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tfredrick 's review for:
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer
I read quite a bit of nonfiction/history, but this was my first Krakauer book. He does an excellent job of writing readable, engaging prose that also clearly indicates the historical sources for the information included. In Under the Banner of Heaven, Krakauer examines the history of the LDS (Mormon) church and the offshoot fundamentalist churches that have formed in opposition to the LDS church's shifting positions on polygamy and black men entering the priesthood. Using the framing device of murder within an LDS/FLDS family, Krakauer lays bare both the current practices and beliefs of the FLDS church and the ways in which the history and doctrines of the LDS church--despite the church's public disavowal of FLDS churches--remain closely tied to the FLDS churches.
NOTE: Krakauer's book is an examination of the LDS as a religious institution, not as a religious faith. As such, Krakauer focuses primarily on the historical and contemporary activities of the church; he discusses LDS beliefs in so far as they impact believer's behavior. So, for example, while Krakauer quotes frequently from Doctrine and Covenants, he spends little time discussing the content of the Book of Mormon.
WHAT I LIKED:
* Krakauer provides a great introduction to the secular history of the LDS church. He draws on newspaper articles, historical records, etc. to describe the young LDS church under both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
* Krakauer provides extensive source material throughout the book. After reading this, I have a list of several other books to read on LDS history.
* I found many of Krakauer's main claims throughout the book persuasive, particularly the idea that a religious founded on the idea of personal revelation from God will, by definition, lead to schisms between the established leadership and individual members.
* Because most FLDS churches are hostile to most outsiders, most of Krakauer's information about the FLDS churches in Arizona, Utah, and Canada come from former members who left or were forced out of the church. Given that constraint, Krakauer did an excellent job of finding sources to reveal the beliefs and practices of those communities.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
* The murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty in 1984 provided an interesting jumping off place for the book, but I was ultimately not as interested in all the details of the case and the trial as I was in the history. Krakauer returns to the murder multiple times throughout the book, and most of the time, I just really wanted to get back to the history.
* The book was published in 2003 and so Warren Jeffs plays only a minor role in the book; Krakauer primarily focuses on Jeffs' father, Rulon Jeffs, the previous head of the FLDS church in northern Arizona. Since then, many of us have read about the raid on the YFZ Ranch and Jeffs' conviction to life in prison, so if you're like me, you'll finish the book wanting to know what happened next. (I spent several hours online reading news stories about more contemporary events.)
NOTE: Krakauer's book is an examination of the LDS as a religious institution, not as a religious faith. As such, Krakauer focuses primarily on the historical and contemporary activities of the church; he discusses LDS beliefs in so far as they impact believer's behavior. So, for example, while Krakauer quotes frequently from Doctrine and Covenants, he spends little time discussing the content of the Book of Mormon.
WHAT I LIKED:
* Krakauer provides a great introduction to the secular history of the LDS church. He draws on newspaper articles, historical records, etc. to describe the young LDS church under both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
* Krakauer provides extensive source material throughout the book. After reading this, I have a list of several other books to read on LDS history.
* I found many of Krakauer's main claims throughout the book persuasive, particularly the idea that a religious founded on the idea of personal revelation from God will, by definition, lead to schisms between the established leadership and individual members.
* Because most FLDS churches are hostile to most outsiders, most of Krakauer's information about the FLDS churches in Arizona, Utah, and Canada come from former members who left or were forced out of the church. Given that constraint, Krakauer did an excellent job of finding sources to reveal the beliefs and practices of those communities.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
* The murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty in 1984 provided an interesting jumping off place for the book, but I was ultimately not as interested in all the details of the case and the trial as I was in the history. Krakauer returns to the murder multiple times throughout the book, and most of the time, I just really wanted to get back to the history.
* The book was published in 2003 and so Warren Jeffs plays only a minor role in the book; Krakauer primarily focuses on Jeffs' father, Rulon Jeffs, the previous head of the FLDS church in northern Arizona. Since then, many of us have read about the raid on the YFZ Ranch and Jeffs' conviction to life in prison, so if you're like me, you'll finish the book wanting to know what happened next. (I spent several hours online reading news stories about more contemporary events.)