Under the Banner of Heaven
By: Jon Krakauer
A non fiction tale that occasionally reads as a terrifying work of fiction, Jon Krakauer takes us into the world of Mormonism, particularly into the fundamentalist sects whose beliefs are so foreign to most of us that I couldn’t help from audibly reacting as I read each strange custom.
Krakauer moves beyond simple Polygamy, into tales of underage, unwilling brides, miserable first wives and welfare fraud. Reading the words, it’s hard to tell if he’s purposely making a case for legalizing Polygamy or simply stating the horrific actions that occur under the radar of the rest of the nation.
As a framing device, Krakauer uses Ron and Dan Lafferty, murderers who believed they were acting under the command of God. There will be a chapter or two about these brothers, then many other chapters about other aspects of Fundamental Mormonism and even a history lesson about Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the early, sometimes violent, years of the faith.
I suppose this book’s biggest downfall lies in the fact that there was too much interesting information that Krakauer wanted to include. In the author’s notes, he mentions that this wasn’t the book he originally intended to write, and I feel that explains a lot of the jumping around. Many of the names started to blur together to me (I never realized LeRoy was such a common name) causing me to be unsure of how many of the stories were connected, and how many were simply a case of Krakauer having so many stories that he wanted to share. Near the end I finally felt as though the story was truly coming together.
A fantastic read, though I felt it was a bit longer than it should have been, and lacking in some of the spiritual beliefs I was curious read. Still, I recommend it to anyone curious about the frightening beliefs that are hidden within our nation.
Krakauer moves beyond simple Polygamy, into tales of underage, unwilling brides, miserable first wives and welfare fraud. Reading the words, it’s hard to tell if he’s purposely making a case for legalizing Polygamy or simply stating the horrific actions that occur under the radar of the rest of the nation.
As a framing device, Krakauer uses Ron and Dan Lafferty, murderers who believed they were acting under the command of God. There will be a chapter or two about these brothers, then many other chapters about other aspects of Fundamental Mormonism and even a history lesson about Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the early, sometimes violent, years of the faith.
I suppose this book’s biggest downfall lies in the fact that there was too much interesting information that Krakauer wanted to include. In the author’s notes, he mentions that this wasn’t the book he originally intended to write, and I feel that explains a lot of the jumping around. Many of the names started to blur together to me (I never realized LeRoy was such a common name) causing me to be unsure of how many of the stories were connected, and how many were simply a case of Krakauer having so many stories that he wanted to share. Near the end I finally felt as though the story was truly coming together.
A fantastic read, though I felt it was a bit longer than it should have been, and lacking in some of the spiritual beliefs I was curious read. Still, I recommend it to anyone curious about the frightening beliefs that are hidden within our nation.
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