Under the banner of heaven : a story of violent faith
(Book)

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Published
New York : Doubleday, 2003.
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Published
New York : Doubleday, 2003.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xxiii, 372 pages : maps ; 25 cm
Language
English
Reading Level
UG
Level 10, 23 Points
Lexile measure
1350

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-358) and index.
Description
Jon Krakauer's literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this "divinely inspired" crime, Krakauer constructs a multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. Along the way, he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America's fastest-growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief. Krakauer takes readers inside isolated communities in the American West, Canada, and Mexico, where some forty-thousand Mormon Fundamentalists believe the mainstream Mormon Church went unforgivably astray when it renounced polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the leaders of these outlaw sects are zealots who answer only to God. Marrying prodigiously and with virtual impunity (the leader of the largest fundamentalist church took seventy-five "plural wives," several of whom were wed to him when they were fourteen or fifteen and he was in his eighties), fundamentalist prophets exercise absolute control over the lives of their followers, and preach that any day now the world will be swept clean in a hurricane of fire, sparing only their most obedient adherents. Weaving the story of the Lafferty brothers and their fanatical brethren with a clear-eyed look at Mormonism's violent past, Krakauer examines the underbelly of the most successful homegrown faith in the United States, and finds a distinctly American brand of religious extremism. The result is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behavior.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Krakauer, J. (2003). Under the banner of heaven: a story of violent faith (First edition.). Doubleday.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Krakauer, Jon. 2003. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. Doubleday.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Krakauer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Doubleday, 2003.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Krakauer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith First edition., Doubleday, 2003.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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