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Under The Banner of Heaven

A powerful story of Mormon fundamentalism and gripping true crime from the author of Into the Wild

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Under The Banner of Heaven

By: Jon Krakauer
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Now a major new series on Disney+ starring Andrew Garfield

A provocative look at the twisted roots of American fundamentalism.' Will Self, Evening Standard Books of the Year

‘Excellent . . . a lucid, judicious, even sympathetic account not just of Mormon Fundamentalism but of the seductive power of fanaticism in general.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Remarkable . . . for anyone interested in the wilder frontiers of spiritual conviction, this book is a must.’ Independent

Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty insist they were commanded to kill by God. In Under The Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer's investigation is a meticulously researched, bone-chilling narrative of polygamy, savage violence and unyielding faith: an incisive look inside isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities in America, this gripping work of non-fiction illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behaviour.

 Christianity Murder Religious Studies True Crime Mormon Crime

Critic reviews

A provocative look at the twisted roots of American fundamentalism. (Will Self)
Excellent . . . a lucid, judicious, even sympathetic account not just of Mormon Fundamentalism but of the seductive power of fanaticism in general.
Remarkable . . . for anyone interested in the wilder frontiers of spiritual conviction, this book is a must.
All stars
Most relevant
frustrating that this has been copied from CD (every so often the narration is interrupted by "continues on disk...")

Very detailed review of the history of the religion, and sometimes the events get lost in that history. But a very interesting novel

detailed history

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An exhaustively researched exposé of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints which attempts to explain, even justify, the callous murder of Brenda and her 15 month old daughter by two brothers of the Lafferty family.
Complicit in this were the rest of the Lafferty family members, not least their very own mother who had full knowledge of the brother's plan, as did the, so called, School of Prophets members.
Only in America, thank goodness, could such a, literally, misguided group be born and proliferate in such vast numbers.
Beware, The Mormon Church is spreading across the world in search of ever more converts to sign up for their version of The Truth.

Only in America

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I really struggled to get through this book I think due to the narration. I really enjoyed Jon Krakauer’s other books but I couldn’t stay focused on this book so found myself lost on several occasions. I was on chapter 14 before I remembered the beginning of this book started with a murder. I think the contents was quite interesting, albeit a lengthy run down of Mormon history but the narration is too American for me.

I really struggled to get through this book

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this was fascinating to listen to and clearly the author has done a lot of research. there is quite a lot of disturbing material in the book but I feel that it is not gratuitous in its presentation and is necessary to drive home some of the authors points.

the only criticism I would make is that, at times, I felt the book lacked structure. the book opens with a double homicide and it is clear that the author is attempting to find the reason behind the crime, however the past towards the answer jumps about in history a lot and I found myself thinking - what does this have to do with the original crime? having said that, I didn't mind hearing the story of how the church was founded and how it's doctrines evolved over time... It is all interesting

interesting and disturbing, very well researched

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I learned and lot, but the book also felt repetative. There were a lot of names, and difficult to know which ones were worth remembering.

Overall and good book

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