New York Times Bestseller: On the eve of WWI, a wealthy German immigrant fights for his family's future in this "stirring . . . exciting" tale ( Chicago Sunday Tribune). Pennsylvania, 1913. The four Wittmann brothers manufacture steel precision tools. Jochen (Joe) is a ruthless businessman who seeks to improve the bottom line at any cost. Friedrich (Fred) dabbles in Socialism but would never sacrifice his dividends. Wilhelm (Willie) prefers to collect art rather than visit the factory floor. Only Karl (Charles), a widower, has the vision to keep the family business in the black. Now, as the winds of war sweep across Europe, anti-German sentiment turns the family's allies against them, and war profiteers threaten to remake the entire steel industry into a merchant of death. But Charles's greatest worry is that his son will be shipped overseas to die. As Charles struggles against powerful forces inside and outside the Wittmann family, he finds an ally in Willie's neglected wife, Phyllis. Who can predict if their unlikely romance is cause for hope or a sign of impending disaster? A stirring family saga and a brilliant exposé of the military-industrial complex, The Balance Wheel ranks alongside Dynasty of Death and Captains and the Kings as one of Taylor Caldwell's finest accomplishments.

テイラー・コールドウェルが描く本作の真髄は、軍需産業という冷徹な機構の中で、いかにして個人の良心を繋ぎ止めるかという魂の葛藤にあります。四兄弟が象徴する欲望や理想が戦争の足音と共に交錯する様は、単なる家族の年代記を超え、利益のために命を弄ぶ文明の危うさを鋭く抉り出しています。 主人公チャールズの、父としての愛と経営者としての倫理の狭間での苦悶は、現代人の胸をも熱く打ちます。精密な部品（バランス・ホイール）が時計の歩みを律するように、緻密に構成された人間模様が、富や権力を超えた真の価値を問いかけてくるのです。重厚な筆致が描き出す、美しくも残酷な人間ドラマの傑作に魂が震えます。