Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Jon Krakauer
Narrated by Scott Brick
2003
12 hours, 37 minutes
********************
Publisher’s Summary
At the core of this book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this “divinely inspired” crime, Krakauer constructs a multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. Along the way, he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest-growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.
Krakauer takes readers inside isolated communities in the American West, Canada, and Mexico, where some forty-thousand Mormon fundamentalists believe the mainstream Mormon Church went unforgivably astray when it renounced polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the leaders of these outlaw sects are zealots who answer only to God. Marrying prodigiously and with virtual impunity (the leader of the largest fundamentalist church took seventy-five “plural wives,” several of whom were wed to him when they were fourteen or fifteen and he was in his eighties), fundamentalist prophets exercise absolute control over the lives of their followers, and preach that any day now the world will be swept clean in a hurricane of fire, sparing only their most obedient adherents.
Weaving the story of the Lafferty brothers and their fanatical brethren with a clear-eyed look at Mormonism’s violent past, Krakauer examines the underbelly of the most successful homegrown faith in the United States, and finds a distinctly American brand of religious extremism. The result is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behavior.
Jon Krakauer could write about rivets and I’d probably read it. My first experience with Krakauer was the movie Into the Wild, which HB and I stumbled upon while channel surfing. We got sucked right into that story…and Alaska isn’t something I’m normally all that interested in (something to do with the fact that I think of cold air and I turn purple).
Then I ended up reading Into Thin Air. Again…cold air. And heights (also not a favorite thing). And extreme adventuring (have I mentioned my aversion to camping?). Except, surprise!, it was a damn good book. Not only did I learn lots of interesting things, but it reinforced my decision that there is no way in HELL that anyone will ever get me near Mt. Everest. Not that I even have the money, should I want to, because I also learned that it’s obscenely expensive (both in terms of money and one’s health (and then there’s the cost to the environment)) to climb it. And obviously, I came away from that book with some strong opinions.
For my third Krakauer experience I opted for audio. And that was a bit of a mistake. Oh sure, I still liked his writing, and his topic (religious fundamentalism…again, something I don’t normally read about). But there was so much information packed into this book and I am so not an auditory learner that I’m pretty sure 80% fell out of my brain immediately after entering. Which is why I can tell you I found it fascinating, but I can’t go into any details about why Mormon fundamentalists scare the crap out of me.
So my next Krakauer will be the Pat Tillman book (aka the one I can never remember the name of, because it doesn’t start with Into or Under). I even have it sitting on my shelf…and you can bet it’s the print version, not audio. Whenever it manages to muscle its way off of the shelf and into my hands will be when I start reading it.
Since I am really hot on reading about polygamy right now, I am going to be reading this book as well. I had only recognized the title, but had never before known what it was about. It sounds so fascinating, and I would love to find out the ins and outs of this story! Great review Jill! I am off to get this one right now!
I can’t imagine listening to this one as there is tons of information and I remember having to go back and check up on stuff. I wonder how his “3 Cups of Deceit” is…
Krakauer is still on my must-get-to-soon list. Let’s hope he falls off of it in 2012. I’m not sure which one I want to read first, tho.
Yes there was a lot of info in this book, too bad. I read it in print years ago but haven’t read anything else by him. I do have to add though – all fundamentalists pretty much scare the crap out of me, whatever their religion! lol
We have almost read this for book club probably a half dozen times! I am sure I will read it at some point! No audio though I guess …
SO interested in this book! I grew up in the Mormon religion, though I don’t practice anymore, so I’m especially interested from that perspective. I’ve read one Krakauer book (Into Thin Air) and listened to one (Into the Wild) and think I prefered listening better. Maybe I’m an auditory learner, but I found I was better able to digest ALL of the details (and yes, there are so many of them).
Be sure to chase up on the story on the web – all about whether belief in God (sending you typed messages no less) can be counted as “insanity” for defense
Wow, this book sounds fascinating! I’m going to have to check it out and read it, too, at some point. I read Into Thin Air a long time ago but it was amazing and has stuck with me all these years. I don’t know why I’ve yet to read anything else by Krakauer?!?
Thanks for ‘knocking’ some sense into me!
I adore Krakauer and will follow him whereever he wants to explore … but not literally because, like you, I will never go to Everest.
I thought Into the Wild was brilliant and riveting. I have a copy of Under the Banner of Heaven that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. Now I’m moving it to the top of the list. Thanks for a great review.
This sounds like an interesting read. The ‘Bountiful’ trial recently made its way to the BC Supreme court here in Canada (where the laws against polygamy were upheld) and the snippets that you read about (abuse, young girls married to much older men, boys being shunned since there weren’t enough women to go around, the complex and convoluted social interactions etc) were enough to make one read more. Thanks for this recommendation!
I agree Krakauer could write about anything and I’d read it. My first experiences with him were articles in Outdoor magazine. The original article that Into Thin Air was based on was riveting (see how I brought this back to your post?)
I’d read anything Krakauer write about, too! My book club had a great discussion of this one.
I like Krakauer a lot, too. I’ve read Into Thin Air about 4 times. It’s just so intelligent, such a great story, and so inspiring. I was disappointed with the Pat Tillman book and didn’t get very far into it, but your mileage may vary.
I want to read Krakauer! I think I want to read the one about Everest first. He sounds like he would be a very engaging writer.