Sam BrowerBesprekingen

Compelling story but a little hard-boiled for my taste. Good on Mr. Brower for doing what he does to stop the FLDS, though. I'd recommend "Under the Banner of Heaven", however, for an introduction to this subject.

Sam Brower knows the law, and how to use the judicial system to help bring down not just Warren Jeffs, but the whole FLDS organization.
Unfortunately, many in the legal system are not afraid to take the money and defend child rape in the name of religious freedom. Twelve years old , raped on a ceremonial temple bed, and not the first or last.
The cruelty that defines this society, and the insane power of Warren Jeffs and his fellow criminals, no longer surprises me. Sam Brower makes it real.

I like seeing the FLDS from the POV of an investigator who spent 7 years on various cases in its midst. But what i really wanted was some insight into what makes someone a crazy cult leader and why people follow along, even when exposed to other ideas.








From June 2011:
Look -- I started a polygamy shelf in goodreads.

So frightfully horrible. Even once the government got involved... or didn't. Sad to hear what one person or small inner group of "leaders" can do to a whole community. This is a must read for my local friends. Even harder was the fact that it was on the front page of the trib today. http://www.sltrib.com/news/3133193-155/meet-lyle-jeffs-the-man-who

3.5 Stars- This book was disturbing and heartbreaking. To imagine that this sort of stomach-turning criminal activity is going on right under the noses of the authorities and nothing is being done to protect these women and children is outrageous. The book was full of a lot of information about the FLDS "church" that I had no idea about even though I lived in Utah for 25 years. I do know that the Attorney General was as inept at doing anything to stop the abuses as his many predecessors. Sam Brower is not an author and the use of repetitive details and the minor choppiness in the flow of the story could have been adjusted by better editing, but he certainly is a trove of information about the miserable lives these poor children are/were living and I suspect continuing to live whether Warren Jeffs is in prison or not. Good, solid, informative read.

beyond disturbing. just.....beyond.

This book gave me some new insights into cult mentality. I really admire Sam Brower's sense of justice, and his conviction in pursuing a major criminal operation flying under the radar of the U.S. legal system due to its cloak of religion. The world needs more men like him (and fewer Warren Jeffs types).

I've seen reviews picking on Brower's writing style. He does insert his disgust with Warren Jeffs and his cronies a few too many times, and it gets repetitive--but it didn't bother me, since I agreed with his judgments. The leaders of this fundamentalist cult practice human trafficking, female and child enslavement, child rape, inbreeding, and theft of property, all on a massive scale. And they spin it in such a way as to hide what they're doing in plain sight. With the exception of this novel, the burden of whistleblowing has fallen on the few brave children who escaped the cult and rehabilitated themselves enough to write books. No one rescues them. No one is paying much attention. As far as I can see, Sam Brower is the only non-member to study what was going on, connect the dots, and let the world know.

Organized crime in the guise of religion should not be ignored.

Well-written inside look at the cult headed by Warren Jeffs.

Bail bonds man, private investigator and journalist Sam Brower writes of his seven years spent battling the FLDS while attempting to expose the corruption of the cult-like religion to the justice system. Rape, child abandonment, child-brides forced into polygamous relationships across state and international lines with men thirty and forty years their senior... these are just a few of the crimes for which the FLDS is guilty. Pairing with author Jon Krauker [Under the Banner of Heaven], Brower seeks to expose the maniacal despotism of Prophet (and now convicted Felon] Warren Jeffs.

To read the book is to be transported to a frightening place where American law is purposefully ignored and abandoned.

Jaw dropping!!! I love polygamy books and memoir. This started a bit slow the first chapter but picks up fast and takes off. Great Read!!

A well written account of Sam Browers' relentless effort to expose and hunt down the child predators who you the guise of religion for their devious purposes. Another example of religious zealotry run a muck not far from the mainstream. Two frightening things amongst many that struck me was how people are continuously brain washed my religious dogma and nothing will change that, also how our court system can blindly support such horrendous conduct in protecting the rights of religious freedom over child abuse. Though some of these culprits have been brought to justice there will be a never ending cadre to replace them and conduct the same crimes in secrecy to no end. Evil incarnate under the guise of religion.

A truly frightening look at the FLDS cult and its deranged (and now thankfully incarcerated) leader, Warren Jeffs. Brower, a private investigator who's been working on FLDS cases for almost a decade, offers as in-depth a look at the inner workings of this group as we're likely to get for the forseeable future. Tough to read, but well worth it.

Sam Brower gives an in-depth, interesting account of his investigation into the FLDS and Warren Jeffs. It offers the reader much in understanding what happened and how it was allowed to go on for so long.

Such a great look into the FLDS church and the horrible crimes Jeff's committed. I found it very hard to put down but also didnt think I could continue reading it at parts. I thought I had known most of what he had done to the members of the church but was so wrong! This bookm truly opened my eyes to the horror of what he put them through. Such an eye opening read and will def be referring it to friends!

When someone says "organized crime" I picture fedora hats, Italian food, and Tommy Guns. What I don't picture is pedophilia, rape, polygamy, and religious cults. Sam Brower opened my eyes to the story of Warren Jeffs, cult leader and organized crime boss.

This book holds so many repulsive tales of what Jeffs did to the members of his Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints cult, centered in the Utah/Arizona border town, Colorado City. One thing he did to test their faith was tell them he had a vision that dogs were evil, and everyone had to get rid of their dogs by a certain date. After that date he had church members begin by killing all the strays in town. Then they proceeded to go door to door, demanding anyone who still had a dog to hand it over. After that they took the dogs out of town and started shooting them. Deciding that shooting them was too loud, they electrocuted the rest to death with a car battery.

The horrifying thing is that Warren Jeffs treated the dogs better than the members of his cult. At least the dogs had a chance to get away.

I was familiar with Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven, so I was thrilled to see that he wrote the introduction. However, I was confused as to why he was even included in this book. He has nothing to do the LDS, he does not have any experience about the case, and I thought that his introduction was completely unnecessary. I started the book with a bad taste in my mouth. The book does a good job of explaining the tracking of Warren Jeffs, as well as how far his supporters would go to protect him. However, I really wanted to know why he had such a strong hold on the group of people that chose to follow his every word. I have yet to find a book that can tell me why a seemingly feeble, unattractive, non-authoritarian-type person had such a grip on so many people.

Having read Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" and Carolyn Jessop's "Escape," I was familiar with some of the disturbingly egregious behavior of Warren Jeffs and his minions, but Sam Brower's account goes deeper than either of these into the background of the FLDS as a religious and even financial and political organization. It is well worth the read just to know that such evil exists right here in the United States and will make you wonder why the states involved and even the federal government seem to resist putting an end to the debauchery of these men. A lot of questions are left unanswered, not by the author but just by the chain of events to date. Mr. Brower deserves more than a thank you for exposing the abuse suffered by everyone in Jeffs' path, not the least of which are women and children who are routinely sexually and psychologically abused and used, and for his courage in putting the truth on paper. Mr. Brower further proves the scripture "the love of money is the root of all evil."

I always knew Warren Jeffs was a bad guy, I’ve seen the news reports and read Carolyn Jessop’s book but I didn’t realize he ranked right up there with Jim Jones & David Koresh in getting people to believe everything he says and to do things no matter how bad. I think it’s a good thing he was investigated and put in the spotlight because with his personality it could have ended the way Jonestown and Waco did. I also knew that he was a pedophile marrying young girls but what I didn’t know was that he was also a pedophile abusing young boys.

This was a very eye opening book, I learned much more about the FLDS than I knew before. It did bog down a bit in the middle but I just reminded myself that this was a 7 year investigation and that Sam Brower was extremely thorough. It is sad to see how CPS dropped the ball on the majority of these children and sent them back to their abusers, which is what they are no matter how brainwashed willing these girls may have been. This FLDS sect is not a religion that should be left alone for their beliefs this one is a full out Cult with the maniacal mad man at the helm, sexual abuse, kidnapping and quite possibly murder and attempted murder.

Sam Brower’s account of his investigation is one everyone should read as it doesn’t gloss over anything , in this straight-forward account Sam reveals not only what the FLDS did to its own but how they threatened and stalked him. He also reveals who helped and who hurt the cases against this cult, which was also very interesting.

The investigation into this FLDS cult did put some awful men in jail and brought national attention to what was going on inside the “walls” of this cult but, I think the worst part is, through it all not much has changed in their little world, the men who went to jail are seen as martyrs and are still in power from their jail cells. I just hope as Sam does that one day the hierarchy will admit it was wrong and the abuse will stop but for now who knows what is still going on there.

4 Stars

Prophet's Prey is the story of Sam Brower's seven year investigation into the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints and its leader, Warren Jeffs. Brower, a private detective, was raised in the mainstream
Mormon church.

As an author, Brower is skilled at presenting the detailed factual information he discovered in his investigation, while illustrating these facts with the human stories. This skill keeps the reader deeply involved, and demonstrates the human cost, indeed the waste of human life, caused by this organization. I was aware of the child abuse, sexual abuse and rape, perpetrated on females, which has been highly covered by other media. Brower additionally addresses the ongoing, repeated rape of young males.

I had not been aware of the extent of corruption in government officials, as is well covered by Brower. The most disheartening fact to me is that despite the convictions of several members, this group continues its abuse of children and women. Jeffs was in the news again this month, January 2012, for having his telephone privileges suspended. Yes, that's right, he was using telephone and other methods of communication to continue his role as head of this organization. I believe that calls for a "WTF?!"

This is a very readable and interesting book, not easy to put down. However, I recommend that you have something uplifting to read after you DO put this one down.

I don't quite know why, but I am fascinated with the whole FLDS/ Polygamy world. I think it's because it's so far from reality to me that it boggles my mind and I can't resist but to learn about it!

I was a little apprehensive about this book being too laden with facts and figures to be interesting but I couldn't be more wrong. The book read more like a story than an account of an investigation. It shed light into the secretive and devious world of Warren Jeffs and his followers. It was a real page turner. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in this secluded sub-culture of our world!

This book is the harrowing true story of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints written by a man who spent seven years investigating the cult. He was able to get the real story behind the leader Warren Jeffs and other men who married and abused children. Jeffs and his posse lived in luxury while others lived in poverty because of being required to give so much of their income to the church at the same time as producing as many children as possible. The book outlines the hunt for Jeffs as well as the debacle of the time over 200 children were seized from a FLDS compound. There were some parts that made me feel physically ill as the author told of the horror of the lives of many of the young girls. The young men were simply dumped on the side of a road and left. This way there were more young wives available for the older men.

I grew up in a Mormon-majority area in Arizona, and I have always been fascinated by many elements of that religion. Perhaps more fascinating to me, though, has been their estranged cousin, FLDS, a cult borne out of a change in mainstream Mormon doctrine to disallow polygamy more than one hundred years ago.

I have read Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven and Irene Spencer's Shattered Dreams, so I came into Prophet's Prey knowing quite a bit about FLDS already. This book differs from those, however, in that it is written in a decidedly modern tone, all facts rather than narrative or flowery language. Sam Brower, the author, has worked as a PI investigating FLDS for many years, and his book is full of stories and information that were new to me. In particular, he focuses on Warren Jeffs, the "prophet" who is now in jail.

I can't say that I "enjoyed" the book — every story was more horrific than the last — but this is a well-written book that brings to light all the horrifying things that have taken place in the cult, and perhaps even worse, all the law enforcement and social service agencies that have repeatedly turned blind eyes to the suffering of women and young adults in this community.

My only complaint about the book might be that we don't see much of Sam Brower in it. Occasionally, he will comment on how instances of child abuse and sexual slavery hit him hard, as he is a father, but rarely do his personal feelings show. This makes sense given his no-nonsense attitude as a PI. However, since Brower is a Mormon himself, I was curious to know how his faith informed his views of the cult. For instance, much of the language and prophecy used by Jeffs and the FLDS comes from the Book of Mormon. The idea, mentioned in the book, that people should grow their gardens and store food in case of the apocalypse, is a belief held by mainstream LDS members. How did it affect him to see his own beliefs twisted this way? It could have added something very interesting to the book.

Overall, I give this 4.5/5.0 stars. Definitely a read for those interested in the FLDS or modern cults in general.½

Prophet's Prey is Sam Brower's account and insight into the life and crimes of Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamous FLDS cult. I've long been interested in the FLDS and have read several other accounts of life in the Colorado City, AZ area, known to residents simply as 'Short Creek.' Brower's account matches other material that I've read and seems to be well-researched. The book is engaging, interesting, and quick to read; he gives a snapshot into what life must be like for members of this notorious cult, and it is both fascinating and disturbing.
One facet that Brower reports on that I have yet to read in other accounts is the detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Jeff's arrest and incarceration. I found this part of the book to be darkly interesting, Brower really gives the reader an understanding of just how depraved and unstable Warren Jeffs can be.
My only criticism is that the author sometimes writes in cliches and is fond of overusing dramatic statements. The events portrayed in this book are exciting enough, no need to use short, dramatic statements to add excitement.
Overall, I think the book was excellent and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the FLDS.

Sam Brower worked for seven years go help bring about the arrest of FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs. This book offers many insights into FLDS culture and startling examples of the child and wife abuse that are a standard aspect of this religion. It's an eye-opening reading experience to learn that this kind of thing goes on in the U.S. and is regularly tolerated by law enforcement officers who turn their heads. While the book tends to repeat itself in a few places, it remains a gripping read that is as good as any novel. It's a shame that it couldn't be fiction instead of the nonfiction that it actually is.

I have read a number of other books about the FLDS and listened to much of the news coverage but even though I knew much of the information in this book I found it unique in that it was told from the point of view of an outsider who was an LDS male. I'm continuously shocked that many people discuss the actions taken by this group as just "religious" beliefs. First in all my reading I have never really heard what their religious beliefs are. Do they believe in the same Jesus Christ and worship Him like other Christians? This book described a number of "meetings" but it appears what is discussed in the meetings is who gets kicked out of the religion and who sleeps with who. I don't think Jesus taught racial hatred, fear and hatred of Gentiles, rape of young boys and girls and the electrocution of animals because a prophet thinks it is part of his religion but the FLDS seems to find it a part of their religion.

Sam Brower's investigation and publishing of this book took a lot of time and courage. He should be commended. All Americans should read this book.

My personal opinion is that although I'm not a believer in the death penalty I think Warren Jeffs should have received it. I am disgusted by the people of Utah, Arizona and Texas that have dismissed this behavior.