Unfortunate Emigrants [Paperback]

Kristin Johnson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Unfortunate Emigrants": Narratives Of The Donner Party is a selection of rare and hard-to-find early accounts of the 1846 emigrant party that was trapped in the winter snows of the Sierra Nevada, recounting their strenuous and conflict-ridden trail west; their experiences of starvation, death, and cannibalism; and the herculean but disorganized efforts of Californians to rescue the survivors. Reading this compendium of original, descriptive accounts is compelling, engaging and unforgettable. No Western American frontier history collection can be considered complete without this astonishing book. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Utah State University Press; 1 edition (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874212081
• ISBN-13: 978-0874212082
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,393,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Johnson's done the difficult work for us! Thanks., April 21, 2000

By 

Lisa Ebeling "laa-laa" (smalltown, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unfortunate Emigrants (Paperback)

Editor Kristen Johnson has done an excellent job of pulling together many difficult-to-obtain source documents that are pertinent to the Donner Party. She enhances the reader's understanding by presenting detailed biographical information about each document's author, combined with copious footnotes, all of which are extremely helpful and unbiased. The tremendous amount of research required to synthesize the material is quite apparent. Johnson's volume of material helps to counterbalance some of the older, more biased works of Donner literature. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in American history, the great western overland migration, or simply in tales of survival. Congratulations to Ms. Johnson upon compiling an interesting, eclectic mix of old and rare--some almost forgotten-documents which really improve our understanding of conflicting viewpoints of one of America's greatest mysteries. (This text refers to the hardbound edition of the book, c. 1996.)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully complete compilation of Donner Party sources., December 17, 1998

By 

anthony_1138 "anthony_1138" (Placerville, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unfortunate Emigrants (Hardcover)

Johnson's book is a great reference for anyone interested in the Donner Party. It is a compilation of written source materials, most contemporary to the Donner event. The book contains many personal accounts of the tragedy, given from widely diverse sources, from survivors and rescuers to "yellow journalists" of the time. Johnson's compilation is a testament to how the Donner Party story affected people of the time, and how their varying perspectives affected their opinions. Johnson avoids reader confusion with a complete set of footnotes, detailing where various writers were inaccurate or incomplete in their retelling of this amazing story of the West.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent compilation of original early period publications, June 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Unfortunate Emigrants (Hardcover)

This book takes many early, hard to find, publications and compiles them into one comprehensive resource. The book has excellent annotations and summaries which place events into perspective and help give a fair, balanced view of the Donner Party tragedy. Highly recommended for anyone who has an interest in our western history and the early settlers who helped to form it. This is a great follow-up book to McGlashan and Stewart