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Sign up todayOrdeal by Hunger
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Learn moreThe tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people—men, women, and children—set out for California and were persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering.
Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers—an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.
George Rippey Stewart (May 31, 1895 – August 22, 1980) was an American toponymist, a novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his only science fiction novel Earth Abides (1949), a post-apocalyptic novel, for which he won the first International Fantasy Award in 1951. It was dramatized on radio’s Escape and inspired Stephen King’s The Stand.
Jeff Riggenbach has worked in radio in San Francisco for over thirty years, earning a Golden Mike Award for journalistic excellence and an Earphones Award for narration.
Reviews
“Ordeal by Hunger is compulsive reading—a wonderful account, both scholarly and gripping, of a horrifying episode in the history of the west.”
“Excellent.”
“The tale comes to life in horror and tragedy. Stewart writes swiftly, surely, dramatically, and with impartial accuracy. Almost every member of the party is re-created with skill and sympathy.”
“Expertly read by Jeff Riggenbach, the tale retains its freshness and power 150 years later. Riggenbach reads the stark story with authority, clarity and richness.”
“Riggenbach’s professional, unvoiced presentation provides the appropriately serious reactions and allows the listener to deal with the facts with compassion. Although grisly, the account is sympathetic and not ghoulish. Carefully researched, it illustrates how unbelievably strong the will to survive is.”
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