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The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride Hardcover – April 28, 2009

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6,848 ratings

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From the #1 bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat comes an unforgettable epic of family, tragedy, and survival on the American frontier

“An ideal pairing of talent and material.… Engrossing.… A deft and ambitious storyteller.” – Mary Roach, New York Times Book Review

In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of pioneers led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and fourteen others set out for California on snowshoes, and, over the next thirty-two days, endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.

In this gripping narrative, New York Times bestselling author Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most legendary events in American history. Following every painful footstep of Sarah’s journey with the Donner Party, Brown produces a tale both spellbinding and richly informative.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The story of the ill-fated Donner party, a group of nineteenth-century settlers en route to California who became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains and resorted to cannibalism to survive, remains an iconic moment in American history. Given the story’s inherent elements of horror and heroism, it is surprising that this account, told from the point of view of a young bride who survived the tragedy, is finally such an uninteresting book. Part of the problem is the author’s inability of incorporate his copious background material into the flow of the narrative (readers probably don’t need to know about 1840s-era birth-control methods). Even the author’s treatment of the tragedy itself, however, feels dully reportorial, without any of the you-are-there drama that Piers Paul Reid brough to Alive!, his account of history’s second-most-famous cannibalism-survival story, concerning the famous 1972 airplane crash in the Andes. So why bother with this Donner party treatment when so many other, more compelling works exist? The premise itself sets this book apart, and while it’s not handled particularly effectively, it will still interest those fascinated by the subject. --David Pitt

Review

“An ideal pairing of talent and material. . . . Engrossing. . . . A deft and endearing storyteller.” — Mary Roach, New York Times Book Review

“Remarkable. ... Hard to put down.” — Seattle Times

“A compelling retelling of the ghastly events surrounding the Donner party. Daniel James Brown, using one survivor’s experience as his focus, moves beyond the cardboard figures depicted in previous accounts and shows how the lucky few endured and survived.” — Irvin Molotsky, author of The Flag, The Poet and the Song: The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner

“A skillful, suspenseful study of the Donner Party. ... Brown creates a thorough and unique narrative. A moving man-against-nature tragedy that still resonates today.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Daniel James Brown brings the myth to life, transforming faint history class memories into gripping reality. ... Utterly compelling.” — BookPage

“[Brown] tells the tale with a novelist’s touch.” — Boston Globe

“A fresh and intriguing telling . . . . engrossing and appalling in equal measure. Never melodramatic or maudlin, Brown’s work gracefully balances graphic depictions of extreme privation with humanizing glimpses of the emigrants’ everyday hopes and fears. Brown also skillfully weaves relevant historical, cultural, and scientific information . . . creating a rich and contextualized background.” — Library Journal

“In this gripping narrative, Brown reveals the extremes of endurance that underlie the history of this nation, and more than that, of humanity in any part of the world, even today, surviving great peril in search of a better life.” — Nina Burleigh

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; 1st edition (April 28, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061348104
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061348105
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.15 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6,848 ratings

About the author

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Daniel James Brown
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Daniel James Brown grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Diablo Valley College, the University of California at Berkeley, and UCLA. He taught writing at San Jose State University and Stanford before becoming a technical writer and editor. He now writes narrative nonfiction books full time. His primary interest as a writer is in bringing compelling historical events to life vividly and accurately.

He and his wife live in the country outside of Seattle, Washington, with an assortment of cats, dogs, chickens, and honeybees. When he isn't writing, he is likely to be birding, gardening, fly fishing, reading American history, or chasing bears away from the beehives.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
6,848 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the thorough research and contextual information. The narrative tale is interspersed with historical data and modern scientific research to create a unique American saga. Readers appreciate the vivid visual style that depicts the landscapes these people traveled through. The character development is respectful of real-life characters and humanizes the story.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

407 customers mention "Readability"395 positive12 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the author's narrative nonfiction writing style and find it a quick read. The book is described as an amazing piece of nonfiction that reads better than a history textbook.

"...presents it in a way that is wonderfully compassionate and terrifically fascinating...." Read more

"...Absolutely gripping in every way. Daniel James Brown does an absolutely masterful job in telling the Donner party’s story...." Read more

"...Harrowing story! A must read!" Read more

"...The decisions these people faced were unthinkable. The author does a good job of describing what it would be like to be among the party...." Read more

363 customers mention "Writing quality"317 positive46 negative

Customers find the book well-written with vivid descriptions of the Donner Party's journey. They appreciate the author's skill with words and how the book reads like a novel. The author does a good job focusing on several main characters, making it interesting and easy to read. Overall, readers describe the writing as straightforward and engaging, with no editorializing.

"...off-putting, I bought this book because Daniel James Brown is an outstanding writer and I loved another of his books, The Boys in the Boat..." Read more

"...This is a well written account of the ill-fated “Donner Party” and especially one Sarah Graves, although she married a man called Jay Fosdick before..." Read more

"...The book shifts from the narrators research, to letters and conversations, while beautifully describing the entire environment and providing..." Read more

"...and laid out in a relatively straightforward manner without much editorializing...." Read more

289 customers mention "Research quality"271 positive18 negative

Customers find the book's research thorough and informative. They appreciate the historical data and modern scientific research that put the events in perspective. The book provides an eye-opening look at what actually happened and how awful it was, as well as everyday life in the 1840s.

"4 stars This book is both and exhaustive study and a telling tale of brutal life in the 1840’s...." Read more

"...really going on, what some of the science at work was, and other contextual information. If you read one book this year, make it this one." Read more

"...describing the entire environment and providing personal details about the group members. Harrowing story! A must read!" Read more

"...It is really a study in the human psyche. It is fascinating from a physiologic standpoint that these people were not close to death from starvation..." Read more

261 customers mention "Story quality"258 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the captivating narrative tale interspersed with historical data and modern scientific research. They find the book to be a unique American saga, inspiring and uplifting. The details of life in 1846 are described from the personal perspective, making the story personal and inspiring. Readers appreciate the drama of human nature and physiological aspects.

"...Thus, it is an immensely personal saga. Much of the book describes the early part of the trek before they reach the Sierra Nevada's...." Read more

"...This book is both and exhaustive study and a telling tale of brutal life in the 1840’s...." Read more

"...Harrowing story! A must read!" Read more

"...The history is meticulously researched and laid out in a relatively straightforward manner without much editorializing...." Read more

53 customers mention "Visual style"53 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's visual style engaging. They appreciate the author's vivid and graphic narrative that depicts the landscapes these people traveled through. The writing is described as expressive, poetic, and realistic, conveying a true sense of place.

"...Brown's writing is compelling and beautiful. Sarah and two sisters are all that is left of her large family...." Read more

"...research, to letters and conversations, while beautifully describing the entire environment and providing personal details about the group members...." Read more

"...but also covers interesting background delving into the politics of the time, the unscrupulous..." Read more

"...the events, but also to imbue this story with a three-dimensional rendering of the participants, their hopes, fears, foibles and perseverence..." Read more

41 customers mention "Character development"34 positive7 negative

Customers appreciate the book's character development. They find it respectful of real-life characters and their characteristics, humanizing an historical event that was only briefly described in history. The author takes a humane and caring approach to tell an amazing story.

"...The writing was beautiful without being verbose, and honest but respectful. I've already ordered his other two books." Read more

"...Secondly, these people are not "characters." They are actual figures who actually lived, and this is a very comprehensive account of the events they..." Read more

"...gone and making them into fully realized and riveting characters in extraordinary circumstances...." Read more

"...page suggesting the author's heartfelt compassion and admiration for this group of people, most of whom lost their lives valiantly trying to triumph..." Read more

41 customers mention "Emotional content"41 positive0 negative

Customers find the book gripping and detailed. They find the events in the lives of the people vividly described, emotionally affecting, and deeply sad. The writing draws them in from the first chapter and gives it a personal feel.

"...Absolutely gripping in every way. Daniel James Brown does an absolutely masterful job in telling the Donner party’s story...." Read more

"...Bottom line: Informative. Intense. Incredibly sad." Read more

"...It’s a book that is hard to put down and stays with you long after reading it...." Read more

"Brown's gripping and detailed book about the Donner Party's ignominious trek west is a heartbreaking account of how ordinary emigrants' ambitions,..." Read more

143 customers mention "Heartbreaking story"80 positive63 negative

Customers find the story haunting and affecting. They describe it as a sensitive and thorough account of the tragic consequences that resulted from trusting. However, some readers find the story disturbing, difficult to get through, and gruesome at times.

"...Interestingly, the women, in general, fared better than the men. Being smaller framed, they didn't require the same calorie intake...." Read more

"...These people REALLY suffered. It's so sad and just haunting!!" Read more

"A truly haunting narration of a tragedy that most people alive in America today will never be able to fathom...." Read more

"...A story of extreme deprivation, death but also, for some, nearly miraculous survival. Bottom line: Informative. Intense. Incredibly sad." Read more

So goooood
5 out of 5 stars
So goooood
Love it so far. Very well written as the author paints a picture of the prairie and what the party was going into.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2016
    Although the subject of The Donner Party sounds a little off-putting, I bought this book because Daniel James Brown is an outstanding writer and I loved another of his books, The Boys in the Boat (also a five star review from me). I was not disappointed with this one. Although it is a poignant story, Brown presents it in a way that is wonderfully compassionate and terrifically fascinating. He doesn't dwell on the sorrowful, but somehow injects elements of hope and honor and heroism throughout. As he did in The Boys in the Boat, Brown focuses primarily on one person, Sarah Graves and her family, while also introducing many other persons and family groups. Thus, it is an immensely personal saga.

    Much of the book describes the early part of the trek before they reach the Sierra Nevada's. There are large groups of wagons heading westward and these various groups pass each other up again and again on the trail and often some join up with others, making the final composition of the families and individuals in a particular group a veritable crap-shoot by the time they begin to reach the mountains. When they must decide on how to proceed when the trail splits, a profiteering man urges them toward a short-cut toward Oregon even though he knows it is impassable for wagons. He, himself, does not stay with the group, but he has convinced them they should forget about California and head north to Oregon. The trail is brutal and back-breaking and snow comes early.

    The party eventually separates into three separate camps in close proximity to one another and attempt to hunker down until the weather improves. But, it doesn't. Several men go on alone in search of a waystop where help can be found. Eventually many rescue parties travel back to the camps and take out as many people who can walk (mostly children at times) as they can. This is done over and over, all the while, the circumstances of the survivors growing more dire as they wait. Interestingly, the women, in general, fared better than the men. Being smaller framed, they didn't require the same calorie intake.

    Brown's writing is compelling and beautiful. Sarah and two sisters are all that is left of her large family. When all survivors are delivered to safety, he tells us what became of all of them, detailing their lives, subsequent families, etc. There are also many photographs of Sarah's family and others who accompanied them.

    This is a page turner and I highly recommend.
    23 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2018
    4 stars

    This book is both and exhaustive study and a telling tale of brutal life in the 1840’s.Sarah Graves and her family have joined a wagon train to California from their home in Illinois. The story is focused on Sarah, but tells of the experiences of the others in the party as well; at least as much as we can know about their thoughts and feelings from our point of view. It describes the initial exaltation turning to misery and pain as time and miles go by. The book talks about the fauna and flora the travelers experienced on the journey. It discusses the weather and its changes, the changes in the very ground on which the walkers were traversing.

    The book also discusses the less than honest among not only the travelers, but those who are out to get what they can. Like those who are misleading the journeyers on purpose to gain their own ends and those who feel that their own needs come before anyone else’s. As the trek went on mile after mile, the tempers flared ans fights broke out. The book offers explanations for how this happened and the subsequent consequences of certain individual’s actions.

    This is a well written account of the ill-fated “Donner Party” and especially one Sarah Graves, although she married a man called Jay Fosdick before she left home for her adventure in the wilderness. Although some of it is conjecture, I appreciated Mr. Brown’s effort and what must have been exhaustive research that went into his story. I like the way Mr. Brown interjects some historical facts into the story, such as the history of the undertaker business and the history of the celebration of Christmas in America. The first time he did this, it was a jarring distraction, but it grew on me as I read along. I have read many accounts of the Donner Party and this one is among the best.

    I immediately went back to Amazon to look for others of Mr. Brown’s works.
    18 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2024
    Wow, just wow. To describe this book as a page turner is completely understating it. Absolutely gripping in every way. Daniel James Brown does an absolutely masterful job in telling the Donner party’s story. I especially enjoyed his insights into what was really going on, what some of the science at work was, and other contextual information. If you read one book this year, make it this one.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2024
    The writing style allows you to really immerse yourself in the 1800s. The book shifts from the narrators research, to letters and conversations, while beautifully describing the entire environment and providing personal details about the group members. Harrowing story! A must read!
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2013
    If you are out to read a book academically and historically about the Donner party, then this is it. The history is meticulously researched and laid out in a relatively straightforward manner without much editorializing. This becomes apparent when you see the reference section at the end, kudos Mr. Brown.

    I did not choose this book as a history lesson. It was advertised as a Donner Party story through the eyes of a young participant. It was hardly that, and that is why I gave it only three stars. The sheer number of characters in the story makes it extremely hard to keep track of sub plots and chronological time.

    The decisions these people faced were unthinkable. The author does a good job of describing what it would be like to be among the party. Faced with eating human flesh or going hungry, nearly all did the unconscionable. It is really a study in the human psyche. It is fascinating from a physiologic standpoint that these people were not close to death from starvation but ate the flesh of friends and loved ones willingly. The author brings up some good theories as to why this is the case.

    If you are interested in the historical aspect of this story, buy it. Otherwise, it is a long and tedious read.
    10 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Kathy C
    5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible story and writing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2024
    This book was so beautifully written. I loved how much of the emotion and struggle of those travellers was captured by Brown. A harrowing and insightful book that showed so much respect to its subjects, I cannot fault it. The information was thorough and well presented, you can see how much research went into it. If you are interested in history and want a fantasticlly portrayed story this is for you.
  • Udipt Guha
    5.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing
    Reviewed in India on June 4, 2023
    A very detailed telling of one of the most extraordinary event of the triumph of the will over everything.Very sharply written
  • Kristen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and suspenseful
    Reviewed in Canada on May 11, 2019
    This is an extremely well written and well done account of the Donner Party disaster. It was a great read. The only issue I had was the authors decision to tell the story from the perspective of a member of the party, Sarah Graves. He makes a lot of that decision throughout the book but I dont feel like it added a lot, and as he didnt have a lot of information about Sarah, i found a lot of that part of it was conjecture on the authors part. But that's a small complaint and the exhaustiveness of the research that went into the book means you'll learn a lot about the era as well as how people respond to traumatic events. Very very good book!
  • Infinity
    5.0 out of 5 stars Packend und bewegend
    Reviewed in Germany on October 4, 2019
    Ich konnte dieses Buch fast nicht mehr weg legen. Es liest sich (mit den entsprechenden Englischkenntnissen) extrem flüssig, bleibt aber trotzdem so nah wie möglich an den historischen Fakten und schafft es auch noch die blutigsten Details zu schildern, ohne reißerisch zu werden. Ich würde es jedem empfehlen, der sich für die düsteren Abgründe der Geschichte interessiert und einen relativ starken Magen hat.
  • Desiree
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good but difficult
    Reviewed in Canada on December 5, 2019
    This is an amazing book but very difficult to get through. It's well researched and also incredibly depressing.