A God in Ruins

By: Leon Uris

Narrated by: Stephen Lang

Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Master storyteller and international best-selling author of Redemption, Trinity, and Exodus, Leon Uris once again brilliantly interweaves historical fact with gripping fiction in this powerful novel of politics, family, intrigue, love, and the passions that rule human lives.

Spanning the decades from World War II to the 2008 presidential campaign, A God in Ruins is the unforgettable story of Quinn Patrick O'Connell, an honest, principled, and courageous man on the brink of becoming the second Irish Catholic President of the United States. In an era morally unmoored, rife with armed separatists and fundamentalist zealotry, Quinn, the last great liberal of the Rocky Mountains, emerges as America's hope to reclaim its great past and its promises of the future. But Quinn is a man with an explosive secret that can shatter his political ambitions and threaten his life, a secret buried for over a half century that even he does not know.

Returning home at the end of World War II a decorated and wounded hero, Daniel Timothy O'Connell had moved his young wife, Siobhan, from the crowded streets of Brooklyn to the golden mountains of Colorado. Building a successful life as cattle ranchers, Daniel and Siobhan had everything they wanted, except a child. Desperate, they turned to the Church and adopted a beautiful three-year-old of mysterious parentage, a charming little boy they named Quinn Patrick.

In riveting prose, Leon Uris unfolds Quinn's life as he matures from a restless youth into a brave Marine undertaking a deadly undercover mission, and finally, into an earnest, intelligent, and thoughtful leader willing to take on the most vicious and malevolently destructive forces threatening the country.

(P) and © HarperCollins Publishers Inc., All Rights Reserved. Harper Audio, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Leon Uris is an excellent storyteller and a detailed researcher." (AudioFile)

Good story

good story but needed more detail to fill in missing pieces. not relevant to today's circumstances

Timely

Very insightful considering current events.Sadly, it is probably prophetic. I will recommend as a contemporary read.

Not up to Leon Uris standards.

Story told in very disjointed format with a very abrupt ending. I believe that the whole segment on the Eagle Scout Troop could have been omitted, without significantly impacting the story.

About gun control

Liberal progressive story line about gun control. Wish I knew, I did not find it compelling, though the author is amazing at telling stories.

A disappointment

I expected more from Leon Uris. He has written novels of the highest caliber so I thought this would be a "sure thing". Not so. The story is interesting and well-developed, but it is not told right. With all the flashbacks and foreshadowing, the reader had nothing to anticipate which made the read rather dull. And it's a shame because Stephen Lang is one of my favorite readers.

Excellent

well read and exciting story

Poorly abridged

This is a good book, but so much was cut when audible abridged it that it's hard to follow the plot.