You asked for it, and we're here to deliver. This week we dive into the infamous Donner Party, which set out towards the West Coast in 1846 to claim their piece of the American dream. What went wrong? Basically everything. How bad did it get? Cannibalism. 

 

For further reading:

 

Rarick, Ethan. 2008. Desperate Passage. The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brown, Daniel James. 2009. The Indifferent Stars Above. The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride. New York: Harper Collins.

Johnson, Kristin. 1996. “Unfortunate Immigrants.” Narratives of the Donner Party. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press.