I have read all of JK's books and have always been a fan. I have mixed feelings about Under the Banner of Heaven. As with his other books, it was a page turner. They guy is a gifted writer and this is most definitely a fascinating story. On the other hand, I was a little disappointed in some of his portrayals. For example, he made it sound like going to the Hill Cummorah pageant for an LDS person is much like going to Mecca for a muslim. I honestly can't think of a single person I know who has been to it. And I have no plans to attend myself. I got a good belly laugh on that one.
The other thing that disappointed me a bit was that after reading an entire book on such a violent and extreme case of Mormon fundamentalism, you can't help but get a skewed perception of LDS society. As an example, I was reading through the reviews for the book on amazon.com and there were some folks who mentioned that after reading the book they were afraid to travel to Utah or walk the streets in Utah at night. Amazing.
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