Reviews

Yep, Krakauer could write about paint drying and I still think he could pull it off. This man knows how to teach me about things I never thought I would want to learn about, that's a really cool talent. I only wish he was still writing... I only have three books left to read by him. But anyways, this story was one of the most impactful for me, I didn't know very much at all about Mormans before I read this, and now I feel like it's crazy that I haden't because of how large a role they play in the United States.

I've grown up apart from almost all Morman activity, and I guess that a lot of Americans have. So it's wild to learn about a culture that's so impactful for the first time through this book. I was amazed, angry, sad, and rivited while reading this book. Relgion has always been scary to me, and reading a book like this reinforces that fear, Krakauer did such a great job of illustrating everything in a unbiased light. His storytelling is really above par.

With research this book took four years for him to write and I think it's something every American should read. I do think it dragged on a little and was longer then it needed to be, but it really does have a ton of really important stuff in it. This is one I'll remember forever, thank you Jon Krakauer, you deserve even more hype then you get.

emcclean23's review

Go to review page

challenging dark informative medium-paced

3.0

gwynian's review

Go to review page

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

knachknachjoke's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

A haunting, thorough exploration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, its history, and the dark implications of what actually investigating that history leads one to believe.

I would have considered myself somewhat knowledgeable on LDS church history before this read, but Krakhauer blew pretty much everything out of the water with how thorough his storytelling was. He discloses at the end his own perspective—that he hadn't intended for this to be anything other than an amicable exploration of Mormon history inspired by an admiration for his childhood friends' faiths—and the resonance I felt to his perspective was really startling.

I think my biggest takeaway from reading this, and I believe Krakhauer's from writing it, is just how frightening the two roads you can take after studying Mormonism's history are: either you discern it is one man's quest for sex and power, or you conclude that everything—polygamy, blood atonement, white supremacy, child abuse—is all true and all imperative to a right way of life.

Content Warnings

whitneybarr's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

More...