The Voyage of Kristina by Wayne Carpenter

This was a wonderful travel narrative of a family starting in California, heading down the coast to go through the Panama Canal, over to Florida, up the coast to Nova Scotia and down to the Bahamas.  It was very well told and nice to see that some sailors that are even more seasoned than me freak out from time to time.  This was not their first adventure and it is sure to not be their last.  This was a great read and very well told, I felt like I was riding along with them at times.

Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer

Subtitle: A Story of Violent Faith -- If you want an education on Mormonism, this is a really good start.  I really did not know much, and most of it was hear say, not actually reading it for myself.  When you are learning about different faiths there is always the 'rose colored glasses' view, but there is also much violence, disruption and change.  Krakauer was expounding on an event that happened in 1984 and the best way to even attempt to understand it was to delve into the history of the religion.  I had a hard time following everything because he did bounce around a lot from past to present.  I wish I could say that I would read it again to get a better grasp of it all, but it is just too much for me to take in.  Depending on what you know about Mormonism, you probably don't know as much as you think.