Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

An interesting quote: "I got a chance to read it. I liked it a lot." That quote comes from none other than the main character in the book - Dan Lafferty. Similarly, should readers who also liked this book be classed with the ilk of Dan Lafferty? It sounds absurd, but that is exactly what the author does when he, by implication, classes Mormons with fundamentalist groups.

Only the truly gullible and ignorant need apply to read this book.


Excellent book, well worth the read   July 17, 2003
 20 out of 28 found this review helpful

Many members of the LDS church believe that if their church is not presented in a happy, shiny, pleasant package, then it's anti-mormon material. What they fail to realize is that their church's history is full of things we don't approve of today, such as violence (like the Mountain Meadows Massacre) and polygamy, and they shun anything the LDS church leadership doesn't approve of. Boyd K. Packer, apostle of the LDS church, even counseled the membership to avoid certain aspects of the church's history, stating "Some things are true that are not very useful." It seems that with this mentality, some people are not prepared to read this book with an open mind, which I feel you'd need to really understand the purpose and meaning of this book.

This book is not anti-mormon, but it does present the history of the LDS church in a relatively non-biased light, and it discusses how the church's teachings have led to extreme fundamentalism, as we've seen in the Lafferty murders. While the initial thrust of the book is about the Lafferty brothers, Mr. Krakauer uncovers what has led them to the point that they had "revelations" to commit murder. Whether you're religious or not, I believe it's important to understand how people can get to this point.

The book is engaging and hard to put down. But don't expect a "true crime" book per se, because it's not. If you're interested in religious fundamentalism, this book is for you.


Violent Religious Faith   July 17, 2003
 26 out of 32 found this review helpful

Because one of the other customer reviewers complained that this book does not sufficiently cover the history of Mormonism, I think someone who reads that before they read the book will get the wrong impression. When I read the book, I understood it to be a study of violent religious fundamentalism and where that comes from.

I saw in this book: a look at violent acts committed by religious fundamentalists who think they are doing God's will, a study of Mormon fundamentalism in order to better understand the violent act and actors,and a study of mainstream Mormanism in order to better understand Mormon fundamentalism. There's more going on than just Mormon history deliberately.

One reason this book hooked me is that I couldn't help but compare it to another engrossing book, _Princess_, that I read a few years ago (before 9/11) about the plight of women in Saudi Arabia. That plight is here (and in Canada and Mexico), too.

This book is, in my opinion, far superior and more riveting than Krakauer's other books. I expect to see _Under the Banner of Heaven_ on the NYT bestseller list soon.


Less than Accurate   July 16, 2003
 6 out of 32 found this review helpful

The content of this book is less than accurate and does not delve deeply or fairly enough into the complete history of early and current "Mormonism". If you are well studied in this subject you'll notice there are numerous factual faults and obvious over-generalizations. Mike Otterson, the director for the LDS Church's media relations has said "...Krakauer unwittingly puts himself in the same camp as those who believe every German is a Nazi, every Japanese a fanatic, and every Arab a terrorist." Krakauer admittedly does not understand religious devotion and thus has not and cannot handle this complicated subject.