First, I am a big fan of Krakauer. However, not so much so that I await his every book. I stumbled across Under the Banner while doing my favorite leisure activity, bookstore browsing.

After the first few chapters, I found myself caught in the undercurrent of Jon's story: the similarity of our home-grown religious true believers to the ones we so fear in the Islamic community.

I went looking for similar realizations and found yours after browsing several google links.

He doesn't belabor this point, but I'd bet a beer that he certainly had it in mind. In the midst of the horrible real-life events he recounts, Jon's presentation of current Mormonism reminds me that the action of one individual or one sect should not lead to a general condemnation of an entire religion. However, it also reminds me that humans are subject to faith-based fevers of the mind that can become very dangerous. This is something worth remembering in these feverish times.

I enjoyed your review and was glad to find someone who sees Jon's message like I do.