PastryWiz Books : Under the Banner of Heaven
 

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Books : Under the Banner of Heaven
by: Jon Krakauer



Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 364
EAN: 9781405032803
ISBN: 1405032804
Label: Macmillan
Manufacturer: Macmillan
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: September 05, 2003
Publisher: Macmillan
Sales Rank: 295814
Studio: Macmillan


Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk ReviewUnder the Banner of Heaven is a riveting read. The Lafferty boys were brought up in a squeaky clean All-American family. So what made two of them follow revelations from God to slit the throat of their ex-beauty queen sister-in-law and her infant daughter? The problem was that they got involved in the fundamentalist, survivalist wing of the Mormon Church.

Author Jon Krakauer expertly jumps from the immediate horror of the Lafferty boys to the context of Mormonism and the wider questions of religious violence. In the process we are taken on a house of horrors ride through the badlands of fundamentalist Mormon religion. Krakauer introduces us to red necks with more than 30 'wives'--many who were 'married' in their early teens. It's a story of fraud, child abuse, incest, physical violence and spiritual and emotional rape at a deep level.

The contemporary story is lurid and shocking, but as Krakauer relates the picaresque story of Joseph Smith--the founder of the Mormon religion--you realise that present day fundamentalist Mormons are far closer to their founder in spirit and behaviour than the more squeaky clean manifestations of modern Mormonism. This well researched and tightly written account gives a great potted history of Mormonism and illuminates the psychotic fringes of religious mentality. In doing so it reveals the wild dangers of spiritual free wheeling and the need for caution and restraint in religion. --Dwight Longenecker


Related Items:
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - almost a textbook on Mormonism and its present-day fundamentalist sects
An excellent read for anyone with a curious mind! Historically accurate as can be, it tracks Mormonism from its origins in Palmyra, NY, all the way to Utah. At the same time, it delves into present day outlaw, schismatic polygamist sects while dissecting a religion-based crime committed by Fundamentalist Mormons in 1984. You'll gain thorough knowledge of a unique, quintessiantially American phoenomenon: the birth and development of a religion in our days, why it started, why it succeded, not forgetting the blood trail it left along the way. You won't be able to put it down.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Great read for those with an interest in corruption in religion
If you like to read about religion from a critical point of view, then this is a fantastic book to read. There is a great balance between the story of the murder and general information about mormons, or more specifically fundamental mormons. A great read.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Another excellent book by Jon Krakauer
I was a little bit apprehensive about ordering this book because normally I never read anything about religion. However, I have read all of Jon Krakauer's other books so I decided to buy it purely on the strength of his other works. I was certainly not disappointed. Once again he has put heart and soul into painstakingly researching the topic. Thorough, fluent and informative.

In this book he explores the background to the tragic murders of a Morman woman and her baby. To explain what led to the murders he takes us back to the foundation of the Morman religion and recounts the religion's history up until the present day. He introduces the reader to Mormanism and Morman Fundamentalism in fascinating detail. Whilst it appears that certain Morman reviewers thought that he maligned their faith, I do not believe that this is the case. He obviously has a great admiration for Mormans. The scope of the book is huge. Every page is loaded with detail.

The extent to which I enjoyed this book was a complete surprise to me. It is excellent. Buy it!





Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Brilliant account of a religion and how it lead to a modern day murder
Brilliant account of a religion and how it lead to the murder of innocents by people carrying out what they thought was God's work. Sound familiar?

This is a stunning book. It so incredibly well researched and written that despite the amount of details you don't ever lose your way. It describes everything so richly that you almost feel part of events. A warning though - it makes the retelling of the actual murders all the more harrowing and almost unreadable at one point.

I'd like to think it's for everyone but I think you need more than a casual interest in religion (more so atheists! Anyone whose read God Delusion or Sam Harris MUST read this) to really enjoy a pretty full account of Mormon history but it really rewards. It made me shake my head in disbelief several times and reflect on how a religion (?!) like Mormonism or it's offshoots can gain such a foothold in modern times.

I'd also recommend it for fans of Brian Masters crime writing as it feels similarly well written and the subject matter does cross over.

Buy Now!

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