About book The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga Of A Donner Party Bride (2009)
I have always been fascinated by the journey of the Donner Party. I've read every book on it that I could find. I came to feel a kinship with those that came across the prairie and struggled, froze and starved during that winter of 1846. I felt I knew the families; the Breens, the Graves, the Eddys, the Reeds.....I've been to San Juan Bautista where the Breens settled and went through the little museum there to see some of the artifacts they brought with them. I've been to the Donner Lake Museum where I walked the trail and could see where many of the families camped that awful winter. I've seen the doll that Patty Reed hid from her family when they were trying to lighten the load of their wagons. I've walked around Alder Creek where the Donners camped and all of the adults died. As you can see, this part of history has touched me in ways difficult to describe. This particular book is the best I've read on this subject. Not only was I able to reacquaint myself with the families but the author addressed the politics of the time; why families decided to attempt a journey of crossing the plains and mountains to California and Oregon. He wrote about the survivors of the Donner Party after they were rescued and what became of each of them. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this terrible journey. I absolutely loved Daniel James Brown's book The Boys in the Boat so when I realized that he had written some earlier books, including one about the Donner party, I was eager to read it. Like The Boys in the Boat, he includes lots of contextual information about the time period and attitudes/mores. He focuses on one of the members of the Donner party, young newlywed Sarah Fosdick who embarks from Illinois with her new husband Jay Fosdick, as well as her parents and numerous younger siblings. The Graves family were affluent and well-prepared when they began their journey out of Illinois. Due to some unfortunate events as well as a shady man by the name of Hastings who advocated a shortcut to California through some of the most rugged terrain, the 87 members of the Donner party were stuck in the Sierra Nevada mountains from November 1846 until they either died or were rescued in March/April of 1847. Most of us know the gruesome story of what happened in the camp during those months of cold and starvation, but this book really helps to see how amazing it is that they survived at all. These were extremely strong and courageous pioneers who left everything behind to chase the new American dream. They had to cross out of the boundaries of what was then the United States, into unchartered territory, walking most of the 1500 miles, into uncertain futures. There were a few bad apples in the bunch, but generally the members tried to look out and support one another. Over half of them didn't survive those brutal months underneath mounds of snow and freezing temperatures. After reading what they endured, I'm amazed that they survived at all.
Do You like book The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga Of A Donner Party Bride (2009)?
The author strives to debunk the horrific myths and I think he succeeds. Very sad and very raw.
—Sujey
Very interesting syory about the Donner Party.
—chickenlittle
Story of Donner party. Well-told, gripping.
—hunny
Good history. Well written but depressing
—jamajor
