Other editions of book Ordeal By Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party

[Read by Jeff Riggenbach] The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California and were persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers -- an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California, persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras, only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers; an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

[Read by Jeff Riggenbach] The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California and were persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers -- an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

In 1846, the nation was turning 70. Herman Melville and Walt Whitman were 27, Lincoln was 37. The first telegraph lines were up and humming. California was still part of Mexico, but already faint parallel lines—wheel tracks left by emigrant wagon trains—marked the California Trail. Close to half a million emigrants would cross the plains before completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, but in July, 1846, there were only 800 Americans in California, and the routes across the Continental Divide and the Sierra Nevada were not yet well established. It was on the 20th of that month that the Donner Party set out for California from Little Sandy Creek, Wyoming—enough time, they thought, to cross the Sierras before the winter snows fell. Eighty-seven men, women and children set out on the journey, and their tragic fate constitutes one of the most gripping and chilling chapters in the exploration and settlement of the American West. Much has been written over the years about the Donner Party—and a powerful documentary film, Simple Justice, was made by Ric Burns in 1993 and shown on PBS—but George Stewart’s spell-binding and compassionate narrative, Ordeal by Hunger, published initially in 1936, remains the gold standard. In his introduction to our edition, James D. Houston writes: "Sixty-five years after its first publication, this remarkable narrative still stands as the definitive account, giving dramatic life to a haunting and emblematic tale." Though there is horror and tragedy in this story, there are also acts of courage and selflessness. It is a powerful human drama. As the author puts it, the story tells "what human beings may achieve, endure, and perpetrate in the final press of circumstance." In addition to James Houston’s authoritative, new introduction, we have incorporated new illustrations and maps, aided in this effort by many organizations, most especially The Bancroft Library of The University of California, Berkeley.

The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California, persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras, only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers; an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California, persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras, only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers; an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

[Library Edition Audiobook CD in Vinyl case.][Read by Jeff Riggenbach] The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California and were persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers -- an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

[MP3CD audiobook format in Vinyl case.] [Read by Jeff Riggenbach] The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California and were persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers -- an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.