The Fire and the Ore

The Fire and the Ore is yet another book by Olivia Hawker that teaches me more American history than I ever learned in school, and keeps me interested every step of the way. The book covers a painful era of wagon and handcart trains of Mormon pioneers heading west to the Great Salt Lake, something I’......more

The Authors Note afterward was the better part of the book, as it put the rest of the story in clearer perspective. After reading Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven, it was interesting to read the non fiction source for this novel.......more

I am a member of the church discussed in this book, and I have read many novels which discuss polygamy in the early days of the church. All of them, though, are targeted at people in my church, so I was interested in reading how a story about polygamy written for a more mainstream audience would tur......more

A very well written story As an agnostic, I shy away from books colored too much by the author's religion. Olivia spins a great tale and is honest and has done her homework. I enjoyed this book from the start to finish. She does a good job fleshing out her characters and making them seem true. I beca......more

The Fire and the Ore is gripping and complex as it tells the story of three women who were strangers, who come together out of faith, desperation, and the will to survive in the harshness of Utah Territory in the mid 1850’s. These women are not just strangers; they’ve each come to the territory for......more