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Book Review of Under the Banner of Heaven : A Story of Violent Faith

Under the Banner of Heaven : A Story of Violent Faith
reviewed on


When I got this book I expected it to be about the two brothers and the mother and daughter they killed. It is quite a bit more than that. Krakauer uses the account of the two brothers and their brutal murder as a jumping off point to give an account of the history of Fundamentalist Mormonism. This is NOT a book about the History of Mormons, nor is Krakauer trying to say that all Mormans are like the ones in this book. Some of the history traces back to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other main stream Mormon historic leaders, but that is only because Fundamentalist Mormons trace their roots back to them as well. It is a very interesting read into Fundamentalist sects and how they came about/what they believe and how they function.