A review by lu_debord
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

Krakauer's book is an informative deep dive into the history of Mormonism and the culture that resulted from its unique formation. He weaves in this history with a run-down of the murder case of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter Erica, themselves Mormon, and how this culture could have lead to their deaths. If you are reading this book solely for the true crime aspect, I would say that you've come to the wrong place, as this is mostly a history text. It's told in a circuitous way that could be difficult to keep track of if you are a slow reader, since it's easy to forget how the names connect. Additionally, more focus could've been given to the victims of this crime rather than the perpetrators, but I understand why that decision was made. I don't necessarily agree with the thesis of this work and I find that certain assertions likely wouldn't hold up to a rigorous historical review. However, I enjoyed Krakauer's frank discussions of abuse, and his open-mindedness when interviewing subjects. Overall, this book was enjoyable and pretty informative. 
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