Winter of Entrapment: A New Look at the Donner Party [Paperback]

Joseph A. King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

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 mountain camps. Some survived by eating the dead. This book gives a thorough and readable account and corrects many misconceptions of previous writers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...we have selected it for the cover story of The Californians [July/Aug 1992], the magazine of California history. -- The Editor, The Californians

I received my copy of Winter of Entrapment yesterday and have hardly put it down since. -- Editor, News from the Plains, Oregon-California Trails Association

Solid research strengthens an account that includes many documents which have not seen light in other Donner Party reviews. -- Bookwatch, San Francisco --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

The late Joseph A. King taught English at Diablo Valley College before his retirement. He was the author of several books and numerous articles. He served as an advisor to Steeplechase Films for their public television documentary on the Donner Overland Party to California. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 257 pages
• Publisher: K & K Pubns; 3 edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0960850090
• ISBN-13: 978-0960850099
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,481,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A highly accurate if somewhat dry account of the tragedy, December 17, 1998

By 

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

This review is from: Winter of Entrapment: A New Look at the Donner Party (Paperback)

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.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A historic look at a tragedy 150 years years ago., December 27, 1998

By 

Robert Merritt ([e-mail]) (Turlock, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter of Entrapment: A New Look at the Donner Party (Paperback)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was a great book, December 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Winter of Entrapment: A New Look at the Donner Party (Paperback)

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!