Under the Banner of Heaven
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.
Stats for nerds
8recommend
15mentions
13people
2010–2026years
60% recommend33% neutral7% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Why didn't you say they were mormons from the beginning? That all makes sense now. Truth, lies, and morality doesn't mean the same in that case. Read Under The Banner of Heaven by Krakauer.
- I told the last missionaries at my door that I'd read "Under the banner of heaven" by John n Krakauer. Haven't seen one since.
- > My theory is that gay men, as well as trans women are a subversion of traditional gender roles which is why conservatives get worked up about it
Exactly. The traditional gender roles come out of the tradition of patriarchal exploitation of women and subordinate men. The extreme version of this is seen in groups like the FLDS [1] and make the dynamics more apparent. But it's the same basic deal even on the softer complementarian end of things. The far right will talk about how gay marriage is a threat to marriage in general, and in one sense I agree with them: functional marriages without rigid gender roles demonstrate that their conception of marriage is limited and grimly unequal.
[1] Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven is a good place to get the flavor of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Banner_of_Heaven
- For me, what makes a good audiobook is the narrator. It could be a great story, but a terrible narrator. Where as a great narrator could make a bad story good. Here’s my list:
The Cuckoos Egg by Clifford Stoll Daemon by Daniel Suarez Under the banner of heaven by Jon Krakauer The Martian by Andy Weir (RC Bray version is far superior to will Wheaton’s version) Anything read by Malcolm Gladwell A walk in the woods by Bill Bryson, read by the author.
It also depends on what kind of book you like. I love the John Sanford Lucas Davenport series, because they are read by Richard Ferrone and he does an amazing job. Same with Daniel Silva, George Guidel narrates most of his books, and Scott Brick can make anything sound amazing.
- Oh boy, you're gonna release the Kraken here.
Nonfiction that reads like a thriller is my favorite genre.
The last book that truly surprised me for how good it was and had been sitting unread in my queue for a while because the descriptions didn't give it justice was Empty Mansions: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_Mansions
It's basically like rise and fall of Sackler family 1.0 in dynastic wealth and all crazy things that happen to the next generations. Her dad was a mining baron who created the US' largest superfund site and bought himself a Montana Senate seat and then it gets more wild from there. Unlike the Sacklers, the daughter who does seem to have arrested development re: emotional maturity- she played with dolls and ordered customized artisanal dollhouses from Japan for 500k and up into her 80s - did have a very kind heart and gave large gifts to her staff, her relatives, friends, even the guy who came in to repair the TV in her hotel room got a $40k tip. At the end there is a giant fight over multiple versions of the will, allegations of elder abuse by both Doctors Hospital in NYC and her nurse, CPA and attorney and pursuit by the IRS for unpaid gift taxes of millions of dollars.
She lived such a long life that you basically get a tour through American history throughout the book because it starts in the Gilded Age and she lives to be 105 years old! Even at the end of the book the main character who seems easy to write off as a batty old rich lady sort of earns your respect because she doesn't let the hospital push her around too much and stands her ground to many predatory family members and other sharks circling for her estate and largess.
There are some tie ins with modern tech wealth as well- a few of the purchasers of her assets including her Stradivarius violin for $2.5 million is one of the original microsoft guys!
Def check out John Carreyrou's book about Theranos, Bad Blood if you haven't already. That's imo the GOAT of this genre.
The Smartest Guys in the Room about the rise and fall of Enron is AWESOME and truly outrageous, as is Nobody would Listen by Harry Markopolos is about the Bernie Maddof ponzi scheme.
Another long read but REALLY GOOD was The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich which has a sloooooow start (there are a few chapters off the bat about philosophy and the origins of various schools of political theory etc) but once the Beer Hall Putsch happens it really takes off. It was written by William Shirer, an American journalist who lived in Germany and stayed through from the end of WW1 through WWII.
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder was horrific reading and just gruesomely sad but also incredibly well researched and fascinating. I liked it so much I then when on an Ann Applebaum kick of Iron Curtain, Gulag and Red Famine, all of which were very good. If you were going to pick one of hers, I'd do Gulag.
John Kraukauer's Into Thin Air and Under the Banner of Heaven are excellent, as is Crisis in the Red Zone about the origins and spread of ebola in the Sierra Leon.
edit: Oh! Also Midnight in Chernobyl was amazing, especially great if you listen to it before or after watching the HBO show. It's a fantastic read even if you don't watch the show and I think is what kicked off my interest above in life in the Soviet bloc.
Red Notice by Bill Browder details his experience as a global investor during the economic transition and rise of the oligarchs in Russia under Putin and details so much of the corruption and fraud of the current regime. It was written in 2014 after Browder's partner was tortured and murdered and brought about the Magnitsky Act. All the more relevant today with Navalny's recent revelations and very good background for what is happening in Russia now.
Re: tech co books, I'd say STAY AWAY from Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez - was awful and the author is just totally unlikeable douchebag. He's not particularly insightful and the whole book was poorly written, sparsely edited bloviating.
Dear Leader by Jang Jin-sung about his life as a Pyongyang party elite, defectation and escape from North Korea was fantastic, thrilling and actually read like a real life spy novel. Some of the portions where he gets close to the border and as he survives on the lam in the Chinese border adjacent countryside while being hunted are... heart pounding.
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick is also about life in North Korea but focuses less on the party elite and more on the suffering of the general population. Heart-wrenching, horrific, well-researched and depraved.
And the Band Played on by Randy Shilts about the origins and spread of HIV & AIDs is another fantastically written and educational medical themed nonfiction about the development of the AIDS epidemic and the world spread and US and world research responses. Several infuriating portions especially the disinformation campaigns by the blood bank industry and lobbyists once the supply was tainted with the virus.
Ugh... I have so many more, but this should get you started. Have fun and don't forget book reports are due in 5 weeks so get cracking :P
- "Under the Banner of Heaven" explains this effect a bit.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZCGPUA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...
