Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Books

Pros: Compelling story. The author tries to be balanced.
Cons: If you happen to be LDS, you probably should skip this one.

I was rather surprised when I finally got my copy of Jon Krakauer's latest book through the library holds. I had been expecting something that would open my eyes to some fanatical branch of say, Islam, the cover photograph vaguely reminding me of the ...

Pros: Krakauer has a steady, conscientiously inquisitive, level-headed approach to his subjects.
Cons: At times the book is very graphic, and not for the faint of heart.

Under the Banner of Heaven begins with a simple, if gruesome bit of reportage – a just-the-fa ...

Pros: Good background of a growing religion
Cons: Pretty scary stuff to think that this is based on fact

Before you dive into this book ( say, you're debating reading or buying this book ) jump to the back of the thing and read the section just before the acknowledgments; it is here that you'll find that Krakauer actually grew up with many Mormons, and had ...

Pros: interesting treatment of the topic
Cons: biased

Summary: Though the book is advertised as a history of the chilling murders of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter by two of her brothers-in-law, Dan and Ron Lafferty, nearly half the book is made up of historical accounts and discussions of other elements ...

Pros: Entertaining, eye-opening, great expose of a little-known corner of U.S. History
Cons: May get you fired-up, helps you lose respect for Mormons, writing style not great

If you've ever been the least bit curious about Mormonism, this book is for you. You'll have unPC conversation fodder for weeks. Two downsides: First, the author editorializes and interjects his opinion too often. For instance, he'll use unnecessary ...

Pros: A very readable book on contemporary Mormanism and its historical context.
Cons: More takes from non-Mormans who live among them would have been interesting.

'Under the Banner of Heaven' reads as a '60 Minutes' or 'Dateline' story--well written, well produced and hard to put down.

This book capitalizes upon the rare opportunity to write of a major religion that was born and has evolved in recent times.

The book oscillates between a murder in the early 1980's and the historical context of that crime seamlessly. In doing so, this book touches upon the age old human question of 'why' with an equally old human quality of presumption.

This book has helped educate a Mid-Westerner on the myriad of complexities of life in the heart of the Rockies; the
social-political-cultural-religious battles that are still evolving in that region.

Anyone sharing an interest crime, politics or religion, or the combination of all three in one volume, will thoroughly enjoy this book.