Review of Unfaltering Trust

[Hilda Nyanchama]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Unfaltering Trust" by Roy Ziegler.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The book Unfaltering Trust by Roy Ziegler is about the people who took part in the making of New Jersey. Ziegler focuses on the Randolf family, how they developed and influenced New Jersey and America as a whole. The book goes back to the time of the migration of the British to the New World in 1630. British citizens were leaving England because they held different religious beliefs from the church of England. The rebellious group also believed that the church should be an independent entity and not under the King's administration as it was at the time. Transportation from England to America was through ships. The book explains that passengers were exposed to natural elements causing some of them to die.

Those who made it through the journey settled in Massachusetts, which they named New England. Puritans made the majority of the population in New England at the time. Edward Fitz Randolf and his wife, Elizabeth Blossom were separatist believers but found a home amongst the puritans. However, Edward questioned the puritan way when they started to execute witches. He did not agree with this practice. He also realized that puritan believers had become intolerant of other beliefs. His search for a place with greater religious freedom lead him to move to New Jersey. His offspring influenced and continue to influence affairs in New Jersey, they greatly contribute to the growth of the state till today.

Ziegler explains that the Randolf descendants have been investors, soldiers, architects, physicians, judges, philanthropists, human rights activists, authors, designers, sportsmen, and have held offices in government. Apart from the Randolfs other families mentioned in the book include the Parry, the Jenks, and the Holley families among others. The author also includes other individuals and their respective contributions to the state of New Jersey and America.

The positive aspect of the book is the flow. The author begins to describe occurrences from the year 751 then slowly unfolding events up to the current date. I liked that there were pictures, the book is about the history of New Jersey and thus having pictures helps to visualize and breaths life into the story. It is also good that the book was not too big, this allowed the author to stick to crucial issues, he did not wander off from the main theme. Lastly, the book is very intriguing because of the brief mentioning of historical occurrences such as the war between the British and the Americans in America's quest for independence. The other one is the witch trials and the execution of witches. Lastly, towards the end of the book, we get the war between the Indians and the non-native Americans mentioned.

I found no negative aspect of the book. It is an amusing read. I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars because of its educative aspect. The book makes the reader want to know more about America's history. The author gives enough information to spark an interest to want to know the what, when, who, why, and how. The book is also well edited.

I recommend this book to people who would like to know more about the history of New Jersey. I also recommend the book to people who are interested in the Randolf family genealogy dating from the year 742 till today. Those interested in finding out the genealogy of former USA presidents such as Gerald R. Ford, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Hussein Obama Jr. will also find the book useful.

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Unfaltering Trust
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