Winter of Entrapment: A New Look at the Donner Party

by Joseph A. King

Book Overview

During the winter of of 1846-47 over eighty men, women and children of the Donner Party wagon train were trapped in the snows of California's High Sierras. thiry-nine perished on the trail or in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888350325
• ISBN13: 9780888350329
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: P.D. Meany Publishers
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Donner Descendent

Even the index is interesting! This is a great piece of scholarly work, written in a way that captures the imagination. What a lot of work Mr. King has put into this work of service to history! This is a fantastic resource for anyone seeking to better understand the emigration west, Donner Party Tragedy, and history. In a sense, reading this book was a trip back to the past for me, in my case to the shelter of ancestors where I could witness from the comforts of home their grueling ordeal and the hope and comfort they received from the caring of others.

Scholarly Analysis, Fascinating Subject - Winner!

The Kings' wonderful historical account of the Donner Party disaster is not a bit dry - and it's not revisionist either! You may disagree with me, so like the Kings I will explain my reasoning. To be revisionist, the book would have to refute prior historical analyses - but there are none. The authors summarize the nature, general treatment, and key theses of earlier accounts. If these summaries are accurate, theirs is the first serious, full-length scholarly treatment of the subject. The works they cite consist of some combination of wide-eyed tabloid-worthy speculation, uncritical rehashing of selected contemporary accounts and ruminations on their import, and/or imaginative, fictionalized scene-setting, in some cases with fabricated dialogue. None of this qualifies as historical analysis, which requires thorough, critical consideration and comparison of all relevant documentation. As for "dryness" - whether the book is sufficiently juicy depends on what sort of beverage you're looking for. This is not byte-sized infotainment in a pop-top. Nor is it a frothy, yeasty TV-tailored morality play that titillates with scenes of human depravity peopled by halo'd heroes/heroines & and deliciously bestial villains. And, if you dig Donner Party mythology as an American "Lord of the Flies" that's better `cause it's "real" - this book's not your cup of tea. So what is it then? Just a series of thoughtfully reconstructed glimpses into the lives of a group of very ordinary people who lived and struggled with extreme hardship in a world we can never really know - except through accounts like this, and through application of the insight we gain as we age and pass in our turn into the realm of history. The Kings' analysis makes clear that while our technology has evolved and advanced, in many ways our culture has not. The authors show us aspects of that earlier time that can only disgust and shame us when we reflect on how little we have advanced in some respects - instantly recognizable is our own ravening appetite for news nuggets, heavily spiced with someone else's pain and loss. But they also give us factual evidence, cleansed of lies and willful distortions, that can inspire hope. We too can survive and transcend painful circumstances - not just the physical and mental challenge of extreme deprivation, but the spiritual challenge of living a worthy life despite injustice and disrespect. Personally, I love the way the book presents these people to us because I find ordinary people - the tragedy and nobility of our neverending struggle with human weakness and harsh circumstance - endlessly fascinating and inspiring. If you agree, you'll probably love it too. If you're a "just the facts Ma'am" type, you'll like it because the authors cite their sources and explain their reasoning throughout the account so that you can judge for yourself if their conclusions are sound. There are also detailed references you can use to check out

A historic look at a tragedy 150 years years ago.

I had the opportunity to know Joe King and know the accuracy of his work and the tenacity of his searches. My family traveled to California in 1846 and were rescueres of the Donner survivors. Joe received hundreds of personal and family letters and diary entrys from living family decendents and opened new ground in this story. Most of the previous works were penned shortly after the Donner Tragedy and were very pointed in that they tried to soften some of the controversy. Many of the survivors were still living and no one wanted to talk about the gastly events at Truckee Lake. Joe King sought out the facts from family members like myself, the Donner/Houghtons, the Breens and Reid decendents. His work was reviewed by the true historians and deemed to be one of great accuracy without the myth that surrounded this topic for a century.

A highly accurate if somewhat dry account of the tragedy

King's work is largely a response to the most famous work on the subject of the Donner Party, Stewart's "Ordeal by Hunger." King's book focuses on details of the tragic story, and leaves the reader with a depth of knowledge on the subject. More casual readers may wish that King had provided a chronological overview of the events. This work seems to be aimed at readers already familiar with the basics of the Donner Party story, and criticizes Stewart's work on so many occasions, it is hard to see the work as anything but an effort to correct Stewart's errors.

This was a great book

As a person fascinated in western history, I can say without reservation that this is the best book I have read on the Donner Party tragedy. Not only has the author given us the interesting tale of the Donner Party saga, and he has done that well, but he has also related the moral and ethical dilemnas to our own times and our own perspectives. I could not put this book down!