In late October 1846, the last wagon train of that year's westward migration stopped overnight before resuming its arduous climb over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, unaware that a fearsome storm was gathering force. After months of grueling travel, the 81 men, women and children would be trapped for a brutal winter with little food and only primitive shelter. The conclusion is known: by spring of the next year, the Donner Party was synonymous with the most harrowing extremes of human survival. But until now, the full story of ...
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In late October 1846, the last wagon train of that year's westward migration stopped overnight before resuming its arduous climb over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, unaware that a fearsome storm was gathering force. After months of grueling travel, the 81 men, women and children would be trapped for a brutal winter with little food and only primitive shelter. The conclusion is known: by spring of the next year, the Donner Party was synonymous with the most harrowing extremes of human survival. But until now, the full story of what happened, what it tells us about human nature and about America's westward expansion, remained shrouded in myth. Drawing on fresh archaeological evidence, recent research on topics ranging from survival rates to snowfall totals, and heartbreaking letters and diaries made public by descendants a century-and-a-half after the tragedy, Ethan Rarick offers an intimate portrait of the Donner party and their unimaginable ordeal: a mother who must divide her family, a little girl who shines with courage, a devoted wife who refuses to abandon her husband, a man who risks his life merely to keep his word. But Rarick resists both the gruesomely sensationalist accounts of the Donner party as well as later attempts to turn the survivors into archetypal pioneer heroes. "The Donner Party," Rarick writes, "is a story of hard decisions that were neither heroic nor villainous. Often, the emigrants displayed a more realistic and typically human mixture of generosity and selfishness, an alloy born of necessity." A fast-paced, heart-wrenching, clear-eyed narrative history, A Desperate Hope casts new light on one of America's most horrific encounters between the dream of a better life and the harsh realities such dreams so often must confront.
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Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $1.95, good condition, Sold by ZBK Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Park, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
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Missing Dust Cover-Pages and hard cover are intact. Used book in good conditions. Limited notes and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on corners and edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. Ships directly from Amazon.
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $2.60, fair condition, Sold by KuleliBooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Phoenix, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press, USA.
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The item is fairly worn but still readable. The book may have some cosmetic wear (i.e. creased spine/cover, scratches, curled corners, folded pages, sunburn, stains, water damage, bent, torn, damaged binding, dent). -The dust jacket if present, may be marked, and have considerable heavy wear. -The book might be ex-library copy, and may have the markings and stickers associated from the library-The book may have considerable highlights/notes/underlined pages but the text is legible-Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included-Safe and Secure Mailer-No Hassle Return.
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $2.96, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of the Olympics rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from TACOMA, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press, USA.
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Fair. An acceptable and readable copy. All pages are intact, and the spine and cover are also intact. This item may have light highlighting, writing or underlining through out the book, curled corners, missing dust jacket and or stickers.
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $5.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $6.00, good condition, Sold by Books End Bookshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from SYRACUSE, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Doner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $8.00, good condition, Sold by Northshire Bookstore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Manchester Center, VT, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press, USA.
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $9.00, good condition, Sold by Still Fond and More rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tahlequah, OK, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
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Used-Good in Good jacket. Oxford University Press, 2008, Hardcover, Good Condition, dust jacket is in good condition, Book Club Edition. A used book with a normal amount of wear. All pages are present. Pages may have moderate highlighting, underlining, stains or other marks.
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $9.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $9.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Desperate Passage: the Donner Party's Perilous Journey to cart. $10.00, very good condition, Sold by Priceless Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Urbana, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Oxford University Press.
I am very glad I read this book. For many years I have been wondering about the Donner Party and wanted to learn about what really happened. This book gave me all I needed to know. It is well sourced and leaves not much to the imagination. I came away truly understanding the horrible conditions that these people were under at the last, and what drove them to do some of the things they did. We should not judge, but should have walked in their shoes to understand the truth.
