I stumbled onto The Accidental Terrorist because of my obsession with the New York Times Spelling Bee. William Shunn has a website that provides hints for solving the daily puzzle. Just a few days ago, I took a closer look at his site to learn more about the helpful person behind the website. The site offered the first four chapters of this book for free. It didn’t take that long before I knew I wanted to read the whole thing.
Shunn has created a riveting memoir about his time as a Mormon missionary in Canada. He peppers his personal story with the history of the Mormon church in general and its founder, Joseph Smith, in particular — drawing parallels between his journey and that of the early church fathers. Both sides of this tale are fascinating looks at the culture and experience of Mormonism.
This book is written by an excellent writer who knows how to keep his audience engaged.
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Best memoir I've read in a long time
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2015
I first heard the story of "Elder Shunn" from a close friend who was serving on an LDS (Mormon) mission with him in the late 1980's. A few years later I read the story online when the internet was still in its infancy after the author published the story online under the tongue-in-cheek title, "Terror On Flight 789".First and foremost, one need not be Mormon or an "RM" (return missionary) to appreciate this book. The author, Bill Shunn, is a talented writer who has a gift with the written word. As a published Sci-Fi author, Shunn has received nominations for several prestigious awards in the Sci-Fi community since the "accidental" act of terrorism he committed while he was working as a Mormon missionary in the late 1980's. However, thanks to the fact that this "accident" happened in a pre-9/11 world, he didn't spend the next 20 years in a prison cell and we, the readers, can now enjoy reading the finely polished work that "Terror On Flight 789" has became: The Accidental Terrorist.This book is absolutely delightful. The author pulls the reader into his world and brings his story to life like few memoirs can. You'll laugh out loud and gasp several times as you read The Accidental Terrorist and may catch yourself saying out loud, "Oh NO he didn't!" as you read. Oh yes, yes he did. The author also paints a picture of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, better than just about any book I've ever read. (Sure, some books have gone into far more depth with Joseph Smith than Shunn does but few books seem to get inside the mind of Joseph Smith as well as Shunn does.)Joseph Smith said of his life, "no man knows my history" but, after reading The Accidental Terrorist, I'd have to disagree. Clearly Bill Shunn knows and, more importantly, helps the reader understand Joseph Smith's complicated life and history as he intertwines the story of Smith throughout this memoir as he shares his amazing, almost too-hard-to-believe story of the time he almost accidentally blew up an airliner. (Okay, he didn't almost blow up an airliner but what he DID do was pretty damn crazy, got him arrested for terrorism, and makes for a fantastic read that you won't want to put down.)Mormon, ExMormon and Never-mo alike (that's what we call people who've never had the "pleasure" of being a Mormon: Never-mo) will enjoy reading The Accidental Terrorist. However, with that being said, this book would make an especially fantastic Christmas gift for anyone on your list who ever served a Mormon mission. Those of us who served missions for the LDS Church can relate so well to the author's experience on his mission and can perhaps better understand why he did what he did when he did it. (I hate to be so vague but I don't want to spoil the story.)This book officially comes out tomorrow, Nov. 10, 2015. Get your copy today! Go to Twitter and search for "#accidentalterrorist" to see what others are saying about this book.
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2015
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Caribou
Beautifully written and a great story!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 4, 2016Farah Mendlesohn
Funny, distressing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 1, 2017
