The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown
Reviewed by: Sylvia Shults, Circulation Assistant
Genre: Non-fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: This is a very thorough look at the tragedy of the ill-fated Donner Party. In the mad rush West before the Civil War, it was imperative for the travellers to stick to a tight schedule, in order to make it across the mountains before the snow fell, making travel next to impossible. The Donner Party left about six weeks behind schedule, and paid dearly for the mistake.
My review: I didn’t know much about the Donner Party before I read this book, just the basics. I learned quite a lot from reading this — just to start with, I had no idea that one of the families in the party came from Lacon, just north of us on the Illinois River. That gave the story an immediacy for me, and made the characters much more human. The reading is tough going at times, just because of the horrendous subject matter. But the author treats the story with compassion. He did quite a lot of research for the book, including travelling in the same path the Donner Party took West. This lends a lot of realism to the story.
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!