Under the Banner of Heaven straddles the genres of literary nonfiction and journalism, similar to landmark true crime works like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.
Works that share Krakauer's intent to produce a broad, inquiring historical survey include Harold Bloom's The American Religion or William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience.
Also worth exploring are the authors Krakauer says he was struck by in his research for the book: Fawn Brodie (No Man Knows My History), Juanita Brooks (The Mountain Meadows Massacre), and D. Michael Quinn.
Krakauer's recent book, Missoula, may also be of interest since, similarly to Under the Banner, it explores the collective culture and...
