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The Best Land Under Heaven - by Michael Wallis (Paperback)

The Best Land Under Heaven - by  Michael Wallis (Paperback)
Store: Target
Last Price: 12.29 USD

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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence<br /> Finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award<br /> A <em>Publishers Weekly</em> Holiday Guide History Pick <p>"A book so gripping it can scarcely be put down.... Superb." --<em>New York Times Book Review</em></p><p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p> <em>WESTWARD HO! FOR OREGON AND CALIFORNIA!</em> </p><p>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.</p><p>We know these early pioneers as the Donner Party, a name that has elicited horror since the late 1840s. With <em>The Best Land Under Heaven</em>, Wallis has penned what critics agree is "destined to become the standard account" (<em>Washington Post</em>) of the notorious saga. Cutting through 160 years of myth-making, the "expert storyteller" (<em>True West</em>) 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" (<em>Oklahoman</em>) examination of the darkest side of Manifest Destiny.</p>

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