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“Daring … The thrust of this enthralling book lies with its title: through the experience of her forebears, Thomas examines how conscience fares when society considers it subversive.” — Alan Riding, New York Times Book Review

“Every once in a while the story of one man or one family is so well told that it becomes a vehicle for exhibiting an entire age. So it is with this triumphant work. Through the prism of the four Thomas brothers, the dramatic years at the turn of the twentieth century are recreated with such vitality that they seem to have happened only yesterday.”
— Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals

“This is an unforgettable saga of four brothers, each fighting for freedom in his own way. With powerful narrative writing, great historical sensitivity, and a wealth of poignant letters, Louisa Thomas explores the bonds of family and the nature of conscience. This gem of a book is both a wonderful story and a guide to the nature of moral commitments.”
— Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

“With originality, insight, and grace, Louisa Thomas has given us a brilliant book about big things: war and love and family and principle and passion. This is an important, illuminating, and finally moving account of a particular mother and her sons grappling with the most universal of forces–forces that resonate still, and always will. An excellent and entertaining piece of history and biography.”
— Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation

“In the home I grew up in, Norman Thomas was something of a household god. Yet the story his great-granddaughter tells with such a sure touch is a revelation to me. I’ m not sure which is more moving: the strength and courage of the Thomas brothers’ clashing convictions or their profound respect and concern for one another despite their differences. Conscience, the story of a family and a nation in a time of testing, is a remarkable achievement.”
— Hendrik Hertzberg, author of ¡Obãmanos! and Politics

“Louisa Thomas recounts with both tenderness and a critical eye the moving story of a remarkable family and of how Norman Thomas became the great kind and gentle Socialist.”
— John Milton Cooper, Jr. author of Woodrow Wilson: A Biography

“Conscience presents both a vivid account of a tumultuous moment in world history and a reflection on democratic citizenship that speaks powerfully to our own time.”
— Joseph Kip Kosek, author of Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy

“Amazing…. [Thomas] 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.” – Booklist (starred review)