Book Review
Under the Banner of Heaven

By Jon Krakauer
Reviewed by Bill London
from the February 2004 Newsletter

A friend of mine, who was raised Mormon but left that church as a teenager, sent me Jon Krakauer’s book, “Under the Banner of Heaven,” with the admonition to read it right away.

So I did. And she was right – “Under the Banner of Heaven” is a very powerful book, written with the immediacy and gracefulness of Krakauer’s prose and artfully relating the amazing story of America’s homegrown religion, the Church of the Latter Day Saints, or Mormonism. The Mormon Church was founded only 175 years ago, and now with more than 10 million followers, is known as the world’s fastest-growing faith.

However, this book is more than a well-written history of the Mormon Church — Krakauer uses that history as background to focus on the religious fanaticism inherent in that faith and specifically on the murderous story of the Lafferty brothers. In 1984, the brothers killed their sister-in-law and her daughter in a self-righteous frenzy of retribution ordered by God.

Along the way, Krakauer takes us on a journey into the dark heart of the polygamous renegade Mormon fundamentalists who live in scattered settlements throughout the American West. These extended families survive on welfare benefits to their numerous kids and live to raise obedient girls who are married as teenagers to men old enough to be their fathers and grandfathers.

If you want to better understand religious fervor, polygamous pedophiles, and the allure of the mysterious golden tablets, read Krakauer’s book. And if you are trying to fathom the nature and history of the Mormons or other patriarchal religions, this book is an excellent source. Jon Krakauer’s book “Under the Banner of Heaven” is available at BookPeople and at the public library in Moscow.

Bill London edits this newsletter and is still trying to understand faith and community.

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