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摘要
摘要
"WESTWARD HO! FOR OREGON AND CALIFORNIA!"
In the eerily warm spring of 1846, George Donner placed this advertisement in a local newspaper as he and a restless caravan prepared for what they hoped would be the most rewarding journey of a lifetime. But in eagerly pursuing what would a century later become known as the "American dream," this optimistic-yet-motley crew of emigrants was met with a chilling nightmare; in the following months, their jingoistic excitement would be replaced by desperate cries for help that would fall silent in the deadly snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada.
We know these early pioneers as the Donner Party, a name that has elicited horror since the late 1840s. Now, celebrated historian Michael Wallis--beloved for his myth-busting portraits of legendary American figures--continues his life's work of parsing fact from fiction to tell the true story of one of the most embroidered sagas in Western history.
Wallis begins the story in 1846, a momentous "year of decision" for the nation, when incredible territorial strides were being made in Texas, New Mexico, and California. Against this dramatic backdrop, an unlikely band of travelers appeared, stratified in age, wealth, education and ethnicity. At the forefront were the Donners: brothers George and Jacob, true sons of the soil determined to tame the wild land of California; and the Reeds, headed by adventurous, business-savvy patriarch James. In total, the Donner-Reed group would reach eighty-seven men, women, and children, and though personal motives varied--bachelors thirsting for adventure, parents wanting greater futures for their children--everyone was linked by the same unwavering belief that California was theirs for the taking.
Skeptical of previous accounts of how the group ended up in peril, Wallis has spent years retracing its ill-fated journey, uncovering hundreds of new documents that illuminate how a combination of greed, backbiting, and recklessness led the group to become hopelessly snowbound at the infamous Donner Pass in present-day California. Climaxing with the grim stories of how the party's paltry rations soon gave way to unimaginable hunger, Wallis not only details the cannibalism that has in perpetuity haunted their legacy but also the heroic rescue parties that managed to reach the stranded, only to discover that just forty-eight had survived the ordeal.
An unflinching and historically invaluable account of the darkest side of Manifest Destiny, The Best Land Under Heaven offers a brilliant, revisionist examination of one of America's most calamitous and sensationalized catastrophes.
评论 (4)
出版社周刊评论
Adopting an empathetic approach bolstered by studious research and geographical contextualization, biographer Wallis (David Crockett) reclaims the horrific story of the infamously ill-fated wagon train from the annals of sensationalism. Though nearly synonymous with cannibalism in pop culture lore, the Donner Party's 1846-1847 journey receives from Wallis a balanced treatment, showing that the surviving members who chose cannibalism did so as a last resort-and largely because saving their starving children was their priority. Wallis effectively mixes survivors' accounts, trip diaries, and other contemporary sources, delving deep into the backgrounds and dynamics of the multiple families involved in the four-months-long winter wilderness encampment. For example, Tamzene Donner transformed from a botanist who planned to open a school into a resilient mother and wife who fed her children human flesh and refused to leave her desperately ill husband during three different rescue efforts. Wallis explains that the caravan suffered multiple setbacks, including livestock thefts by Native Americans and an unusually long and harsh winter. The leaders also routinely made bad decisions, such as trusting an untested "shortcut" promoted by an armchair guidebook author. The Donner Party's struggles and determination continue to fascinate, and Wallis's comprehensive account of bravery, luck, and failure illuminates the realities of westward expansion. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus评论
Prolific popular writer Wallis (David Crockett: Lion of the West, 2011, etc.) brings his storytelling skills to an unusual episode in American westward expansion.Within the grand story of Manifest Destiny, the quest for land and settlement from coast to coast, lies the ill-fated saga of two diverse families that set out by wagon train from Springfield, Illinois, and then to the traditional jumping-off point of Independence, Missouri, en route to California. When they began their trek in early 1846, the extended Donner and Reed families had already been part of the great wave of immigration from Europe as well as Southern, border, and Midwestern states. Initially part of a larger convoy, they and their employeeseventually nearly 90 people in allchose to break off and pursue a separate, nontraditional route. That proved to be a disastrous mistake, both because of their relative inexperience and the string of obstacles that confronted them. Internal dissension, wagon breakdowns, the loss of livestock, difficult terrain, and extreme weather dogged the travelers. But looming ahead was the most difficult challenge: the impending winter in the Sierra Nevada. As Wallis recounts in his fluid narrative, heavy snow brought widespread starvation and death. Nearly half the party perished, and after four relief efforts, the most shocking aspect of the expedition was discovered: some survivors had resorted to cannibalism. Although the Donner Party has attracted attention over the years and has achieved a certain macabre fascination in Western lore, Wallis succeeds in offering new documentary evidence as well as an absorbing narrative. He provides valuable insight into a 19th-century phenomenon in which thousands of pioneers sought land, new opportunities, and adventure in support of American exceptionalism. Solid Western history that enhances the understanding of a tragic tale by highlighting the strong human dimension through the accounts of participants before, during, and after the expedition. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
In 1846, a varied group of hopeful settlers left Illinois bound for the well-publicized paradise of California, which was still under Mexican sovereignty. They were ostensibly led by the brothers George and Jacob Donner, who would give their name to the ill-fated party. Best-selling Wallis' (David Crockett, 2011) account of their tragic and thoroughly avoidable trek is well-researched, detailed, and well-written. He reveals that, from the start, mistakes were made that helped doom them. They started across the plains late, and they accepted poor information when choosing an alternative route. They were plagued by the stubborn arrogance of some of their leaders and constant backbiting. Finally, they were victimized by rotten luck as an early, unusually heavy snowstorm left some of them stranded in the High Sierra, where they resorted to cannibalism to survive. Wallis recounts their bad decisions and sufferings as well as the heroic efforts to rescue them with sympathy and eloquence while placing them within the broader context of the pursuit of the Manifest Destiny to expand across the continent. This is an excellent reexamination of an infamous saga.--Freeman, Jay Copyright 2010 Booklist
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Wallis (Billy the Kid) offers a vivid, new look at the ill-fated Donner Party. The 89 members of this group were a cross-section of American socioeconomic classes in 1846. Heeding the call of Manifest Destiny to conquer lands west of the Mississippi River, the settlers all had a common goal: wealth and prosperity with new lives in California. The Donner and Reed families dominated the group, often vying for leadership, and were greatly influenced by an emigrant guidebook written by Lansford Hastings, which advocated taking a shortcut from Fort Bridger, WY, around Utah's Great Salt Lake, and on to California. Their journey was plagued by bad decisions, poor advice, greed, and an early winter that trapped them in the Sierra Nevada. Wallis recounts the efforts of the four rescue parties that brought 46 people out of the mountains. The emigrants had survived months of harsh weather and with little food; some resorting to cannibalizing their dead compatriots. VERDICT Wallis's use of primary sources, together with his dynamic writing style, turns a familiar retelling into a real page-turner. A welcome addition to all history collections. [See Prepub Alert, 10/17/16.]-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community College, Mt. Carmel © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
目录
Author's Note | p. xiii |
Introduction: 1846 | p. xv |
Prologue: Dormer Lake, June 6, 1918 | p. xix |
1 Call of the West | |
1 A Migrating People | p. 5 |
2 The Best Land Under Heaven | p. 8 |
3 Gray Gold | p. 16 |
4 Snake Heads | p. 22 |
5 California Dreaming | p. 27 |
6 The Bold Plunge | p. 33 |
7 Wagons Ho! April 1846 | p. 39 |
8 Farewell, April 14-15, 1846 | p. 42 |
9 Independence Bound, April 15-May 10, 1846 | p. 48 |
2 The Journey | |
10 Queen City of the Trails, May 10-12, 1846 | p. 55 |
11 Indian Country, May 12-18, 1846 | p. 60 |
12 Soldier Creek, May 19, 1846 | p. 65 |
13 The Others, May 20, 1846 | p. 70 |
14 People of the South Wind, May 21-24, 1846 | p. 75 |
15 Alcove Spring, May 25-29, 1846 | p. 82 |
16 The Rhetoric of Fear, May 30-June 2, 1846 | p. 89 |
17 Ebb and Flow, June 3-7, 1846 | p. 95 |
18 On the Platte, June 8-10, 1846 | p. 100 |
19 Life Goes On, June 10-15, 1846 | p. 103 |
20 A Letter from Tamzene Donner, June 16, 1846 | p. 112 |
3 The Promised Land | |
21 Change of Command, June 16-19, 1846 | p. 117 |
22 Chasing Mirages, June 10-25, 1846 | p. 122 |
23 Sage Advice, June 26-27, 1846 | p. 126 |
24 A Sense of Urgency, June 28-July 12, 1846 | p. 133 |
25 Parting of the Ways, July 13-19, 1846 | p. 141 |
26 The Donner Party, July 20-28, 1846 | p. 147 |
27 Betrayed, July 28-31, 1846 | p. 150 |
28 The Hastings Cutoff, August 1-22, 1846 | p. 157 |
29 The Fearful Long Drive, August 23-September 10, 1846 | p. 164 |
30 Race against Time, September 11-October 4, 1846 | p. 175 |
31 Blood Rage, October 5-20, 1846 | p. 181 |
32 Perseverance, October 21-30, 1846 | p. 194 |
4 Out of Time | |
33 Snowbound, November 1846 | p. 205 |
34 Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, November-December 1846 | p. 217 |
35 The Forlorn Hope, December 1846 | p. 230 |
36 Camp of Death, December 1846 | p. 240 |
37 The Starving Time, January 1847 | p. 250 |
38 In Dire Straits, January-February 1847 | p. 262 |
39 Man on a Mission January-February-1847 | p. 269 |
40 To the Rescue, February 1847 | p. 278 |
41 The First Relief | p. 282 |
42 The Second Relief | p. 292 |
43 The Third Relief | p. 339 |
44 The Fourth Relief | p. 351 |
Aftermath | p. 355 |
Appendix 1 Donner Party Members and Affiliation with Group | p. 359 |
Appendix 2 Relief Teams and Donner Party Survivors/Deaths | p. 371 |
Acknowledgments | p. 375 |
Notes | p. 379 |
Bibliography | p. 427 |
Index | p. 437 |