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Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith |  | Author: Jon Krakauer
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $0.43
as of 9/9/2010 05:30 PDT details
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Seller: seashellbooks_inc
Rating:  810 reviews
Sales Rank: 1399
Media: Paperback
Edition: Later printing
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 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
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Amazon.com Review
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 810
 Under the Banner of Heaven: AStory of Violent Faith September 6, 2010
Farm Girl
Great read. Hard to put down. A book that I will read again.
Despite an anti Mormon slant, still makes an interesting point August 13, 2010
Steve Reina (Troy Michigan)
Why would someone force their way into their brother's house to kill his wife and hers and his brother's baby?
For Dan and Ron Lafferty, the claim was that they did because God told them to and their actions helped range them "under the banner of Heaven."
In this volume author Jon Krakauer lays bare his view of the brothers' motivation for their crime as well as his own view of Mormon history.
Needless to say, the slant he takes on Mormon history is not a rosey one. An admitted agnostic, Krakauer freely reveals his skepticism not only over the claims of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith but also Mormon church leaders who followed in his steps.
For Mormon readers, heed needs be paid to the fact of the undeniables. Smith HAD been criminally tried in New York in 1826 for a crime that involved an element of fraud. The LDS church did admit that at least one Mormon had been involved in the Mountains Massacre.
And for Krakauer and the skeptics, needs needs be paid to that other side of Mormonism...a religion like any other which has imparted hope and purpose to many and certainly (and to be sure absent in this volume) has many stories to tell of the good it has done.
Which brings us back to the excommunicated Laffertys who said that they were the true Mormons and that their actions were religiously motivated in nature.
For those who would suggest atheism as the antidote to the Laffertys of the world, wise reposte could be found in the maxim of not throwing out the baby with the bath water. What makes the stories of extremists like the Laffertys and that Moslem Lafferty Osama bin Laden and their ilk noteworthy is their very rarity itself.
For every Lafferty ranging himself under the banner of heaven through violence, certainly there must be countless others ranging themselves under the banner of heaven through their generosity to the poor, their piousness and their good deeds.
And if we could remove religion...something makes me suspect the Laffertys -- undoubtly violent by nature as they were -- would find yet other reasons to justify their violence. In this way, the "atheist" Laffertys could join their violent but atheist forebears like Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse Tung in perpetrating perhaps even greater violence (again with higher ideals being but the espoused justification but not the real motivating basis of their behavior).
Make no mistake. I highly recommend this book for its insight and food for thought. But let's beware. When trying to understand human behavior the best place to look is not the sky but to the person or persons involved.
The problem is not in our stars but ourselves and here I suspect the blame for the actions has much more to do with the twisted values of Ron and Dan Lafferty than any religion.
Enlightening and as always with J.K. - Excellent August 2, 2010
T. Sanchez (Helena, MT USA)
I have known a few mormons, been co-workers with at least two that I know of. So in reading this book I tried to keep an open mind about Mormonism because they were both women and very nice people. I found myself getting very upset and angry with the history of this religion. I am certain that other religions have had as much, (probably more)controversy, however, the beliefs in their prophet Joseph Smith were to me laughable. He sounded to me like a complete con artist with a penchant for young girls. And that is what I found most disturbing about Mormonism, the rampant sexual abuse of its girls. The early church promoted it saying that it was man's divine right to have as many wives as they wanted (let the state/country pay for their needs right). JK did a very good job making the distinction between LDS and fundamentalist Mormons, however I still found it difficult to separate the two. Especially since Joseph Smith is the "prophet" of both.
This book was excellent as far as presenting things in clear understandable language, and I read it pretty quickly, however, I found myself with my eyes glazed over and not really grasping some of the book in the middle where he spoke of the religion's history in the mid 1900's.
This book has very good points to make about religion in general and the belief systems that we are raised with. I was raised Catholic and am still a practicing Catholic, yet I do not agree with everything the church teaches and that is an important difference I think. The freedom to think for oneself, to make informed choices and to not be told what kind of underwear to wear - wow! really?
Another excellent job by J.K. my hero.
Great buy for a few cents August 2, 2010
Adrian M. Rodriguez (Seattle, WA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This item does have some cosmetic wear and tear, but for only paying a few cents this was a great buy. Prompt shipping too!
Masterpiece of journalism/history July 27, 2010
James R. Gilligan (Lafayette, IN United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
When I picked up Under the Banner of Heaven and began reading it, I thought it would simply tell the true-crime story of the Lafferty brothers, two fanatical Mormon fundamentalists who murdered their sister-in-law and infant niece in a homicidal religious frenzy. I should have known better. This book was written, after all, by Jon Krakauer, and--much to his credit--he is not satisfied with simple explanations of complex matters. Krakauer delves deep into the roots of Mormonism and tells the story of its fantastical, violent, and often preposterous origins. As I was reading the story of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and the various skirmishes that the "Saints" had with community members wherever they went, I kept wondering why I never learned about these events in school. As Krakauer weaves together the story of Mormonism and the story of the homicidal Lafferty brothers, his overarching theme begins to emerge--fanatical fundamentalist religious beliefs have developed a strong foothold in our nation, and the potential for catastrophe is quite real. The following excerpt expresses Krakauer's theme well (remember, this book was published in 2003):
This...is a country led by a born-again Christian, President George W. Bush, who believes he is an instrument of God and characterizes international relations as a biblical clash between forces of good and evil. The highest law officer in the land, Attorney General John Ashcroft, is a dyed-in-the-wool follower of a fundamentalist Christian sect--the Pentecostal Assemblies of God...The president, the attorney general, and other national leaders frequently implore the American people to have faith in the power of prayer, and to trust in God's will. Which is precisely what they were doing, say both Dan and Ron Lafferty, when so much blood was spilled in American Fork on July 24, 1984. (pp. 294-5)
Jon Krakauer is more than a mere writer of non-fiction. He is a master researcher who seeks to know his subject as thoroughly as possible before he starts to tell the story. As readers, we benefit from his thirst for the truth and from his crystal clear writing style.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 810
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