What do you think?
Rate this book
The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary
Finalist for the 2015 Association for Mormon Letters Award
“This just may be my favorite true-life amazing-but-true tale—never has threatening an aircraft been funnier or more thought-provoking.” —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother and Homeland
“I devoured the more than four hundred pages of this memoir in what was essentially one sitting . . . A welcome addition to the library of Mormon autobiography—educational and highly entertaining.” —Richard Packham, Dawning of a Brighter Day
1987. A faltering missionary named Bill Shunn lands himself in a Canadian jail, facing charges of hijacking and the prospect of life behind bars.
1844. A frontier prophet named Joseph Smith lands himself in an Illinois jail, facing charges of treason and the prospect of imminent lynching.
What binds these two men together? This riveting memoir—by turns hilarious, provocative and thrilling—answers that question in style, weaving from their stories a spellbinding tapestry of deception, desperation and defiance. Answer its call and you’ll never look at a Mormon missionary the same way again.
“You will read few other books as smart, funny, honest, and heartbreaking as The Accidental Terrorist, and I unreservedly recommend it to you as both a home-grown cautionary tale and a highly original coming-of-age saga.” —Michael Bishop, author of Ancient of Days
“The book grabs you on page one and never lets go. Fantastically written, beautifully paced, The Accidental Terrorist reads like a novel instead of a memoir. Only in novel form, no one would have ever believed these events could have happened. Believe it. William Shunn lived every word of this book. That he can share it so eloquently is a tribute not just to his writing skill, but his strengths as a human being.” —Kristine Kathryn Rusch, USA Today bestselling author
“This just may be my favorite true-life amazing-but-true tale—never has threatening an aircraft been funnier or more thought-provoking.” —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother and Homeland
“I devoured the more than four hundred pages of this memoir in what was essentially one sitting . . . A welcome addition to the library of Mormon autobiography—educational and highly entertaining.” —Richard Packham, Dawning of a Brighter Day
1987. A faltering missionary named Bill Shunn lands himself in a Canadian jail, facing charges of hijacking and the prospect of life behind bars.
1844. A frontier prophet named Joseph Smith lands himself in an Illinois jail, facing charges of treason and the prospect of imminent lynching.
What binds these two men together? This riveting memoir—by turns hilarious, provocative and thrilling—answers that question in style, weaving from their stories a spellbinding tapestry of deception, desperation and defiance. Answer its call and you’ll never look at a Mormon missionary the same way again.
“You will read few other books as smart, funny, honest, and heartbreaking as The Accidental Terrorist, and I unreservedly recommend it to you as both a home-grown cautionary tale and a highly original coming-of-age saga.” —Michael Bishop, author of Ancient of Days
“The book grabs you on page one and never lets go. Fantastically written, beautifully paced, The Accidental Terrorist reads like a novel instead of a memoir. Only in novel form, no one would have ever believed these events could have happened. Believe it. William Shunn lived every word of this book. That he can share it so eloquently is a tribute not just to his writing skill, but his strengths as a human being.” —Kristine Kathryn Rusch, USA Today bestselling author
448 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2015
17 people are currently reading
794 people want to read
About the author
William Shunn
23 books109 followersWilliam Shunn was born in Los Angeles and raised in Utah, the eldest of eight children in a devout Mormon family. A writer from a young age, he attended the Clarion Writers Workshop at Michigan State University in 1985, when he was 17. As was expected, he departed on a proselytizing mission for the LDS Church at the age of 19. He was assigned to preach in Alberta, Canada, but after six months he was convicted of felony mischief in connection with a false bomb threat and expelled from the country. The complete story is recounted in his memoir The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary, available November 10, 2015.
In 1991, Shunn graduated from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City with a degree in computer science. Soon thereafter he began finding success as a science fiction writer. His short fiction has appeared in Salon, Asimov's Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Science Fiction Age, Realms of Fantasy, Electric Velocipede, Storyteller, Newtown Literary, and various anthologies, including year's-best collections. His work has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and twice for the Nebula Award.
A small collection of his stories, An Alternate History of the 21st Century, was published by Spilt Milk Press in 2007, with an introduction by Cory Doctorow. Cast a Cold Eye, a short horror novel co-written with Derryl Murphy, appeared from PS Publishing in 2009.
Shunn served three years as a national juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and for three years hosted and produced the acclaimed Tuesday Funk literary reading series in Chicago. He has long worked as a software developer, notably for WordPerfect Corporation and Sesame Workshop, and on September 11, 2001, he created what may have been the first online "survivor registry," a database that allowed people in affected cities a way to report their status and allowed friends and families to see if their loved ones were okay.
William Shunn left the Mormon Church in 1995 and developed one of the earliest ex-Mormon web sites. He lives in New York City.
In 1991, Shunn graduated from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City with a degree in computer science. Soon thereafter he began finding success as a science fiction writer. His short fiction has appeared in Salon, Asimov's Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Science Fiction Age, Realms of Fantasy, Electric Velocipede, Storyteller, Newtown Literary, and various anthologies, including year's-best collections. His work has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and twice for the Nebula Award.
A small collection of his stories, An Alternate History of the 21st Century, was published by Spilt Milk Press in 2007, with an introduction by Cory Doctorow. Cast a Cold Eye, a short horror novel co-written with Derryl Murphy, appeared from PS Publishing in 2009.
Shunn served three years as a national juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and for three years hosted and produced the acclaimed Tuesday Funk literary reading series in Chicago. He has long worked as a software developer, notably for WordPerfect Corporation and Sesame Workshop, and on September 11, 2001, he created what may have been the first online "survivor registry," a database that allowed people in affected cities a way to report their status and allowed friends and families to see if their loved ones were okay.
William Shunn left the Mormon Church in 1995 and developed one of the earliest ex-Mormon web sites. He lives in New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
March 15, 2016
Hoo boy – every once in a while you read a book that sort of stabs you in the heart. I won’t belabor this point – that is exactly what this book did for me. It stabbed me right in the chest. Blood is everywhere and it’s because of those damned pointy corners.
Wait, I think I took my metaphor and made it literal there. There was no blood, it only made my heart hurt because of the emotions I felt, not through a physical confrontation with the bound paper it was printed on.
If I take a step back and try to look at it objectively, I’m not sure if it will have the same impact on a reader who was not ardently devoted to a faith, then later decided later that apostasy was preferable. Personally, that is my story, so this book, while specifically about a devout Mormon becoming an international terrorist (accidentally), for me, it’s an insight into myself in late teens.
And, yes, in a different set of circumstances this might have been me. We clearly had the same thought process about what we believed, even if his faith (Mormon!) and mine (Pentacostal!) we’re far enough removed from one another that had we met at the time when we were both teenagers, I’d have been tearfully explaining to Elder Shunn how he’s going to burn in hell forever with the impeccable logic only a true believer has (in college, I remember I took a world-religions class, and each section in my Christian Liberal Arts college class would examine a particular faith, look at the tenets of that faith, its practices, and why their adherents are going to hell – Momons were chapter #1).
I must point out that the author goes to great pains to not comment on the veracity of the claims of the Mormon church. I’m sure it was hard to do. I for one, have a great fondness for the faith myself, as it was a group of Elders on their two-year mission that came knocking on my door one day, and we talked for what seemed like hours, they came back a week later (having given me time to read the Book of Mormon in full) to discuss in detail. I can’t for the life of me remember their names, there were two, then later, a third person that I spoke with the most. I got to hear their tales of searching for a true religion (with no trace of irony, they noted they were all raised Mormon, considered leaving, and decided after some real soul-searching that they’d been lucky enough to be born and raised in the one true faith) and they talked to me about mine.
In the end, the reason I loved them so much, was that I could sit down the Book of Mormon, and see the flaws there. I could see the contradictions, both with itself and established scripture (i.e., the Bible) and the mental contortions they were forced to get themselves into in order to harmonize their faith both with the world we clearly live in, and the spiritual one they thought surrounded us. I found it laughable.
The faith of my missionaries, by the way, was unshakable, at least in front of me. No argument, no matter how ironclad, that I presented worked on them. I mean, I all but had a signed writ from God himself saying that Mormons were wrong, but each argument I would present was dismissed with a wave of the hand and a line or two of scripture. They talked about the history of the Americas before Europeans settled here that included no people, but Oxen (those are domesticated animals), horses (brought from Europe later), Elephants (seriously?) and all sorts of other things that history tells me never happened. Turns out, everything I thought I knew was wrong.
As I, and they, grew more frustrated with one another, one of them eventually turned to me and said, “You know, your bible has just as many problems as the Book of Mormon does, I don’t see you holding that up to the same standards.”
And then, just like in a movie, about a thousand gears clicked into place, a giant veil fell from my eyes, and I saw it: He was right. I did the same thing. I did the EXACT same thing. Sure, my faith had been around longer, the details were different, but the justifications I had for my belief were the same. I realized, maybe for the first time in my life… I was full of shit*.
Literally, at that moment, in a way that is impossible to explain to anyone that hasn’t experienced something similar, I knew that I didn’t believe it. Not any of it. Something I’d dedicated 10 years of my life to, and I mean devotedly, unquestioningly, fervently… it was all gone in a puff of smoke.
For probably 6 of those 10 years I’d had some nagging doubts, but those were the sort that were buried deeply and only came out once or twice. But for the previous 6 months or so I’d say I was in full-on crisis mode when it came to salvaging my faith. I’d finally decided to really look into all these particular issues that were bugging me and work my way through them – my personal journey wasn’t going very well. But the first appearance of the Mormons appeared to be a Godsend, because it let me focus on all their problems and not be bothered with my own. But man, when my Mormon issues and my personal crisis of faith issues met, it was ugly. It was over.
I’ve spend the last, um, fifteen years or so trying to reconstruct who I was back then and how I saw the world. This book, it brought back a lot of memories for me, similar instances of bonding with peers, hanging out with like-minding people and sharing a sense of community that doesn’t really have a parallel in the real world that I’ve seen otherwise. At least not when it’s at its best.
I may have gotten myself off-track. All that is just a long preamble to be saying that I am clearly the target audience for this work. Even if it’s not obvious. I think its appeal is universal enough that anyone could read, and almost everyone who did would be moved. The Accidental Terrorist is well written, well paced, and has enough context provided that someone completely unfamiliar with Mormonism would come away feeling like they got enough detail to feel educated about it and its early history. Well, at least a little.
I’m sad that the book is over. I wish there was a part-two to this. But I guess this is the whole story. Well done. Can’t recommend this highly enough.
*I have to say that I’m not entirely comfortable with all that I’m probably implying about religion in general, so I’ll simply qualify what I’ve said above with, “no offense intended.” Many people many times smarter than I believe wholeheartedly in whatever faith you care to mention. There very well may be great reasons for belief, I’m only saying that the reasons I believed turned out to be based on a pretty flimsy foundations.
Wait, I think I took my metaphor and made it literal there. There was no blood, it only made my heart hurt because of the emotions I felt, not through a physical confrontation with the bound paper it was printed on.
If I take a step back and try to look at it objectively, I’m not sure if it will have the same impact on a reader who was not ardently devoted to a faith, then later decided later that apostasy was preferable. Personally, that is my story, so this book, while specifically about a devout Mormon becoming an international terrorist (accidentally), for me, it’s an insight into myself in late teens.
And, yes, in a different set of circumstances this might have been me. We clearly had the same thought process about what we believed, even if his faith (Mormon!) and mine (Pentacostal!) we’re far enough removed from one another that had we met at the time when we were both teenagers, I’d have been tearfully explaining to Elder Shunn how he’s going to burn in hell forever with the impeccable logic only a true believer has (in college, I remember I took a world-religions class, and each section in my Christian Liberal Arts college class would examine a particular faith, look at the tenets of that faith, its practices, and why their adherents are going to hell – Momons were chapter #1).
I must point out that the author goes to great pains to not comment on the veracity of the claims of the Mormon church. I’m sure it was hard to do. I for one, have a great fondness for the faith myself, as it was a group of Elders on their two-year mission that came knocking on my door one day, and we talked for what seemed like hours, they came back a week later (having given me time to read the Book of Mormon in full) to discuss in detail. I can’t for the life of me remember their names, there were two, then later, a third person that I spoke with the most. I got to hear their tales of searching for a true religion (with no trace of irony, they noted they were all raised Mormon, considered leaving, and decided after some real soul-searching that they’d been lucky enough to be born and raised in the one true faith) and they talked to me about mine.
In the end, the reason I loved them so much, was that I could sit down the Book of Mormon, and see the flaws there. I could see the contradictions, both with itself and established scripture (i.e., the Bible) and the mental contortions they were forced to get themselves into in order to harmonize their faith both with the world we clearly live in, and the spiritual one they thought surrounded us. I found it laughable.
The faith of my missionaries, by the way, was unshakable, at least in front of me. No argument, no matter how ironclad, that I presented worked on them. I mean, I all but had a signed writ from God himself saying that Mormons were wrong, but each argument I would present was dismissed with a wave of the hand and a line or two of scripture. They talked about the history of the Americas before Europeans settled here that included no people, but Oxen (those are domesticated animals), horses (brought from Europe later), Elephants (seriously?) and all sorts of other things that history tells me never happened. Turns out, everything I thought I knew was wrong.
As I, and they, grew more frustrated with one another, one of them eventually turned to me and said, “You know, your bible has just as many problems as the Book of Mormon does, I don’t see you holding that up to the same standards.”
And then, just like in a movie, about a thousand gears clicked into place, a giant veil fell from my eyes, and I saw it: He was right. I did the same thing. I did the EXACT same thing. Sure, my faith had been around longer, the details were different, but the justifications I had for my belief were the same. I realized, maybe for the first time in my life… I was full of shit*.
Literally, at that moment, in a way that is impossible to explain to anyone that hasn’t experienced something similar, I knew that I didn’t believe it. Not any of it. Something I’d dedicated 10 years of my life to, and I mean devotedly, unquestioningly, fervently… it was all gone in a puff of smoke.
For probably 6 of those 10 years I’d had some nagging doubts, but those were the sort that were buried deeply and only came out once or twice. But for the previous 6 months or so I’d say I was in full-on crisis mode when it came to salvaging my faith. I’d finally decided to really look into all these particular issues that were bugging me and work my way through them – my personal journey wasn’t going very well. But the first appearance of the Mormons appeared to be a Godsend, because it let me focus on all their problems and not be bothered with my own. But man, when my Mormon issues and my personal crisis of faith issues met, it was ugly. It was over.
I’ve spend the last, um, fifteen years or so trying to reconstruct who I was back then and how I saw the world. This book, it brought back a lot of memories for me, similar instances of bonding with peers, hanging out with like-minding people and sharing a sense of community that doesn’t really have a parallel in the real world that I’ve seen otherwise. At least not when it’s at its best.
I may have gotten myself off-track. All that is just a long preamble to be saying that I am clearly the target audience for this work. Even if it’s not obvious. I think its appeal is universal enough that anyone could read, and almost everyone who did would be moved. The Accidental Terrorist is well written, well paced, and has enough context provided that someone completely unfamiliar with Mormonism would come away feeling like they got enough detail to feel educated about it and its early history. Well, at least a little.
I’m sad that the book is over. I wish there was a part-two to this. But I guess this is the whole story. Well done. Can’t recommend this highly enough.
*I have to say that I’m not entirely comfortable with all that I’m probably implying about religion in general, so I’ll simply qualify what I’ve said above with, “no offense intended.” Many people many times smarter than I believe wholeheartedly in whatever faith you care to mention. There very well may be great reasons for belief, I’m only saying that the reasons I believed turned out to be based on a pretty flimsy foundations.
November 10, 2015
I first heard the story of "Elder Shunn" from a close friend who was serving on an LDS (Mormon) mission with him in the late 1980's. A few years later I read the story online when the internet was still in its infancy after the author published the story online under the tongue-in-cheek title, "Terror On Flight 789".
First and foremost, one need not be Mormon or an "RM" (return missionary) to appreciate this book. The author, Bill Shunn, is a talented writer who has a gift with the written word. As a published Sci-Fi author, Shunn has received nominations for several prestigious awards in the Sci-Fi community since the "accidental" act of terrorism he committed while he was working as a Mormon missionary in the late 1980's. However, thanks to the fact that this "accident" happened in a pre-9/11 world, he didn't spend the next 20 years in a prison cell and we, the readers, can now enjoy reading the finely polished work that "Terror On Flight 789" has became: The Accidental Terrorist.
This book is absolutely delightful. The author pulls the reader into his world and brings his story to life like few memoirs can. You'll laugh out loud and gasp several times as you read The Accidental Terrorist and may catch yourself saying out loud, "Oh NO he didn't!" as you read. Oh yes, yes he did. The author also paints a picture of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, better than just about any book I've ever read. (Sure, some books have gone into far more depth with Joseph Smith than Shunn does but few books seem to get inside the mind of Joseph Smith as well as Shunn does.)
Joseph Smith said of his life, "no man knows my history" but, after reading The Accidental Terrorist, I'd have to disagree. Clearly Bill Shunn knows and, more importantly, helps the reader understand Joseph Smith's complicated life and history as he intertwines the story of Smith throughout this memoir as he shares his amazing, almost too-hard-to-believe story of the time he almost accidentally blew up an airliner. (Okay, he didn't almost blow up an airliner but what he DID do was pretty damn crazy, got him arrested for terrorism, and makes for a fantastic read that you won't want to put down.)
Mormon, ExMormon and Never-mo alike (that's what we call people who've never had the "pleasure" of being a Mormon: Never-mo) will enjoy reading The Accidental Terrorist. However, with that being said, this book would make an especially fantastic Christmas gift for anyone on your list who ever served a Mormon mission. Those of us who served missions for the LDS Church can relate so well to the author's experience on his mission and can perhaps better understand why he did what he did when he did it. (I hate to be so vague but I don't want to spoil the story.)
This book officially comes out tomorrow, Nov. 10, 2015. Get your copy today! Go to Twitter and search for "#accidentalterrorist" to see what others are saying about this book.
First and foremost, one need not be Mormon or an "RM" (return missionary) to appreciate this book. The author, Bill Shunn, is a talented writer who has a gift with the written word. As a published Sci-Fi author, Shunn has received nominations for several prestigious awards in the Sci-Fi community since the "accidental" act of terrorism he committed while he was working as a Mormon missionary in the late 1980's. However, thanks to the fact that this "accident" happened in a pre-9/11 world, he didn't spend the next 20 years in a prison cell and we, the readers, can now enjoy reading the finely polished work that "Terror On Flight 789" has became: The Accidental Terrorist.
This book is absolutely delightful. The author pulls the reader into his world and brings his story to life like few memoirs can. You'll laugh out loud and gasp several times as you read The Accidental Terrorist and may catch yourself saying out loud, "Oh NO he didn't!" as you read. Oh yes, yes he did. The author also paints a picture of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, better than just about any book I've ever read. (Sure, some books have gone into far more depth with Joseph Smith than Shunn does but few books seem to get inside the mind of Joseph Smith as well as Shunn does.)
Joseph Smith said of his life, "no man knows my history" but, after reading The Accidental Terrorist, I'd have to disagree. Clearly Bill Shunn knows and, more importantly, helps the reader understand Joseph Smith's complicated life and history as he intertwines the story of Smith throughout this memoir as he shares his amazing, almost too-hard-to-believe story of the time he almost accidentally blew up an airliner. (Okay, he didn't almost blow up an airliner but what he DID do was pretty damn crazy, got him arrested for terrorism, and makes for a fantastic read that you won't want to put down.)
Mormon, ExMormon and Never-mo alike (that's what we call people who've never had the "pleasure" of being a Mormon: Never-mo) will enjoy reading The Accidental Terrorist. However, with that being said, this book would make an especially fantastic Christmas gift for anyone on your list who ever served a Mormon mission. Those of us who served missions for the LDS Church can relate so well to the author's experience on his mission and can perhaps better understand why he did what he did when he did it. (I hate to be so vague but I don't want to spoil the story.)
This book officially comes out tomorrow, Nov. 10, 2015. Get your copy today! Go to Twitter and search for "#accidentalterrorist" to see what others are saying about this book.
November 4, 2015
I was the mission office secretary on our couples mission so I have sat with troubled young missionaries, seeing them with new eyes. Even as a supposedly mature adult with returned missionary sons I had not processed the idea that they were boys trying to do an impossible job.
I love the way Shunn weaves in the story of Joseph Smith, exposing his teenage angst and foibles as he followed in his father's footsteps. In lockstep with tradition, Joseph's life followed the path of magic and treasure digging, while in Shunn's case it was the tradition of his faith to become a serving missionary. Both teenagers found themselves trapped by something larger than either could handle.
Both had active and vivid imaginations - fueling a series of events with far reaching consequences.
Bill Shunn is a word artist - his story is peppered with delicious word pictures. I was entertained, educated and found empathy along with the laughter elicited by his honesty about his own inadequacies. A human story that has the ability to touch any heart.
I love the way Shunn weaves in the story of Joseph Smith, exposing his teenage angst and foibles as he followed in his father's footsteps. In lockstep with tradition, Joseph's life followed the path of magic and treasure digging, while in Shunn's case it was the tradition of his faith to become a serving missionary. Both teenagers found themselves trapped by something larger than either could handle.
Both had active and vivid imaginations - fueling a series of events with far reaching consequences.
Bill Shunn is a word artist - his story is peppered with delicious word pictures. I was entertained, educated and found empathy along with the laughter elicited by his honesty about his own inadequacies. A human story that has the ability to touch any heart.
September 17, 2015
Full disclosure: I've known Bill Shunn for twenty years, and knew all of the events in his memoir long before reading The Accidental Terrorist. I know that it's a true story, and know how it turned out in the end, but even so, I couldn't put it down and couldn't stop wanting to find out what happened next.
The Accidental Terrorist is compelling. It's also a mature and compassionate look at the author's younger self, at the time of his Mormon mission, and it's interspersed with the history of the Mormon church.
Read it if you like memoirs. Read it if you want a page turner. Read it if you're interested in the Church of the Latter Day Saints or the collision of faith and secular goals or coming of age stories. Just read it.
The Accidental Terrorist is compelling. It's also a mature and compassionate look at the author's younger self, at the time of his Mormon mission, and it's interspersed with the history of the Mormon church.
Read it if you like memoirs. Read it if you want a page turner. Read it if you're interested in the Church of the Latter Day Saints or the collision of faith and secular goals or coming of age stories. Just read it.
August 15, 2015
Heartfelt, thoughtful, and fascinating. For this gentile, it was a glimpse into a parallel universe.
February 27, 2017
I "read" this by listening to the audio podcasts by the author. I found it very engaging and informative. It's truly interesting, and I recommend it. :D
January 28, 2021
One of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long, long time. Fact is, I'd been looking forward to this book for quite awhile, having heard large parts of the story over the years. (There had been a podcast, as well as postings on the author's website.) My greatest worry was that the finished product might not live up to expectations. I need not have been concerned. Thrilling, poignant, laugh-out-loud funny, and remarkably informative, The Accidental Terrorist is everything you want a good memoir to be. It's a gripping glimpse into the mind-boggling history of the Mormon church intertwined with Shunn's bizarre and moving true story: At age 19, far from his Utah home, and into his two-year church mission in Calgary, Alberta, Shunn felt compelled to commit a terrorist act—driven by circumstance, fear, and his strict Mormon upbringing. Fast-paced and unforgettable, The Accidental Terrorist will not disappoint. A terrific read, from start to finish. Above all, next time a pair of neatly dressed Mormon kids knock on your door to profess their gospel, be kind. Trust me, if their lives are even remotely similar to the 19-year-old Shunn, they deserve your patience and pity.
January 23, 2016
After rolling through an entire back-catalog of paranormal romance books, I figured a nice non-fiction book was the ticket. I picked up this one on recommendation of a book blog, and got it with a Kindle gift card that I received for Christmas. I grew up in an area with a good-sized Mormon community and had friends in school that were Mormon, but apart from that and reading a few other books and seeing a season or so of Sister Wives, I have minimal knowledge or interaction with Mormons as people, as a religion, or as a culture.
This book is a combination of memoir of the author's time as a young Mormon missionary and an early history of the Mormon church as founded by Joseph Smith. The author did a very nice job with combining the two storylines, right to matching the pacing nicely as he reaches the climax of both his own story and the events that led to Joseph Smith's death by mob. In order to achieve this pacing match, the size of the chapters/sections from each of the two stories decreases rapidly at the end, which definitely creates some narrative pressure and flow and worked out very well.
I learned a lot about early Mormon church development and history, with more in here about the politics and "other side" than I've seen in other books, which I found helpful. It is rather fascinating that we do have this relatively recent record of a new religion's development, and while it seems dead crazy to many of us nowadays, I'm sure if we had similar records of how Christianity or Islam developed, those would also sound crazy. The author also includes a lot of information about current church practices, right down to the initiation and reasons for wearing the garments, along with comparisons to the Freemason rituals that were the inspiration for much of what Joseph Smith put together for his new church. I found all of this interesting, and I can see why it is felt to be sacred and found to be comforting and spiritual for the members of the church. Needless to say, the author is no longer part of the Mormon church, as revealing this sort of information is verboten and I'm sure it's led to his excommunication.
As for the author's story, I'll let the reader go through it to discover exactly what he did that led to him being arrested as a terrorist. I will say that much of what he and his fellow young missionaries get up to is unsurprising due to their age and situation, in fact I'm surprised that more hijinks don't ensue given the circumstances. I've always found it interesting that this church sends out some of its youngest adult members as missionaries, rather than more experienced and older adults as usually happens in other religions, and the culture that has built up around this for both young men and young women deserves exploring and understanding.
I'd really, really like to rank this book 4.5 stars (dammit Goodreads, make this an option!). However, while it was technically well written and enjoyable, while being full of information, I just can't quite rank it a full five stars, so down to 4 it is. I'd recommend this as an interesting memoir with a lot of information about the Mormon church, so if these interest you, then definitely give this a shot.
This book is a combination of memoir of the author's time as a young Mormon missionary and an early history of the Mormon church as founded by Joseph Smith. The author did a very nice job with combining the two storylines, right to matching the pacing nicely as he reaches the climax of both his own story and the events that led to Joseph Smith's death by mob. In order to achieve this pacing match, the size of the chapters/sections from each of the two stories decreases rapidly at the end, which definitely creates some narrative pressure and flow and worked out very well.
I learned a lot about early Mormon church development and history, with more in here about the politics and "other side" than I've seen in other books, which I found helpful. It is rather fascinating that we do have this relatively recent record of a new religion's development, and while it seems dead crazy to many of us nowadays, I'm sure if we had similar records of how Christianity or Islam developed, those would also sound crazy. The author also includes a lot of information about current church practices, right down to the initiation and reasons for wearing the garments, along with comparisons to the Freemason rituals that were the inspiration for much of what Joseph Smith put together for his new church. I found all of this interesting, and I can see why it is felt to be sacred and found to be comforting and spiritual for the members of the church. Needless to say, the author is no longer part of the Mormon church, as revealing this sort of information is verboten and I'm sure it's led to his excommunication.
As for the author's story, I'll let the reader go through it to discover exactly what he did that led to him being arrested as a terrorist. I will say that much of what he and his fellow young missionaries get up to is unsurprising due to their age and situation, in fact I'm surprised that more hijinks don't ensue given the circumstances. I've always found it interesting that this church sends out some of its youngest adult members as missionaries, rather than more experienced and older adults as usually happens in other religions, and the culture that has built up around this for both young men and young women deserves exploring and understanding.
I'd really, really like to rank this book 4.5 stars (dammit Goodreads, make this an option!). However, while it was technically well written and enjoyable, while being full of information, I just can't quite rank it a full five stars, so down to 4 it is. I'd recommend this as an interesting memoir with a lot of information about the Mormon church, so if these interest you, then definitely give this a shot.
December 1, 2015
The event at the center of the story -- the author's ill-advised decision, as a young Mormon missionary, to call in a bomb threat, to prevent a fellow missionary from deserting his mission -- is exciting and interesting enough, but the details of the day-to-day life of a Mormon missionary are also well-observed and fascinating. Shunn makes you understand how he could come to be in a mental state where calling in a bomb threat would make sense, while not excusing his actions, or pretending that they had any good justification.
I also liked Shunn's character portraits -- the glimpses of Ward President Tuttle's lack of empathy for his charges are damning, and what seems initially to be an entirely negative portrayal of his father becomes more complex as the book goes on. (Which, as with Shunn himself, does not excuse some of his actions.)
Shunn also includes some sections with a history of the church (and of Joseph Smith in particular); these sections fit in well with the rest of the book. (In the hands of a lesser writer, they could have been jarring, but I didn't find them so.)
It's a well-written book on an interesting topic. I recommend it to anyone who has any curiosity about what it's like in the Mormon church.
I also liked Shunn's character portraits -- the glimpses of Ward President Tuttle's lack of empathy for his charges are damning, and what seems initially to be an entirely negative portrayal of his father becomes more complex as the book goes on. (Which, as with Shunn himself, does not excuse some of his actions.)
Shunn also includes some sections with a history of the church (and of Joseph Smith in particular); these sections fit in well with the rest of the book. (In the hands of a lesser writer, they could have been jarring, but I didn't find them so.)
It's a well-written book on an interesting topic. I recommend it to anyone who has any curiosity about what it's like in the Mormon church.
October 18, 2015
My own full disclosure here, as I am mentioned in the "about the author" details as being a co-author of Bill's, so take this with however many grains of salt you wish. But this is a remarkably entertaining, forthright, educational, appalling, sometimes even cringe-worthy book. Bill's honesty in telling you about his life as a missionary is unblinking and edifying, and I got through this much faster than I had anticipated, pleased to finally know the full story, excited to turn from page to page and chapter to chapter as I learned not only about Bill's life but about Joseph Smith's, something I was not interested in. Or so I thought. The comparisons between Bill and Smith, the founder of the Mormons, are interesting to the reader, and while he doesn't dwell too much on them, I can see how not only Bill but pretty much any Elder might think on such a connection.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
December 22, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. The author shared many of the same sentiments that I have regarding the mission field--in my case, the thought of losing my son for 2 years. (I'd obviously support any well-researched decision he made, but at the same time, I am too selfish to willingly lose my child for that long; especially for something I myself don't believe.) This book was researched, documented, well thought out, and captivated me throughout the entire read. Thanks for sharing your story, Bill!
January 16, 2016
Oh lord, I read about this book on John Scalzi's website feature "The Big Idea". Somehow I thought it was fiction and included an alien invasion along with the Mormon missionaries. (A book I would still like to read.)
It reminded me of my time in the Peace Corps. It cemented my thought that the Mormons would be wise to change the nature of the mission. If it were community service I bet they'd attract a lot more converts, keep more members and just generally be more inspiring.
I enjoyed his comparison of the Book of Mormon to a debut novel.
It reminded me of my time in the Peace Corps. It cemented my thought that the Mormons would be wise to change the nature of the mission. If it were community service I bet they'd attract a lot more converts, keep more members and just generally be more inspiring.
I enjoyed his comparison of the Book of Mormon to a debut novel.
January 24, 2016
I won this book as part of the goodreads giveaaway. This book offers a one of a kind look into the history of the mormon faith from the questioning eyes of a 19 y/o. missionary. Witty, honest, and quite the page turner. The accidental terrorist will shock you with it's stranger than fiction climatic look into the world of "religious" cults, the strings they pull and the lives they alter. I would not have bought this book myself had I not won it. Now having read it I will be purchasing online copies for others.
October 27, 2015
This heartfelt, revealing, scary tale of a Mormon missionary year is a page-turner. Mormon history is cleverly interlarded, but not as well dramatized as the autobiographical material. Shunn remembers and renders the gut-wrenching conflicts of his youth with both empathy and a critical eye.
December 7, 2015
Seriously brilliant. I've looked forward to reading this book for years, and it did not disappoint. Honest, funny, charming, and completely engrossing -- highly recommended!
January 29, 2021
I should start by saying that I know little about the Mormon church, and was drawn to this book for a reason completely unrelated to that. I’m a fan of the NYT Spelling Bee game, and the author of this book publishes a daily “solution page” for the puzzle. That fascinated me, so I started reading about Shunn. As I did so, I saw a tweet from him about this book. And off I went.
The book is quite a story. Actually, it’s two stories. One is the early life of the author, centered on his youth and especially his time as a Mormon missionary in Canada. I’ll just say he had his doubts about his faith, and those doubts had significant effects on his mission work. The other is the story of Joseph Smith and the history of the Mormon church. He weaves the two together ingeniously, using parts of the back story to illuminate the reasons for his doubts, as well as to educate the reader.
Shunn is a great story teller, with a dry wit. I’ll end by saying that I’m not a science fiction reader, but since Shunn has written in that genre, I may now have to try one of those books, too.
The book is quite a story. Actually, it’s two stories. One is the early life of the author, centered on his youth and especially his time as a Mormon missionary in Canada. I’ll just say he had his doubts about his faith, and those doubts had significant effects on his mission work. The other is the story of Joseph Smith and the history of the Mormon church. He weaves the two together ingeniously, using parts of the back story to illuminate the reasons for his doubts, as well as to educate the reader.
Shunn is a great story teller, with a dry wit. I’ll end by saying that I’m not a science fiction reader, but since Shunn has written in that genre, I may now have to try one of those books, too.
September 2, 2018
The author used to host a slightly different audio version of this book on his website that I found very amusing. When I was reminded of the story I decided I could spend a few bucks and a few hours reading the updated book.
The book itself offers varied insights into many missionary and Mormon mindsets. This while also touching on problematic areas of LDS church history in a manner less caustic than that of the CES Letter (though some of these waxed a bit long for me).
The biographical style and narrative were engaging and tell a remarkable story.
Thematically it echoes the ideas of many other contemporary and historical events where belief in or appeals to God are used to justify the self-serving actions of believers.
The book itself offers varied insights into many missionary and Mormon mindsets. This while also touching on problematic areas of LDS church history in a manner less caustic than that of the CES Letter (though some of these waxed a bit long for me).
The biographical style and narrative were engaging and tell a remarkable story.
Thematically it echoes the ideas of many other contemporary and historical events where belief in or appeals to God are used to justify the self-serving actions of believers.
January 8, 2016
I loved this book. A terrific memoir.
For those of you who are ex-Mormons, note that this book will probably give you the heebie-jeebies. It will take you back to a place you left behind for probably a very good reason. Be that as it may, don't let that stop you from reading this! You'll come to love Elder Shunn and appreciate his horrifying journey. HAHHAHAHAHAHAH
He intersperses his story with some Joseph Smith history, which is actually pretty interesting. And the point at which he becomes "The Accidental Terrorist" is absolutely fascinating.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I give this 5 stars.
For those of you who are ex-Mormons, note that this book will probably give you the heebie-jeebies. It will take you back to a place you left behind for probably a very good reason. Be that as it may, don't let that stop you from reading this! You'll come to love Elder Shunn and appreciate his horrifying journey. HAHHAHAHAHAHAH
He intersperses his story with some Joseph Smith history, which is actually pretty interesting. And the point at which he becomes "The Accidental Terrorist" is absolutely fascinating.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I give this 5 stars.
November 11, 2015
The Accidental Terrorist is an autobiographical account of the author's Mormon missionary experience, including the crazy and touching things he did as a young 19 year old missionary, heavily indoctrinated with Mormon beliefs and principally concerned with pleasing his church leaders. Shunn’s story is an entertaining reminder of what religious excess can lead to.
Along side with telling his mission story, Shunn also describes Mormon beliefs, culture, and practices, and gives the most efficient and readable version of church history I've ever read, making this book more than just a memoir, but also the ginsu knife of books on Mormonism.
Along side with telling his mission story, Shunn also describes Mormon beliefs, culture, and practices, and gives the most efficient and readable version of church history I've ever read, making this book more than just a memoir, but also the ginsu knife of books on Mormonism.
January 22, 2016
A good memoir not only lets us learn something about another person, but it lets us learn something about ourselves. I have never been a fan of organized religion, this book didn't change that. But it did give me conflicted feelings about people practicing their religion. It helped me see them as people, not sheeple. At least some of them. But William/Bill, I feel his internal conflict as he recognizes his true motives, and that realization makes me wish I could go back in time and hug his younger self and tell him to follow his heart. It also makes me reevaluate my actions to see if I am following my heart.
December 6, 2015
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1...
Loved this book - great insight into the LDS missionary role as well as an expose on Joseph Smith. Lived in Calgary for a few years so enjoyed the local references - even though from a '80's perspective. Won this on Goodreads.
Loved this book - great insight into the LDS missionary role as well as an expose on Joseph Smith. Lived in Calgary for a few years so enjoyed the local references - even though from a '80's perspective. Won this on Goodreads.
November 14, 2015
An excellent book, as informative as it is entertaining. I love all the interesting details about mormonism, and what missionary work really is like.
December 6, 2015
A really fascinating look into the life of a Mormon missionary, and a crisis of faith.
February 8, 2016
Very easy to read and I learned a lot about Mormonism.
March 2, 2016
A fascinating look into the life of a missionary. Not for the school library due to the "F" word and frank talk about sex.
May 21, 2017
This is a marvelous read, alternately funny and honest and educational and most of all, moving. Bill is a wonderful writer. Read it. You won't be disappointed.
October 29, 2015
Great writing about an interesting subject. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next! I highly recommend.
January 2, 2016
I received this book as a First Read. It's a well written and funny memoir. It also provides a nice history and good insight into the workings of the Mormon church.
February 23, 2016
Well written and interesting, on a topic I didn't know much about.
September 11, 2018
So SO fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews