Conscience

Starred review from June 1, 2011
At the turn of the twentieth century, the four Thomas brothers were Princeton-educated sons of progressive parents who encouraged reliance on faith and service to others. Their ideals and those of the nation were sorely tested on the eve of WWI. Norman was a minister in the tenements of East Harlem. Evan was studying at seminary in Scotland. They would become conscientious objectors, Evan eventually serving prison time for war resistance, Norman heading social justice movements and later running for president six times as a Socialist. Ralph and Arthur, not strongly convicted either way, served in the war as soldiers. Their mother, Emma, maintained correspondence with them all, making sure to keep everyone in what was a contentious loop. Louisa Thomas, Norman's great-granddaughter, affords an amazing look at complex sibling relationships and deeply felt convictions about patriotism, capitalism and socialism, doctrinaire religion, and secular spiritualism. She captures a time of national tumult, historic figures ranging from Eugene Debs to Billy Sunday, and furious national debates about the philosophical bases of war and of conscientious objection. Besides issues of conscience for nations and persons that resonate to this day, she presents the intimacy of family unity in the face of disagreement.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)