DESPERATE PASSAGE: THE DONNER PARTYS PERILOUS JOURNEY WEST PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Ethan Rarick | 304 pages | 30 Jul 2009 | Oxford University Press Inc | 9780195383317 | English | New York, United States Desperate Passage - Paperback - Ethan Rarick - Oxford University Press Often, the emigrants displayed a more realistic and typically human mixture of generosity and selfishness, an alloy born of necessity. In late October , 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. Ethan Rarick has written about politics, crime, business and sports throughout the West. He lives in Berkeley, California. Rarick's account is not really about science; it's about humanity Rarick has done his homework. Rarick scythes away the myths of one of the nation's better-known sagas, and offers up this horrific but ennobling tale in all its freshly researched detail. Readers take heed: this is a tough book, but a gripping one. His telling is evocative and easy to read. General readers, especially those who know of the Donner party only as the cannibal wagon train, will undoubtedly find it a fascinating read. With personal details Desperate Passage makes a gripping tale, and Rarick makes a scrupulous guide. Rarick makes this compelling frontier drama all the more so. Rarick deals with this most extreme of issues [cannibalism] with the evenhandedness and lack of melodrama that characterize the book throughout. Fradkin, author of Wallace Stegner and the American West. In this meticulously detailed narrative, Ethan Rarick presents the full horror and bravery of a dystopian episode that would forever qualify the California experience. It's a remarkable story for all generations, and with the advantage of updated research and a keen eye for detail, Ethan Rarick builds a quick-moving narrative. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Academic Skip to main content. Search Start Search. Choose your country or region Close. Dear Customer, As a global organization, we, like many others, recognize the significant threat posed by the coronavirus. Please contact our Customer Service Team if you have any questions. Aug 31, GoldGato rated it liked it Shelves: catastrophe , winter , history , exploration , california. Did they live nearby? Why were they supposed to be a lesson for us? This book does a pretty decent job of explaining the entire disaster to the reader, although some of it ended up being a bit grisly for me. This is a very comprehensive review of the Donner Party, stretching back to when they first s "If you take shortcuts, you'll end up like the Donners! This is a very comprehensive review of the Donner Party, stretching back to when they first started West. It's simply amazing how treacherous it was for the American West pioneers, especially for those who made the journey before the vast nationwide train system was developed. Looking for a better life and leaving places that only a few decades before were considered 'the West' but were now 'the Midwest', people just got up and got to it. Their wagons, if they had any, would be full of their life's accumulations, much as we have now when we make a move. Imagine having to lose everything, and also your family's lives, because someone suggested a shortcut that had never been fully checked out beforehand. The writing here is clear and chronological, so I very quickly understood who the parties were and why they undertook such a dangerous trip. The rescue attempts were devastating and that is when I really started becoming involved in the book. I must say that after finishing this volume, I have a much better respect for the relative ease with which we live our 21st-century lives. At least I don't think I'll be munching on my neighbours' bones too soon. It's also why I always take the long route. Shortcuts are killers. View 1 comment. Mar 01, Chrissie rated it really liked it Recommended to Chrissie by: Lynne. Shelves: audible , usa , bad-trip , bio. An excellent reportage of the travail of this doomed trek. All the where, when, who, why and how questions are, if not definitively answered, thoroughly analyzed. Some questions still today cannot be conclusively answered. Over the years opposing views have been voiced. Who were the real heroes, who the villains and who the cowards? Why did this expedition go so tragically wrong? The push westward to Oregon and California over the plains and the mountains during the years of the ss, a 2 An excellent reportage of the travail of this doomed trek. The push westward to Oregon and California over the plains and the mountains during the years of the ss, a mile trek most often starting from Independence, Missouri, did not always end so disastrously. What went wrong here? That is the theme of this book. Cannibalism did occur but the exact details are contradictory. These contradictions, they too are analyzed, and the death tolls are studied: by sex, by age and by social ties. Please note that the individuals studied,both those of the journey and those in the relief efforts, were numerous. In this book you do not get "inside the individuals' heads". The book is too serious a study for that. Instead possible motivations and fears are listed. Previous life events of the individuals are given so we can understand their temperaments. There is no need for fiction. Real life events are startling and painful. When you think you have reached the end, you think the problems must end now, you will find only more problems await: another blizzard another moral decision to be tackled. These poor people! I listened to the audiobook. There is nothing much to say about the narration. It was just fine, although in my ears I heard a reflection of pity which sometimes annoyed me. Just give us the facts, buddy. Don't get me wrong; this is no big problem. View all 4 comments. Dec 19, Sabrina Resendiz rated it really liked it. Ethan Rarick's Desperate Passage, tells us, with much detail and historical evidence, the story of the Donner Party, a large group of families including the Donner and Reed families who take upon the perilous journey to have a better life. This book is set America, late s, when many families sought to travel to the recently acquired land of California. Traveling West for a better shot at life is not easy for the Donner Party since the land hasn't been thoroughly explored and the Natives with Ethan Rarick's Desperate Passage, tells us, with much detail and historical evidence, the story of the Donner Party, a large group of families including the Donner and Reed families who take upon the perilous journey to have a better life. Traveling West for a better shot at life is not easy for the Donner Party since the land hasn't been thoroughly explored and the Natives within the land aren't always amiable. The families are faced with tough decisions and obstacles, a journey they believe will be worth the sacrifice. The book reflects upon the true journey of the Donner Party's journey, for a better life, becoming a memorable, relatable in a sense, story in American history. In an early part of the book, the focus is set on Tamzene, who loses her children, and her husband in the span of four months; she becomes severely depressed. Attempting to take her life away on several occasions, her only comfort is writing letters to her sister in another state. Struggling to move on with life, she became a schoolteacher in Illinois, where her health and optimism slowly improved. Ten years after becoming a widow, she met George Donner, a people-person, who she later married and created a new family. They were quite prosperous but like many other families, the pressure of going west was too great so they joined the migration towards a new, better life. Ultimately, the story of the Donner Party is the story of pioneers traveling up to 12 miles a day, arguing about a decision to make that could mean life or death, attempting to get a better life even if that means risking their current one. It all adds up to a tale of unexperienced travelers going through new lands, which have varying climates, and the important decisions they have to make for the sake of the other members, a long, hard journey that unfortunately took the lives of many of the hopeful pioneers. Desperate Passage relates the story thoroughly, giving us a blast to the past with current historical evidence, which puts us in the position of asking ourselves, "What would I have done? Although the hardships faced on the journey would drive anyone to the brink of insanity, most of the party retained their morals and dignity. One was even brave enough to risk his own life for the sake of the other members. Yes, the Donner party is mainly known for the pioneers who ate the deceased, a desperate measure, but they didn't enjoy it at all.