History of the Donner Party
A Tragedy of the Sierra

This book has convinced me that I am a soft, spongy, skilless young woman who if - as I sometimes daydreamed about as a young Little House on the Prairie reader - you dropped me down in a pioneer-days wagon train to live among them, would die in hours, if not minutes. Holy shit am I glad I went cros......more

I read this as research for the family history I'm writing. My cousin, Jay Fosdick, was one of those who died and was consumed. It is a very moving book about an epic American tragedy.......more

I THOUGHT i knew the story of the donner party, but there was so much left out and skewed from retelling over time and summarized in history books. i really enjoyed this very dated yet factual account taken mostly from letters and court transcripts. what stood out for me mostly were the number of mo......more

I only knew the most basic facts about this tragedy before reading this book. I had no idea that nearly half of the people died, or that there were so many infants and young children. Thankfully, the author didn't focus heavily on the disturbing parts, but told the entire story in a matter of fact,......more

McGlashan wrote the book 32 years after the Donner Party and was able to interview many of the survivors and references published accounts of what happened to that doomed wagon train from the time of their journey. He highlights many of the heroes- Reed, Stanton, Stark, Mrs. Breen, Tamsen Donner, W.......more