The Fateful Journey of Tamsen Donner

For the general reader, this book is an excellent overview of the tragic events of the Donner Party which have become an American icon. Though a work of fiction, the story is carefully researched and the fictional elements have been kept to a minimum. Since the rescue of the survivors in 1847, the actual events have been sensationalized and mythologized and this book does much in presenting the reader with what is known to be fact. To many, the Donner Party is shorthand for cannibalism but that is but one aspect of the ordeal experienced and not at all the most crucial one. Frankye Craig does an admirable job of filling us in on the day to day miseries and tribulations of the expedition which began even before the fateful mistake that took the Donners and their fellow travelers into the Wasatch Mountains and across the Salt Desert which made for fatal delays in the journey. Aside from the physical hardships along the way, Frankye goes into the social breakdowns which occured as a result of those hardships. Included also is the minutiae of day to day living while traveling with a wagon train on the way to a country that was itself semi-mythological at the time. With regard to the final days of Tamsen and George Donner at the meadow where they were trapped, archaeologists Kelly Dixon and Julie Schablitsky, have confirmed Frankye Craig's version since this book was written. The one bone recovered among thousands of fragments which was thought to conclusively show evidence of cannibalism at the site turned out to be that of a horse. There is a reference list at the back of this book for those who wish to pursue this story further but for the casual reader this book contains the basic facts as we know them to be at present.

The book was wonderful, I could not put it down. I thought about the Donner family during the day at work wondering what thier next adventure was going to be. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.