Fire and Steel Books

From master storyteller Gerald N. Lund comes the next blockbuster historical fiction series, Fire and Steel, Volume One: A Generation Rising, blending the powerful stories of two families on different continents the Eckhardts in southern Germany and the Westlands in southern Utah. While their circumstances are as divergent as their geography, each family must cope with trials that test their courage and fortitude. Spanning more than sixty years, the series follows the Eckhardts and the Westlands through some of the most turbulent times in history, including World War I, the Great Depression, the rise of Nazi Germany, and the Second World War with its devastating aftermath. In volume one, A Generation Rising, life could not be more promising for the Eckhardts. They finally have a son, Hans Otto Eckhardt the male heir they have longed for and a child of such brilliance and promise that his success seems certain. But as youthful Hans's ambition takes him Away from his family and their small Bavarian village, the winds of unrest in Europe are about to erupt into the greatest war the world has ever known. At the edge of the lawless, western frontier in America, the Westland family struggles each day to survive. Harassed by Indians and plagued by cycles of drought and floods, life is dangerous and difficult, but young Bill Westland is determined to make a home for himself and his future family in the inhospitable land he has come to love. United only by their determination to weather the storms of life together with their loved ones, the two families are destined to ultimately cross paths and become inextricably intertwined in the newest series from the unsurpassed bestselling author of LDS fiction.

The second volume in the Fire and Steel series, by bestselling author Gerald Lund, launches into the years directly following World War I and explores the devastating impact of defeat on the people of Germany specifically young Hans Eckhardt and his family. Faced with massive unrest caused by widespread food shortages, crippling unemployment, skyrocketing inflation, and the forced disbandment of the German military, a wave of revolutionary attacks brings the fledgling government to its knees. Conditions are ripe for the extreme ideology of an ambitious young leader whose disturbing ideas go largely unnoticed by a population desperate for change at any cost. But as the flames of adversity grow more threatening, hope is on the horizon for the German Saints who discover that the Lord has not forgotten them.

In the difficult years following World War I, the Elkhardt family in Bavaria experiences increasing turmoil in their lives as they try to move forward in a nation deeply divided. Suffering the devastating impact of defeat in the Great War, the people of Germany must find a solution to dire economic conditions -- particularly skyrocketing inflation -- resulting from the country's staggering war reparation dictated by the Treaty of Versailles. Conditions are so grim that the German people are desperate for someone -- anyone -- to step forward and bring stability back to their beloved Fatherland. While few suspect that a rising new political leader may not be the rescuer they seek, the visit of two former LDS missionaries and their spouses could have life-changing repercussions for the Elkhardts and cause them to reexamine long-held beliefs in the face of tragedy.

Battered down and humiliated on an international scale, post-World War I Germany is a nation on the brink of economic and social collapse. Work is scarce, food has become an extravagance, and money is practically worthless. The people have lost the pride and conviction that once carried them. But some see their suffering as a political opportunity to restore the Fatherland to its former glory--by any means necessary. In the fourth volume of Gerald N. Lund's epic new series, the Eckhardt family is shaken to the core by Hans's involvement in an attempted coup in Bavaria that has devastating consequences. While Emily turns to her newfound faith for hope and comfort, the world takes little notice of the country's rapidly deteriorating situation or an ambitious political leader who is anything but defeated by his conviction for treason.

In Volume 5 of the Fire and Steel saga, the Eckhardt and the Westland families move into one of the most turbulent times in history. Facing tectonic shifts like few generations have ever seen, they are caught up in a whirlwind that will permanently and profoundly alter their lives. Mired in the depths of a global economic depression, the world takes little notice of a 1930 Parliamentary election in the floundering democracy of Germany. But overnight, Hitler and his Nazi Party catapult from the smallest to the second-largest political party in the country. And he would not stop there. From the compulsory indoctrination of Germany's youth to the persecution of Jews and the Nazi book burnings (which included Latter-day Saint classics such as Jesus the Christ), Hitler's policies deeply affect the Eckhardt family, particularly Hans's oldest daughter who must keep the real identity of her best friend a secret at all costs. For Hans, Hitler's meteoric rise to power reveals a horrifying truth: Hitler has no intention of abiding by the rules of democracy he claims to espouse his goal is total dictatorship, and it is now in his grasp. For the Westland family, the Great Depression brings hardships and sacrifices they never imagined. The fifth volume of Fire and Steel weaves together the story of two families on opposite sides of the world, each caught in a maelstrom of events that will test their faith to the very core.

Into the Flames , volume 6 of the Fire and Steel series, begins as Adolf Hitler completes his transformation of the German Republic into a total, harsh dictatorship and as the Great Depression continues to ravage the United States. The tumultuous times bring new experiences, new challenges, new opportunities, and not a few tragedies into the lives of the Eckhardt and Westland families. In America, Mitch and Edie Westland continue their struggle to hang on to the ranch they created almost fifty years earlier, while Benji’s quest to find work turns to tragedy and sets him on a new path that will take him to exotic climes and an unexpected reunion. In Germany, Hans makes a dangerous, life-changing decision to leave the Nazi Party leadership and seek a new career. But when the ugly specter of anti-Semitism wields a direct and devastating impact on the Eckhardt family, they too are drawn into a maelstrom of events that threatens to destroy the very fabric of their lives. As 1938 draws to a close and the dark clouds of war move in, they must draw on their faith and courage to endure whatever life has in store for them.