Under the Banner of Heaven Review

John Krakauer unveils a violent and shocking tale of fanaticism and the bloody side of religion in Under the Banner of Heaven, an exploration into the Fundamentalist Mormon faith and culture. Spurred on by the murder of an innocent LDS mother and her 15-month old baby by her two fundamentalist brother-in-laws who believed they had been commanded by God, Krakauer dives deep into the core of the religion and the philosophy of the religious extremism itself. Shifting through the polygamy-ridden history of the mainstream Mormon Church, which happens to be the fastest growing religion in the world, the author examines the foundation upon which these extremists are built. Recounting incidents from the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in 2002 to the perverse history of FLDS communities such as Colorado City, Arizona with engaging and thorough journalism, Krakauer digs down to the bedrock of the extremist’s mind. If you are unopinionated on the Mormon Church before reading this book then you certainly wont be a fan of it after you have. While the author is one-hundred percent factual, he does paint the mainstream Latter Day Saints in a harsher light than they deserve. Krakauer enthralls the reader in the stories of forced marriages, incest, rape and unmovable faith. It isn’t far into the book that the reader’s blood begins to boil. The unflinching truthfulness of the horrors told in Under the Banner of Heaven makes the reader wish they could wipe the fundamentalist Mormon church of the face of the earth. The author asks and then attempts to answer questions such as Where is the line drawn between faith and fanaticism? Krakauer conjures connections between Mormon Fundamentalism and other infamous extremist sects, comparing Ron and Dan Lafferty, the murderers who’s story opens up the book, to Osama bin Laden, Jim Jones, and other mass murderers driven by their faith. He says Colorado City, where the residents are strictly forbidden from watching television or reading newspapers and where 14 year old girls are pulled out of school to marry their uncles, is a “Taliban-like theocracy”. Under the Banner of Heaven is an extremely interesting and thought provoking book and Krakauer’s investigation into the FLDS Church leaves no stone unturned. A great read, as long as the reader doesn’t mind getting enraged by every passing page.