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Ron and Dan Lafferty kill their brother's wife and daughter that they claim God told them to kill in blood atonement.
Krakauer reviews not only the case and its consequences, but the history of the Mormon Church and its splinter Fundamentalist groups (of which the Lafferty borthers were part of) and their strict adherence to Polygamy (which is at the root of this case. Allen Lafferty lived a polygamous lifestyle and his wife Brenda, rebelled against his 'prophecies'.
It is a well researched histor ...more
Krakauer reviews not only the case and its consequences, but the history of the Mormon Church and its splinter Fundamentalist groups (of which the Lafferty borthers were part of) and their strict adherence to Polygamy (which is at the root of this case. Allen Lafferty lived a polygamous lifestyle and his wife Brenda, rebelled against his 'prophecies'.
It is a well researched histor ...more
One of the most disturbing books I've ever read.
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It is purely coincidental that I read The Jihad Next Door and this book back to back. (My book selection order being somewhat akin to Chaos Theory) But they could have been part 1 and part 2 of the consequences of religious extremism. One Islamic and the other Mormon. But what made this book such a fascinating read for me is that this one uncovers a world of Mormon fundamentalism that operates almost openly here in America but scares me more than Islam ever will. The history of the polygamous se
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I went into reading this book thinking that it was a specific true crime story about the Lafferty's. It deals a lot more with the history of Mormonism than I really needed. I have read the Book of Mormon and was raised by them, so I didn't need much of a history lesson in that sense. I did enjoy the specific information about how much of a womanizer Joseph Smith was. To me, all religion is based in fear and faith. Fear makes us do odd and what people would call evil things. Faith helps us to jus
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Mormon Fundamentalism = creepy. This book is a good illustration of why we should avoid extremes.
I was intrigued by the Lafferty brothers, their obvious complete insanity, the crimes they committed, and how they reacted to those crimes. I was less intrigued, but still interested, in the stories about Mormon Fundamentalists in general. I was not interested AT ALL in having Krakauer explain current mainstream Mormonism or Mormon history to me. I'm sure he did a bunch of reserach and all, but many ...more
I was intrigued by the Lafferty brothers, their obvious complete insanity, the crimes they committed, and how they reacted to those crimes. I was less intrigued, but still interested, in the stories about Mormon Fundamentalists in general. I was not interested AT ALL in having Krakauer explain current mainstream Mormonism or Mormon history to me. I'm sure he did a bunch of reserach and all, but many ...more
Love it and would highly recommend it to everyone.
One reviewer compared it to In Cold Blood. This is a valuable comparison as both books had a profound impact on me, but that's about as far as it goes. Krakauer's writing is great (better than usual I'd say) in this book, but it lacks the strictly narrative of Capote, and his writing simply isn't as good. But don't forget, In Cold Blood is outstanding; Kraukauer's book is excellent. Highly recommended.
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One reviewer compared it to In Cold Blood. This is a valuable comparison as both books had a profound impact on me, but that's about as far as it goes. Krakauer's writing is great (better than usual I'd say) in this book, but it lacks the strictly narrative of Capote, and his writing simply isn't as good. But don't forget, In Cold Blood is outstanding; Kraukauer's book is excellent. Highly recommended.
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Jun 14, 2007
SunnyD
marked it as to-read
Aug 02, 2010
John J.
marked it as to-read
Jul 01, 2018
Shaya
marked it as to-read
