Jon Krakauer
Paperback | Pages: 400 pages Rating: 4 | 150024 Users | 10252 Reviews
Identify About Books Under the Banner of Heaven
| Title | : | Under the Banner of Heaven |
| Author | : | Jon Krakauer |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 400 pages |
| Published | : | 2004 by Pan MacMillan (first published July 10th 2003) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Religion. History. Crime. True Crime. Mystery |
Ilustration In Pursuance Of Books Under the Banner of Heaven
A Story of Violent FaithA multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. This is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behavior.
Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In Under The Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his 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.
Be Specific About Books Concering Under the Banner of Heaven
| Original Title: | Under the Banner of Heaven |
| ISBN: | 0330419129 (ISBN13: 9780330419123) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://www.randomhouse.com/features/krakauer/response.html |
| Setting: | Utah(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Colorado Book Award for General Nonfiction (2004) |
Rating About Books Under the Banner of Heaven
Ratings: 4 From 150024 Users | 10252 ReviewsEvaluate About Books Under the Banner of Heaven
I read this book for the book club at my local library. Afterwards, I felt indignant, confused, intrigued, and disgusted about all forms of faith. So, I sincerely hoped that a Saint or two would show up at the book club meeting, to nullify my extremely negative view of the church. Alas, no LDS believers showed, so I am left to my own conclusions about the book and faith in general. Here are some of my conclusions and questions after reading this sprawling, fascinating account of the history ofThis book was intense. Im a sucker for religious studies anyway, especially those different from my own, and this book has been on my radar for awhile now because Mormonism (in general) and fundamentalists (of all kinds) have always interested me, so when I found out this book was about Mormon fundamentalists, there was never any doubt that Id read it eventually. But what I was expecting from this book and what I got were two totally different beasts. My expectation was to walk away thinking,
4.0 to 4.5 stars. For non-fiction, this book had me absolutely riveted from the very beginning. This true crime narative has three main themes, all of which I think Krakauer accomplishes extremely well. First, this is a true crime story of the brutal double murder of Brenda Lafferty and her 15 month old baby girl at the hands Ron and Dan Lafferty (the older brothers of Brendas husband). Second, is a survey of the origin and early history of Mormonism and the basic doctrines of the Mormon
The tragic story of extreme and untreated mental illness; a polygamous cult called the "School of Prophets" which was a fundamentalist group of the Mormon Church and the failure of society to stop the killing of two innocent people in 1984. It is also the history of the Mormon Church and its place in American religion and culture. The killers (one who just recently died in 2019) were a pair of brothers who decided that their sister-in-law and her 15 month old baby girl were responsible for the
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-review...TRIGGER WARNING: rape, incest, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, child murderIm speechless. (OK, maybe not). What the heck did I just read? Youre telling me this is non-fiction? ...How? HOW? This isnt just some freak incident either, people live like whats described in this book, Im baffled by it. I mean Im a little baffled by strict religious following anyway (no offence meant) but Mormonism is just on another level.
Isnt it funny, an amazing coincidence, how the commandments of God so often match the desires, ambitions and bigotries of His self-proclaimed prophets? Feeling horny? Thats cool, God is down with polygamy, bone away to your hearts content, sin-free! Like drugs? So does God! Smoke up, bro! Hate women? God is so totally over those uppity chicks, dude. Racist? Oh boy this is your lucky day, God is totally racist! Not racist? Wait, God changed his mind, he was just fooling ya. Did that guy just flip
Good grief. At the time of this posting there are almost 70,000 ratings and baskets of reviews. So why another one? Good question.Predictably, if you are a Mormon you wont like this book, although it does seem to be well-researched and relatively even-handed. What appears to us skeptics as just silly nonsense is, for some people, inspired holy writ. Go figure. The Mormons themselves can't figure out what's revelation or not and who is or is not a prophet as Joseph Smith discovered to his dismay.
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