Desperate Passage

The Donner Party's Perilous Journey West

By: Ethan Rarick

Narrated by: Christopher Prince

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

In late October 1846, the last wagon train of that year's westward migration stopped overnight before resuming its arduous climb over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, unaware that a fearsome storm was gathering force. After months of grueling travel, the 81 men, women and children would be trapped for a brutal winter with little food and only primitive shelter. The conclusion is known: by spring of the next year, the Donner Party was synonymous with the most harrowing extremes of human survival. But until now, the full story of what happened--and what it tells us about human nature and about America's westward expansion--remained shrouded in myth.

Drawing on fresh archeological evidence, recent research on topics ranging from survival rates to snowfall totals, and heartbreaking letters and diaries made public by descendants a century-and-a-half after the tragedy, Ethan Rarick offers an intimate portrait of the Donner party and their unimaginable ordeal: a mother who must divide her family, a little girl who shines with courage, a devoted wife who refuses to abandon her husband, a man who risks his life merely to keep his word. Rarick resists both the gruesomely sensationalist accounts of the Donner party as well as later attempts to turn the survivors into archetypal pioneer heroes. "The Donner Party," Rarick writes, "is a story of hard decisions that were neither heroic nor villainous. Often, the emigrants displayed a more realistic and typically human mixture of generosity and selfishness, an alloy born of necessity."

A fast-paced, heart-wrenching, clear-eyed narrative history, Desperate Passage casts new light on one of America's most horrific encounters between the dream of a better life and the harsh realities such dreams so often must confront.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Ethan Rarick (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Loads of information

I found this book to be very informative. I learned so much! I especially like how the various views were covered to allow the reader to know how things were perceived. I definitely recommend

Fascinating, but didn't need to be a whole book

Would you consider the audio edition of Desperate Passage to be better than the print version?

Only listened to the audio.

What other book might you compare Desperate Passage to and why?

That other book where people eat each other's dead bodies (the plane crash in the mountains that happened in the last 20 years , don't remember the name).

Have you listened to any of Christopher Prince’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. The narration was flawless, though.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cry, a little. I was sad that some people chose to kill and eat their dogs rather than eat the already dead bodies of family members. I don't see eating someone who is dead in order to survive is shameful. I do see killing your faithful dog and eating it is shameful if there is an alternative.

Any additional comments?

The book could have been half the length, taking away the digression about cannibalism, which is what people, including myself, are fascinated with, but the cannibalism was not the most important part of the Donner parties journey. To me the interesting aspect was how the survivors and witnesses felt a change in the moral view of the world.

Lots of factual information

Enjoyed the book. The author did his research and gives an interesting story of how the trip came about and how it affected each group of people in it.. I found it very interesting, yet felt their pain and hardships while listening to it.. Amazing what people went through back then compared to our jumping in a car and driving cross country today..

Riveting!

Would you consider the audio edition of Desperate Passage to be better than the print version?

Excellent book and good narrator. Can't go wrong with such a dramatic story.

We are all wimps

I didn't know much, just the basics about the Donner Party tragedy, and found this audiobook to be riveting, and I gained new respect for the pioneer western settlers. This book is based on actual diaries and other accounts of people who were involved, so you get the real story, or at least as much as can be had.

Really interesting

I really enjoyed this book. A really interesting story told with great enthusiasm. Would highly recommend.

Great book but very sad story

What made the experience of listening to Desperate Passage the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed how detailed the book is, even though it is terribly depressing to hear what the people went though.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Desperate Passage?

The details of the living conditions and different people clustered together.

Which character – as performed by Christopher Prince – was your favorite?

There really wasn't a single person that I connected with, but it was a great history listen into what they people went through

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No it is simply to long

Any additional comments?

don't listen to the second half of the book during lunch...

Compelling Story, Excellent Narration

Would you listen to Desperate Passage again? Why?

Yes, it is one of the few audiobooks that I have already listened to several times. Once you reach the end, the information about the main characters at the beginning becomes more interesting. The imagery that is evoked by the narration is powerful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tamsen Donner was my favorite character. She tried to keep the semblance of a normal life for her daughters, telling them stories and fixing their hair, amidst great tragedy.

Any additional comments?

Inspiring story about all aspects of human nature.

Good insights. Bad narration.

I’m listening to this book after thoroughly enjoying The Best Land Under Heaven, which was well-researched and wonderfully read by its own author. This recounting of the famous tragedy could have been better if not for the disappointing narration by Christopher Prince. I feel like I’m listening to someone read boilerplate terms and conditions; there’s no heart, no soul. Too frequently Prince mispronounces words, which can be perplexing and quite distracting.

If you want to learn about the Donner Party, this book might be better read, not listened to.

Interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Probably

What did you like best about this story?

The book gives more information and a fuller understanding of what happened during this point in history. The term "Donner Party" has become a short hand for stupid decisions and cannibalism. This book shows that the situation really resulted from many tiny decisions and an unusually bad and early winter. A better understanding of the people involved as well as America during this period really draws you into the story. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

Have you listened to any of Christopher Prince’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, GREAT VOICE. Occasional pronunciation issues and a couple of inflections that lead you to believe he's NOT listening to the story he's reading. Neither is the director. I would listen to him again, he only made me wince 5 or 6 times.