A generation rising : Fire and steel ; bk. 1
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references.

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.