Faith of Our Fathers: One Nation Under God

Faith of Our Fathers #4

by N.C. Allen, Nancy Campbell Allen, Marvin Payne (Narrator)

As the Civil War ends, soldiers and civilians alike try to return to the life they once knew. It will not be easy. For the Birminghams, the journey through America’s most tragic conflict has led to loyalties, passions, and losses that will continue to impact their lives forever. For Sarah Birmingham, the devastation of the war and its aftermath has been a deeply humbling experience. She understands that she has made serious mistakes, but will she be able to build bridges over the deep chasms she has created? Can Daniel O Shea, after suffering a broken spirit, rekindle the love he has tried to forget? And will Anne Gunderson prove strong enough to rescue another woman from soul-shattering violence without endangering her own family?

One Nation Under God, the fourth and final volume in the Faith of Our Fathers series, brings a deeply satisfying conclusion to a powerful drama depicting engagingly ordinary people in circumstances that take them to the very edge of their endurance. Their sorrows and triumphs make this a tale that will not soon be forgotten.

An unabridged recording on 7 CDs (9 hours).

Genres: Historical Fiction, Lds Fiction, Lds, Religion, Historical, War, Civil War

9 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Also published under the name Nancy Campbell Allen

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been really great, L liked the good characters, they touched my heart.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a pretty good conclusion to the series, and I especially enjoyed how the book didn't just end with the end of the war, but actually showed how the characters moved on and put their life back together afterwards. A lot of books about wars do often end when the ward ends, but the truth is, the impact of war lasts long after surrenders and treaties, and that was especially the case with the Civil War. As for the series as a whole, I enjoyed it. At times I felt like she was trying to write about too many characters and I was yanked around from story to story, but at the same time I liked having various views of the war, so I'm undecided as to whether I think that was a bad move on her part. I would say to anyone considering reading the series to make sure you have all the books when you start. Unlike most series I've read, the individual books in this series didn't really have their own story contained within the larger series, so there wasn't really an ending to each book. Indeed, the end of the third and beginning of this book could have been separated by a section marker as opposed to being in completely different books and I wouldn't have even blinked.

[Kaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5. I think I'm being a little harsh with this one but I think the series would have been stronger to get to the end of the civil war and the assasignation of Lincoln and stop. This could have been done by adding a few more chapters to book 3. This one seems to add new characters, and additional situations just to flush out more of a story make the book fuller. I didn't need the spousal abuse or someone going blind, or adopting children to make life complete for some characters.

[Mary L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think she could tie up all the loose ends, but she did. We know where everyone of the main characters ends up and how they are doing. I have been sick this week and didn't do much but sleep, eat (very little, I'm losing a little weight), and read. Now I'll have to find something else to do. Luckily I feel a little better and might actually get a little work done.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this series. I was sad that it ended. I think I read all four books in maybe 1 1/2 weeks. I could not put them down.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my review of the whole series (Faith of Our Fathers) since I read them so quickly it almost felt like one big epic historical fiction novel. I think it's saying something for how exciting these novels are that I tore through the series in about three days! (Granted, two of those days were during winter break, and reading was about all I did those days.)
Wow! The first thing I have to say about it is: there are so many characters. And not only is there an enormous cast, the main cast are the families of two twin brothers, James and Jeffery. Each of them have 5 kids, I think, and then there are a whole bunch of others. (It doesn't help that there's a Charlotte and and a Camille, a Robert and a Richard, a Marie and a Mary...)
But it is fun to have a lot of characters. One thing I liked is it was constantly switching perspectives, and while sometimes I don't like that, it was fun from the second book onward—every time it switched, you'd suddenly be with another character who you had completely forgotten about, and it just gave you a little jolt, 'Oh yeah, I forgot about them!'
Most all of the characters undergo a major change and they are completely different in the last book than the first, which I appreciate. War changes people, for better or worse. (Most of the change in the book was for better.)
With a lot of teenaged/adult characters also comes a lot of marriages. I lost count of how many times 'Will you marry me?' was said. But I approved of all of the matches (not that my opinions would have changed anything) so that was all fine.

I haven't read many novels about the Civil War, and I think this was a good first one—there wasn't too much confusing battle stuff and military tactics. It doesn't have really any gratuitous violence either.

I almost rated it 5 stars...I can't say exactly what held me back, though. I guess it wasn't the 'READ THIS RIGHT NOW!!!' kind of book that I reserve five star ratings for. But it was still good, so a solid 4/5 is the rating it will get!

[Elliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! It's amazing and the author does such a good job of showing the different perspectives. It gave me a lot of insight into the civil war, and I found it skill so interesting. The author did a really good job of getting readers to be invested in the characters. I would totally recommend this book to anyone and I will definitely be rereading it many times!

[Charity Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This conclusion volume to the series is by far my favorite volume. I loved how the gospel comes into play more then it did in previous volumes. By the time I finished this book I was crying happy tears. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this series. I have learned and felt a lot of emotions as I read. I highly recommend this series.

[Rex Cluff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good conclusion to the four volume series but I felt that the last 20 or so pages were anticlimactic. The author started with some good tissue moments but ended too quickly. Overall it was a good story and well worth reading.

[Dee Ann Border · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this whole series. I loved how the families' lives intertwined and how I learned so much about the Civil War. It was easy to read, but hard to put down, I was sad when I got to the end of the the 4th volume because I just wanted to keep reading about all their lives!

[PennyPayne Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reads states there are only 9 pages in this book. The first chapter has 11 pages. There are 31 chapters and 333 pages which includes some author's notes and bibliography.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. The story was engaging and I thought it was well written. Would recommend this. :)

[Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific! Wonderfully finished, the way real life should be. Full of hope despite the tragedies that come along.

[Cherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wraps up a lot of story lines. End of civil war.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at the civil war from an LDS perspective.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the series. I like reading about people from a historical time. The end seemed to bounce around too much to wind up all the stories but they all ended satisfactory.

[Sabra Ann Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good but i wish there was more to the story. it didn't seem really finished

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this series. I actually read each book twice. I found that reading it the second time I gleamed so many more details that I missed or forgot about reading the first time. Course, I knew the outcome so the little details meant more to me the second time through.

The author really touched on so many aspects of the war. The details of the battles and how many, many soldiers would die in a battle made me realize that what is happening like in the middle east happened here in the United States. So much hatred. It would have been hard to know who to trust. Very deep feelings both ways about slavery. Those in the South gave up everything they had to fight for it. The North destroyed the South. After the war, cities were burned and everywhere the Union soldiers went they took from the land and the people the things they needed not caring what they left behind. Peoples homes were destroyed. Then there were those in the North that were glad to have won but then realized the effect it had on innocent children and women and slaves when they had nothing left. So many men wounded and they would just saw off their arms or legs because they didn't have the medical supplies or technology we have today. I just loved how the author explored so many different avenues of that time period with the different characters. I can't imagine the devastation that existed in our Country and then to think how prosperous we have become since then.

Much upheaval in our Country today but I hope those in Washington will make wise choices and our Country will continue to thrive and be a good place to live.
GREAT READ!!!!!!

[Darla · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Genre:Historical fiction/LDS) 4th & final book in the series. I listened to all the other books on CD, and I did start listening to this one as well, but I just had a hard time really wanting to listen to it. In the end, I got the book version and struggled with the same problem--a lack of motivation to pick it up. Finally, I made myself focus and read it, which was much faster than listening to it. As with the previous books, I really enjoyed some of the historical details the author included. That is almost always my favorite part of reading historical fiction. I appreciated all the "happily ever afters" that everyone had, even though it stretched the believability a bit. All in all, it was an enjoyable read, but not a must read.

[Trinity · Rating 3 out of 5]

This whole series was really good and I enjoyed the characters. The battles of the civil war seem more memorable to me since I read the book. I only gave this particular volume 3 stars because I felt like it was a lot of filler and the ends were all wrapped up too nicely...I like books that have happy endings for the characters but I guess in real life things don't seem to just fall into place for every "character" the way they did in this book. I think if some of the characters had happy endings and some of them didn't then I would think it was a little more realistic. But is a story and not real life so that is okay and I enjoyed reading all 4 books.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This enire sereis is wonderful! I got it for Christmas a couple years back and it the best gift I could have received. I have read and re-read it and never tire of it. This series planted a seed of desire to study this particular time in history (Cival War). I grew up in the South and while views and opinions there today don't even compare with then there are still misconceptions. For example the Rebel flag is flaunted as a symbol of Southern pride, but I wonder if those who do so really understand the meaning behind the symbol? I know I didn't. I appreciate the things this series taught me and highly recommend it.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book, I was sure it wss written by another author. It didn't flow well, the conversation was choppy. There are so many characters in this book and catching up on all of the characters had me very confused - I think it would have been more effective to make each character's sections longer so it wasn't jumping around so much.
I actually ended up enjoying the last part of this book. It wasn't perfect, but it redeemed itself somewhat.
I really liked this series, but this was definitely my least favorite in the series - kind of disappointing since it was the last one!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent ending to a much loved series! I am facinated with this time period and this war and NC Campbell did an amazing job writing this story! I was snagged in from line 1 on book 1 and could not put any of the books down until I finished them! I've read the series 4 times, at least! I cannot give this series or the author enough praise. I'd recommend these books to everyone. You'll fall in love with characters, even if you're not in love with the time period. And it gives a new outlook to how life was during slavery...having a family member both on the south and the north end of the spectrum. What more can I say? READ THEM!!!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. Historical fiction is one of my favorites. It's an easy way for me to learn about historical events and retain the information better than non-fiction. Learning about the Civil War was very timely for me. It is amazing the similarities between our country then and now. I loved the characters and miss them now that I'm done reading. The reason it doesn't get a 5 is because most of the families are LDS and that may rub people the wrong way. (I only give 5s to books everyone should read). I love LDS historical fiction though because even though they share all the bad, they focus on the good too. A lot of history writers just don't do that.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this series of books just for the fact that I could be entertained while I learn! This first book starts out with so many characters and subplots going at one time, that it is a little hard to get into but once you do, you’ll not finish till the series is over! The author includes actual historical figures in the book to help recreate the atmosphere in the United States during the Civil War. I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in American History, although one must remember it is fiction!

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entire series has been a good read. It has added other tidbits about the Civil War that you didn't get from the text books. I love the LDS part but it's not why I have read it to be honest. I like the characters a lot. It's written like other historical fictions, much like The Work and the Glory. The characters are not the norm though, so if you are wanted the regular person during the war, you won't really find it. There are journals and other things I think you can read of those normal people, her characters are the exceptions. I really liked it. Give it a try!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome powerful ending to the Civil War. I loved reading this series. But, I thought that should have pretty much concluded the series as well, making an allowance for a generous epilogue as necessary for us to have a character follow- up. However, the story went on for another 200 pages after that, breaking off into all these little side stories and introducing plot lines and characters that I felt were way off the subject of what the series had been. I thought that kind of strange. Overall, the series was great and I give the series five stars. Thanks Carrie!

[Pandamonkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series to my kids every night at bedtime. All four (ages 10 - 16) love these books. My 16 yr old was functioning on only 3 hrs of sleep but instead of going to bed, came into my room and listened to the book. He told me that he loves the books and didn't want to miss anything. My 10 yr old is capable of tracking the story line and loves all the characters. I started reading this series to my kids when the youngest was 8 and she still tracked it. It is clean and fun, especially if you do voices, accents, and dialects.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun series. While I enjoyed the story lines, the romances, and getting involved with the characters (I cried more than once!), the best part of this series was learning so much about the Civil War. Great books for anyone interested in US history. (Side note: even though they're by an LDS author and there are some of the characters are LDS or investigating the LDS religion, I wouldn't consider these to be LDS books. Anyone could read, understand, and enjoy them thoroughly.)

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just had to read the last book in the series, mainly because I had read the first 3. I still am mad that NC Allen made what should have been one book into 4 with huge type and a lot of empty pages! The story was fine and included some interesting facts, but at times it felt like Forrest Gump meets the Civil War, with the charcacters unrealistically being at every important event of the period.