|
| Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith | 
| Author: Jon Krakauer
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $1.62
You Save: $13.33 (89%)
New (70) Collectible (11) from $6.10
Avg. Customer Rating:  717 reviews
Sales Rank: 1193
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1400032806
Dewey Decimal Number: 289.33
EAN: 9781400032808
ASIN: 1400032806
Publication Date: June 8, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Wear and crease to the cover. Overall Good Condition. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. EZ Return Policy. No Sale Ever Final. FAST Daily Shipping (Z771)
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
In 1984, Ron and Dan Lafferty murdered the wife and infant daughter of their younger brother Allen. The crimes were noteworthy not merely for their brutality but for the brothers' claim that they were acting on direct orders from God. In Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer tells the story of the killers and their crime but also explores the shadowy world of Mormon fundamentalism from which the two emerged. The Mormon Church was founded, in part, on the idea that true believers could speak directly with God. But while the mainstream church attempted to be more palatable to the general public by rejecting the controversial tenet of polygamy, fundamentalist splinter groups saw this as apostasy and took to the hills to live what they believed to be a righteous life. When their beliefs are challenged or their patriarchal, cult-like order defied, these still-active groups, according to Krakauer, are capable of fighting back with tremendous violence. While Krakauer's research into the history of the church is admirably extensive, the real power of the book comes from present-day information, notably jailhouse interviews with Dan Lafferty. Far from being the brooding maniac one might expect, Lafferty is chillingly coherent, still insisting that his motive was merely to obey God's command. Krakauer's accounts of the actual murders are graphic and disturbing, but such detail makes the brothers' claim of divine instruction all the more horrifying. In an age where Westerners have trouble comprehending what drives Islamic fundamentalists to kill, Jon Krakauer advises us to look within America's own borders. --John Moe
Product Description
Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. He now shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders, taking readers inside isolated American communities where some 40,000 Mormon Fundamentalists still practice polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God.
At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, 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.
Download Description
JON KRAKAUER is the author of Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild, and Into Thin Air, and is editor of the Modern Library Exploration series.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 712 more reviews...
Krakuer takes a different direction August 18, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I truly enjoyed Into Thin Air. Under the Banner of Heaven was completely different subject matter. I found this no less engaging, Krakuer again draws you in with nothing more than what it is, a great story needing to be told.
 An Exciting but Ultimately Disappointing Read August 16, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was thrilling and engrossing to read, but at the same time I didn't like it.
Let me explain. It was a fascinating book, but there's a strong undercurrent of condescension in Krakauer's tone -- there are little asides that imply (or state right out) that religious people are just plain crazy, and that this (the murders that are the focal point of the book) was just the natural course that religion -- all religion -- takes.
He's an outsider, yes, and that fact alone doesn't mean he can't write about the FLDS, but he scrutinizes his subjects in a way he fails to scrutinize himself, and in sensationalizing the FLDS he treats them as not quite human. It's like he's an old-school British explorer venturing into the quaint little village of some savage tribe.
It's not that I don't have problems myself with the FLDS, but Krakauer can't seem to separate the people he writes about -- several of whom are deeply disturbed -- from the concept of religious faith.
Ultimately, it's an interesting and indulgent read, but just remember to take Krakauer's slant and commentary with a grain of salt.
 Enlightening and a great read! August 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am of Mormon heritage and no longer belong to that church. This book was extremely enlightening, well-written, and answered a lot of questions I have had.
Religion Gone Too Far August 13, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
I read this book in shock and awe BEFORE the news of the raid on the YFZ ranch in Texas. At times it was tough reading because I found myself being heartsick and angry that such atrocities are condoned in the United States today.
Jon Krakauer has turned from extreme adventure to extreme religion in this inside look at a fundamentalist Mormon cult, now about 40,000 strong and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, operating in Canada, Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Texas.
While he details the lives of many of it's members and their practice of middle-aged men marrying multiple, often underage girls, to produce as many children as possible, the main focus of this story is the 1984 slaying of a mother/wife and her daughter. Brothers Dan and Ron Lafferty claiming direct orders from God, brutally murdered their brother Allen's wife and infant daughter.
Jailhouse interviews with Dan Lafferty are chillingly horrific when one is told by a seemingly coherent man that he had direct inspiration from God and he believes he was justified in perpetrating the murders.
Krakauer gives a history of Mormonism, the decision to renounce polygamy to gain statehood and the splitting off by various fundamentalist sects that felt this move amounted to apostasy. Is is also a history of denial - of mainstream Mormonism's denial to acknowledge the damage done to young women forced into marriage to men old enough to be their fathers and grandfathers, of this country's denial to believe that a cult as dangerous as the Taliban exists right here on American soil and their brushing aside the fact that in Arizona and Utah, hundreds of women and children, the offspring of these non-legal "spiritual marriages", are supported at the taxpayers' expense.
Read this book and be prepared to be outraged.
Good, but beware the political and anti-religious agenda August 11, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Full disclosure up front: I'm a conservative Christian. Krakauer, on the other hand, does not disclose that he's an agnostic until the very end of the book. It seems likely that he is a liberal as well, but he does not disclose that at all.
Conservative Christians have reason to be upset with some of Krakauer's narrative. In an early section where he's describing Mormons, he points out that the overwhelming majority are "obviously" Republican, and he continues mentioning it throughout the book. This is analogous to writing a book about African Americans living on welfare in Baltimore's crack houses and noting that they are "obviously" mostly Democrats. Both statements are "obviously" true, but Krakauer's use of this non sequitur reveals something about his agenda. Dr. Bruce Ivins, the anthrax killer, was a registered Democrat, but does that really help explain the mindset that motivated him to mail those poisoned letters?
Krakauer also repeatedly makes the point that belief in God is irrational. On this I would strenuously disagree, as would the likes of respected physicist Dr. John Polkinghorne and DNA scientist Dr. Francis Collins. Unlike Krakauer, whose degree is in environmental studies from a liberal arts college, I have a very extensive education and background in science and engineering. I find it difficult to believe that the vast complexity of the universe (see "anthropic fine-tuning"), and the complexity of life itself, could happen by random chance, fighting the second law of thermodynamics (entropy) the entire way. For many other engineers and scientists I know, believing in a creator seems statistically more likely than believing in the arguments supporting creation through random events. In fact, a recent study showed that two-thirds of scientists believe in God and seventy six percent of doctors believe in God.
Krakauer rightfully points out that all religions have spilled blood. What he doesn't point out is that some religions, historically, have spilled much more than others. He also fails to point out that, in the past century, fervent belief in non-religious ideologies has led to the killing of far more people. (See Fascism/Nazism with its ties to Darwinism/Eugenics, as well as Communism.)
Near the end of the book, Krakauer takes a moment to connect the Christian beliefs of George W. Bush and John Ashcroft to the insanity defense. I see no reason to do this other than to score a cheap political point. He could have just as easily drawn the parallel with any famous scientist who believes in God, or even a well-respected evangelist such as Billy Graham.
With all of these caveats, I would still highly recommend the book. Conservative Christians are accustomed to being bashed by the news and entertainment industries anyway - far worse than what Krakauer deals out.
This is the fourth book I've read by Krakauer. Like the others, it was well-researched and fascinating. It should be a cautionary tale for anyone who dives too deeply into any belief, religious or otherwise, without maintaining a critical eye.
|
|
|
Wildlife, nature and the Environment
Sponsored Links
Learn how to get your own Amazon Book shop | |
