'A provocative look at the twisted roots of American fundamentalism.' Will Self, Evening Standard Books of the Year

'Excellent . . . a lucid, judicious, even sympathetic account not just of Mormon Fundamentalism but of the seductive power of fanaticism in general.' Daily Telegraph

'Remarkable . . . for anyone interested in the wilder frontiers of spiritual conviction, this book is a must.' Independent

Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty insist they were commanded to kill by God. In Under The Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer's investigation is a meticulously researched, bone-chilling narrative of polygamy, savage violence and unyielding faith: an incisive look inside isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities in America, this gripping work of non-fiction illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behaviour.

Jon Krakauer is a mountaineer and the author of Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild, (which was on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year and was made into a film starring Emile Hirsch and Kristen Stewart) Into Thin Air, Iceland, Under the Banner of Heaven and Where Men Win Glory. He is also the editor of the Modern Library Exploration series.