
Under the Banner of Heaven
A Story of Violent Faith
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Narrated by:
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Jon Krakauer
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By:
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Jon Krakauer
About this listen
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)
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NOT FOR MORMON READERS
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Some people who are LDS members may be upset with some of Krakauer's historical accounts, especially regarding polygamy. I do not think Krakauer does this to attack LDS members, but to attempt to show the source of these fundamentalists' beliefs.
It is a great book and should receive a higher score, but some people have some moral problems with the book and are very harsh. I have read all of Krakauer's books and trust that he put a good amount of research forward.
Great Book, But May Upset Some People...
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I will definatley look out for more books from this Author.
Compulsary Reading in Schools?
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Probably too true for the God fearing
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Oops. I Take it Back.
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Krakauer's question is not one of the legitimacy of all religious faith but of how religious faith is often twisted to justify heinous actions. Fundamental Mormonism provides an intriguing case to study because of the religion's relatively modern roots. Certainly, any conclusions the reader draws could be applied to any set of values taken to an extreme end. The combination of the fascinating history of a religion (albeit a brief and possibly biased one) combined with an interesting set of moral questions makes for a very entertaining and thoughtful read (or listen). Highly recommended.
Only one regret...
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Under the Banner of Heaven
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On target...frightening...and slow paced.
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Imperative
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Childmolesters living in a pedophilia heaven(godgiven right to polygamy and to marry children. Murder committed on direct orders from God. Hey, you dont have to go to the middle-east to see religious fanatics, take a look in your neighbourhood.....
Religious fanatics....
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