New York: Charterhouse, (1973) dj. Hardcover first edition - In 1846 several hundred wagons set out from Independence, Missouri, to follow the California Trail nearly 2,000 miles across unpopulated prairies - "The Donner Party, braver or more foolhardy than the rest, chose an untried route that would shorten the distance. It did. It also subjected them to obstacles so formidable that it cost many of them their lives. . . It is the story of indomitable men and women in their bleakest hour - a story that increases our understanding of what kind of people made this nation and what a full and immeasurable price they paid." 371 pp. Map endpapers. Dust jacket by Paul Bacon. ISBN: 0-333128397.