Name: The Indifferent Stars Above
ISBN: 9780061348105

Daniel Brown

A chronicle of the mid-nineteenth-century wagon train tragedy draws on the perspectives of one of its survivors, Sarah Graves, recounting how her new husband and she joined the Donner party on their California-bound journey and encountered violent perils, in an account that also offers insight into the scientific reasons that some died while others survived. 20,000 first printing.

The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride

The Indifferent Stars Above

Daniel James Brown

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.

The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party

Absolutely fascinating and devastating account of the Donner party presented in a compelling narrative and historical context, including the fact that there was a whole industry set up to get people to the west coast, that like all forms of extraction and exploitation was completely unregulated. This and the snake oil idea of an easier pass by a con man, as well as the sheer impracticality of parts of this journey is what did these folks in. Parts of this book read like a real life horror novel, and with the very Cormac Mcarthy ass title, you get the idea. 

Some things I found fascinating: the many different relationships that existed between the culture clash of native Americans and white settles. That one of the West's best trackers was a Black man, likely formerly enslaved. The varied Indian wars that existed not long ago in the midwest, and also how many folks on both sides who just wanted to co-exist. Additionally, historical similarities in cases of psychosis related to cannibalism. 

Quentin Gibeau

Absolutely fascinating and devastating account of the Donner party presented in a compelling narrative and historical context, including the fact that there was a whole industry set up to get people to the west coast, that like all forms of extraction and exploitation was completely unregulated. This and the snake oil idea of an easier pass by a con man, as well as the sheer impracticality of parts of this journey is what did these folks in. Parts of this book read like a real life horror novel, and with the very Cormac Mcarthy ass title, you get the idea. 

Some things I found fascinating: the many different relationships that existed between the culture clash of native Americans and white settles. That one of the West's best trackers was a Black man, likely formerly enslaved. The varied Indian wars that existed not long ago in the midwest, and also how many folks on both sides who just wanted to co-exist. Additionally, historical similarities in cases of psychosis related to cannibalism. 

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Patrick Book

Very thorough, grim, and horrifying. Telling the story form a single participants perspective really helps the narrative have impact. 

A note on the audiobook version though: it takes some getting used to. The dude reading it sounds like the Beer Baron from The Simpsons.

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

A brutal, thorough history of this tragic pilgrimage. Phenomenal voice actor; Michael Prichard reads it with the weight and seriousness of a history lecture, yet not without the tender empathy that the story deserves.

Oof. I would not have finished this if it weren't recommended to me by a friend - this is a tough one.

Daniel Brown does an incredible job researching not only the events of the pilgrimage, but also cultural/societal/economical explanations that offer context to the world at the time. Brown also includes brief descriptions of other survival stories, and scientific insights into the things the Donner party would have experienced freezing in the snow.

Unlike other retellings of this story (as I've heard in true crime podcasts, etc.), "The Indifferent Stars Above" dives into the history of the people on the journey, and their lives before and after survival.

The epilogue was much-needed, and an interesting glimpse into Brown's research travels for this book. An introspective, empathetic way to conclude this in-depth look at the Donner party's horrific journey.

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 emigrants 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, Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most infamous 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.

The Indifferent Stars Above The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride