Krakauer is a favorite of mine and this book absolutely delivers. This is a fascinating look at the history of the Mormon church and how it has led to the fundamentalist we see today within the religion, in particular the Lafferty brothers who murdered their sister in law and niece.

I do want to say upfront that Krakauer takes a very negative view on Mormonism. Which is not to claim anything he says is untrue (he's a fantastic nonfiction author and I have a great deal of trust in him after reading four of his books), but he is a nonbeliever and this book is intentionally about the fringe members of the religion. Technically, the fundamentalists aren't actually part of the official LDS religion and in most cases have been excommunicated from the church (rather, they are FLDS). Essentially, just a long way of saying don't expect to get a full understanding of Mormonism from this book. It's not what Krakauer was trying to do.

Beyond that, the history itself was fascinating. I hadn't read the synopsis and was reading this for a true crime book club, so I wasn't expecting that going in. I felt like I gained such a fantastic history of what amounts to modern day religion and cults in America.

Krakauer has such a wonderful writing style and way of crafting stories to make them interesting. I have no real interest in LDS, or religion in general, so this isn't a book I'd have ever read if it wasn't by Krakauer. It's one of the things I love most about getting turned onto specific nonfiction writers; they make you broaden your horizons. He made me care about the history of a religion I have little interest in.

Two things that bothered me were his seeming belief that polygamy is inherently bad and the constant comparison to Islamic terrorists. Both were minor aspects so it's not that I was rating this book lower, but I have no issues with what consenting adults do in marriages. The problem with polygamy within the fundamentalists showcased in this book was that 1. they often included young girls 2. women of all ages weren't consenting, and were brainwashed/blackmailed/forced/etc into compliance. As for the Islam comparisons, it bothers me that the status quo for religious fundamentalists is always Islam when there are so many examples closer to home. It's the same reason I'm bothered by people saying things like "Talibama." Even when it's Christians, somehow it becomes the fault of Muslims who have literally nothing to do with it. It wasn't that bad in this book, but it did seem mostly unnecessary.

This is a book I'd highly recommend if you're interested in how fundamentalists are created through religions. It's specifically about Mormonism, but I think the general points hold true no matter the religion. It's a fascinating deep dive that I highly recommend, as I do all of Krakauer's work.