Books that changed the way I see the world, part 2: Under the Banner of Heaven

There are books that provide more detail to something you already knew or broaden your knowledge with something you knew nothing about.  Other books cause you to fundamentally shift your view of the world.  Under the Banner of Heaven is one of the latter.

I bought this book purely because I like the author, even though the topic was outside his usual area.

The book illustrates that religious fanaticism is the exclusive domain of neither Muslims nor foreigners and exists among homebred Americans.  It also demonstrates that the publicized behavior of "religious extremists" does not necessarily represent the values of the greater population following that religion.  "Under the Banner of Heaven" chronicals the events surrounding the gruesome murder of a young mother and her infant by two of her Morman brothers-in-law.  It provides a detailed history of the Morman church and explores how extremist factions have formed and continue to exist.

Krakauer writes with a very unbiased tone and lets the reader come to his own conclusions.  That said, reading this book completely changed my views on organized religion.