Under the Banner of Heaven

A Story of Violent Faith

By: Jon Krakauer

Narrated by: Jon Krakauer

Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In Under the Banner of Heaven, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders.

At the core of his audiobook 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 listeners inside isolated communities in the American West, Canada, and Mexico, where some 40,000 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.

©2003 Jon Krakauer (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Krakauer lays the portent on beautifully, building his tales carefully from the ground up until they irresistibly, spookily combust." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Krakauer presents details that indeed sound stranger than fiction." (The New York Times)

Such a great read!

I absolutely love this book. As an apostate myself it speaks to me in ways no other book can. The shame culture that is the LDS church deserves the attention of the truth behind its false prophet.

A little grass roots backlash?

This is a great, little, hypnotic book right up there with his other books. And in case you think I'm somehow biased, Entertainment Weekly gave it an A- review. Why then are there so many bad ratings here? Could it be that Fundamentalist Mormans come off as pedophiles in the book and that Fundamentalist Mormans also have internet access???

Not bad, but a bit biased

Krakauer's UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN is interesting and well researched. His examination of the origins of the Mormon church were eye-opening as was his breakdown on the origin of the fundamentalist sect of the LDS church.

I am not a Mormon but one flaw I found here was a disturbingly anti-religious bias on the part of the author. Although he claims toward the end to be fascinated by the "culture" and "faith" of Mormons and other religious folks, it comes off as a bit disingenuous after many statements throughout the book which belittle people of faith or cast all people of faith in the same light.

Again, I'm not a Mormon and my personal opinion of Mormonism is not entirely favorable from a theological point of view; however, I am a person of faith myself and hate to see any group of people painted with the same broad brush.

Yes, the murders detailed in this book are deeply disturbing and some of the history of the LDS church past and present gives one the impression that it's a bit cultic in nature. But to say all Mormons are exactly alike, that they're all just like the two murderers in this book, is patently unfair to mainstream Mormons. To go further and suggest that ALL people of ANY faith are equally corrupt, as he does suggest in more than one spot, is even less fair-minded and betrays the author's admitted agnostic bias; that bias makes the book as a whole a bit suspect.

That said, there's a lot of good information and a fascinating "read/listen" to be had. Just go in knowing the author's bias and you'll be fine.

Riveting

I have read and enjoyed all of this author's books, but find this one to be my favorite so far. Although not without bias, I thought his investigation of the history of Mormon fundamentalism both interesting and insightful. For those outside the faith, the Mormons inherent secrecy and exclusion of gentiles perpetrates an almost insatiable curiosity. Krakauers look at past and present events is riveting reading. I listened to the book nearly without interruption. My only complaint is that an unabridged copy was not available.

An excellent book

Well researched and thoughtfully written. It is difficult for me to understand why this book is not on Audible's best seller list and why is has not recevied better ratings.

Fuzzy distinction between LDS and FLDS

While the focus is historic Mormons and modern day Fundamentalists, this book helps show the way men use religion to control and act out their need to control. Could just as easily be the Middle East where honor killings take place. Could see how practicing Mormons could be offended. Seems a balanced fair look at links between nutty splinter groups and mainstream LDS. Yep I'm a non-Mormon.

I Did Not Know

What a great listen. I learned, I was scared, and I wanted to know more. You should have a lot to learn from this book if you believe in a loving god.

Interesting but hard to follow

Knowing nothing about the Mormon religion, I found the historical account interesting but there were so many characters it was hard to follow.

worthwhile read

well researched and interestingly presented, connecting historical events and contemporary viewpoints. author's personal perspective presented at the end excluded objective biblical research, which might encourage him in his expressed desire to know his Creator...

Detailed analysis

Nothing comes to mind,. Nothing to add. Annoyed that I have to waste time with 15 word minimum