it must share in the blame when its fanatic followers go berserk. These are perfectly valid topics to contemplate, but if you put them forth you should come clean and say so out loud, and then give data to prove them. Krakauer's book tries to prove these theses with anecdotes, extremely narrow vignettes of deranged persons, and sensationalized histories of century-old events. For example, we never hear what the "mainstream" polygamists think of the Laffertys' crime. I think they would probably denounce it, but Krakauer isn't going to give them voice in his book because it would weaken his second thesis. Instead (surprise, surprise) the last chapter revolves around an ex-fundamentalist who found his salvation in atheism. What's his connection to the Lafferty crime? None.

Krakauer is extrapolating a line from a single point. Can you really draw general conclusions about a worldwide church from the actions of two fundamentalist kooks? Krakauer thinks you can. Worse, he conflates three very different things (the mainstream Mormon church, the fundamentalist polygamists, and the Lafferty brothers) to the point where naive readers will start thinking they're all the same thing.

The author has right to ask hard questions about religion and the Mormon church, but I think it's wrong to write contentious things by making unilateral interpretations without giving all sides of the story.

The Appendix to my edition of the book (Anchor) contained a negative review of "Under the Banner of Heaven" by a Mormon official. Krakauer engages him and debates fair and square for a few pages. What the shame the rest of the book wasn't like that.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Storytelling
Review: To me, the key to a good book, fiction or non-fiction, is whether it is told well.

Jon Krakauer is a gifted storyteller, and "Under The Banner Of Heaven" is a very well told story.

In addition to covering the 1984 murder of a woman and her child by self-proclaimed Mormon Fundamentalists (acting, as they claim, on a mission from God), Krakauer takes the time and patience to cover some of the history of the Morman religion. He interweaves historic events with the contemporary storyline and gives a kind of insight not common to a "True Crime" story.

For those wondering, Krakauer takes great care to explicitly draw the line between Mormons and Mormon Fundamentalists. This is a critical point in the book.

I had no information about the Mormon religion or its history and found this book engaging and very well written.

It's a good read, and thats what books are all about. I recommend this book to all.