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Indlæser... The Indifferent Stars Above : The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Bride (udgave 2010)af Daniel James Brown (Forfatter), 9780061348112
Work InformationThe Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride af Daniel James Brown
Indlæser...
Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. True story of the Donner Party. The author makes it more personal by following the life of one of the party, Sarah Graves Fosdick, as she and her family leave Illinois and head to California via covered wagon. More than a story of cannibalism, it depicts life in the 1840’s, what was going on in politics and in the world, and the adverse factors that converged to lead the party to become stranded in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846-1847. It examines the story through a lens of current technology, covering the science of psychology, physiology, survival, and meteorology. Brown’s research is thorough, and he knows what elements to include to move the story forward. He attempts to sort through a myriad of conflicting information to get to the heart of what happened. He also followed the path taken by Sarah and her family to see first-hand the type of land they covered and help the reader better appreciate the hardships endured. The Kindle edition could have benefitted from a map, cross-referencing of chapter notes, and a list of the almost 90 people and to whom they were related, so it would be easier to keep track of everyone. Given what they endured, it’s amazing that anyone survived. The author tells an informative story in a way that both honors the memory of the people involved and puts it into historical perspective. I now live near the Sierra Nevada location where the Donner party was stranded and plan to visit the site to learn more. Recommended to those interested in history-related non-fiction, especially of survival stories, life in the U.S. in the mid-1800’s, western migration of the pioneers, and historic tragedies. Contains grisly descriptions of extreme deprivation, starvation, slaughter, and cannibalism. People have been writing books about the Donner Party since the 1870s. For whatever reasons the story has captured imaginations for generations and has become one of the defining events of the settlement of western America and California in particular. Daniel Brown followed their trail, read the books, and wrote this the latest full-length treatment. It's likely the best available for a general audience. There were a lot of people in the party and it's easy to overwhelm with detail, Brown knows when to smooth things over. There are more detailed books if you want. Much of it takes place on the trail, describing places I have been (Ash Hollow) that look about the same today as they did then. Much concerns traveling across country in a wagon. They were actually pretty nice people except for a few. They were also tough as nails and did what it took to survive. Probably the most memorable event was when the two Indian guides refused to participate in the gory feast, turned their back and looked away. Not that we need another reminder that natives were often more civilized then Europeans, it was a poignant moment fortunately not forgotten. It's unclear why this story continued to fascinate - as true-life horror story? There isn't much to learn from it, Brown struggles to make it relevant, the main thing I learned was don't take the shortcut route across the Sierras in winter. Still, a good book and introduction to the Donner Party.
“The Indifferent Stars Above” is an ideal pairing of talent and material.
Biography & Autobiography.
History.
Travel.
Nonfiction.
HTML: From the #1 bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat and Facing the Mountain comes an unforgettable epic of family, tragedy, and survival on the American frontier "An ideal pairing of talent and material.... Engrossing.... A deft and ambitious storyteller." ?? Mary Roach, New York Times Book Review In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of pioneers led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and fourteen others set out for California on snowshoes, and, over the next thirty-two days, endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors. In this gripping narrative, New York Times bestselling author Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most legendary events in American history. Following every painful footstep of Sarah's journey with the Donner Party, Brown produces a tale both spellbinding and richly informative. No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumDaniel James Brown's book The Indifferent Stars Above was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsIngenPopulære omslag
Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)978.02092History and Geography North America Western U.S. 19th Century BiographyLC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit:
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This is an extremely well-written history of the Donner Party and the difficulties faced by so many American emigrants who went west in search of a destiny they believed was manifest. Their story is dramatic and horrific enough to be gripping. It's a tale of survivalist adventure that rivals that of any modern descent into a deep cave or a trek up a dangerous mountain.
I appreciated Brown's account because it was written without modern judgement. He wrote about them as people of their time in history and location. It enabled me to understand them as they were, not as people who understand the world as we do. They set out to change their futures and the futures of generations to come.
In his epilogue, Brown retraced their route. It was a heartfelt journey that allowed me to connect the past to the modern day. My heart broke for all of them: the heroes, the scoundrels, the loving, the children, the young, the adults, the living, and the dead. It also allowed me to see that they were just one group among so many. The epilogue drew Sarah's story to a satisfactory close. Everyone's history eventually comes to a close sooner or later. That's epically clear in Indifferent Stars.
After I finished reading the book, I sought out their diaries online and was delighted to find the diaries of Patrick Breen at the Online Archive of California (oac.cdlib.org). I will find additional sources of original information. Not for the sensationalism of cannibalism, but for the people who survived a series of horrible mistakes and a harrowing price for making them.
I'm so glad I read this book.
I'll clean the spelling and grammar mistakes later. Tired. ( )