The Donner Party: A Doomed Journey (Milestones in American History)

Grade 8–10—McNeese presents a thoroughly researched, clearly written account of the ill-fated Donner Party and the events and decisions that conspired against this early wagon train headed from Springfield, IL, to California. Arranged chronologically, the book describes early migration to the western United States, including a brief portrait of the Stevens Party, whose journey was one of the first to reach the Sacramento Valley. Originally traveling with a much larger party, the Reeds and Donners made the decision to separate from the group and take the Hastings Cutoff to save time, despite numerous warnings. What they didn't know was that Lansford Hastings, the man who wrote the guidebook encouraging this route, had never actually taken it himself.