Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer
I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but I'm so glad they did. I haven't been reading nearly as much non-fiction as I usually do and I was excited to read a non-fiction book.
The story begins with the Lafferty brothers, a Fundamentalist Mormon family. Two of the brothers believed that God told them to kill their sister-in-law and niece. And the story follows them.
In addition to following the story of the brothers and the murder, the book explains the history of the Mormon church and how polygamy created all these different schisms within the church - ultimately leading to a different sect of Fundamentalists that have been excommunicated from the church.
I've read other books on Mormon history, such as
The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, so I had an understanding of the hardships they faced and the reasons for moving to the Utah territory. But, this was an interesting look at how the split happened between the mainstream church and the fundamentalists that support polygamy.
It was an incredibly well-written book and the mixing of just straight history along with the story of the murder kept the pace up.
23 for 23 - Goal #3 - Book 8.
