The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century
Cover of the book The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny by Michael Wallis, Liveright
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Wallis ISBN: 9780871407702
Publisher: Liveright Publication: June 6, 2017
Imprint: Liveright Language: English
Author: Michael Wallis
ISBN: 9780871407702
Publisher: Liveright
Publication: June 6, 2017
Imprint: Liveright
Language: English

“A book so gripping it can scarcely be put down. . . . Superb.”— New York Times Book Review

"WESTWARD HO! FOR OREGON AND CALIFORNIA!"

In the eerily warm spring of 1846, George Donner placed this advertisement in a local newspaper as he and a restless caravan prepared for what they hoped would be the most rewarding journey of a lifetime. But in eagerly pursuing what would a century later become known as the "American dream," this optimistic-yet-motley crew of emigrants was met with a chilling nightmare; in the following months, their jingoistic excitement would be replaced by desperate cries for help that would fall silent in the deadly snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

We know these early pioneers as the Donner Party, a name that has elicited horror since the late 1840s. With The Best Land Under Heaven, Wallis has penned what critics agree is “destined to become the standard account” (Washington Post) of the notorious saga. Cutting through 160 years of myth-making, the “expert storyteller” (True West) compellingly recounts how the unlikely band of early pioneers met their fate. Interweaving information from hundreds of newly uncovered documents, Wallis illuminates how a combination of greed and recklessness led to one of America’s most calamitous and sensationalized catastrophes. The result is a “fascinating, horrifying, and inspiring” (Oklahoman) examination of the darkest side of Manifest Destiny.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“A book so gripping it can scarcely be put down. . . . Superb.”— New York Times Book Review

"WESTWARD HO! FOR OREGON AND CALIFORNIA!"

In the eerily warm spring of 1846, George Donner placed this advertisement in a local newspaper as he and a restless caravan prepared for what they hoped would be the most rewarding journey of a lifetime. But in eagerly pursuing what would a century later become known as the "American dream," this optimistic-yet-motley crew of emigrants was met with a chilling nightmare; in the following months, their jingoistic excitement would be replaced by desperate cries for help that would fall silent in the deadly snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

We know these early pioneers as the Donner Party, a name that has elicited horror since the late 1840s. With The Best Land Under Heaven, Wallis has penned what critics agree is “destined to become the standard account” (Washington Post) of the notorious saga. Cutting through 160 years of myth-making, the “expert storyteller” (True West) compellingly recounts how the unlikely band of early pioneers met their fate. Interweaving information from hundreds of newly uncovered documents, Wallis illuminates how a combination of greed and recklessness led to one of America’s most calamitous and sensationalized catastrophes. The result is a “fascinating, horrifying, and inspiring” (Oklahoman) examination of the darkest side of Manifest Destiny.

More books from Liveright

Cover of the book The Doorposts of Your House and on Your Gates: A Novel by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Sentenced to Life: Poems by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion, and Law from America's Origins to the Twenty-First Century by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book City Notebook: A Reporter's Portrait of a Vanishing New York by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Dark Places of the Earth: The Voyage of the Slave Ship Antelope by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Toscanini: Musician of Conscience by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book That Time I Loved You: Stories by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Jerusalem by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers: A Novel by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Diaries by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Eustace Chisholm and the Works: A Novel by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Black Site: The CIA in the Post-9/11 World by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book Bitter Freedom: Ireland in a Revolutionary World by Michael Wallis
Cover of the book The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea by Michael Wallis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy