MARC record from Internet Archive

LEADER: 03772cam 2200505 a 4500
001 ocm50561899
003 OCoLC
005 20100909123006.0
008 020821r20022002nyuab b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2002033859
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035 $a(OCoLC)50561899
043 $an-usp--
050 00 $aF593$b.M475 2002
082 00 $a978/.02$221
100 1 $aMcLynn, Frank.
245 10 $aWagons west :$bthe epic story of America's overland trails /$cFrank McLynn.
250 $a1st American ed.
260 $aNew York :$bGrove Press,$cc2002.
300 $a509 p. :$bill., maps ;$c24 cm.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 443-475) and index.
505 0 $aManifest destiny -- Reasons why -- To boldly go -- Woman in the sunbonnet -- Great migration -- Through flood and famine -- Never take no cutoffs -- California catches up -- Tragedy in the snows -- Saints and sinners.
520 $aIn all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by midwestern farmers to Oregon and California in the years 1840-49. Seeking the promised land, these travelers trekked two thousand miles by covered wagon from Missouri to their destinations on the Pacific coast. Although they used mountain men as guides, they went almost literally into the unknown, braving dangers from hunger, thirst, disease, drowning, and Native Americans. The early migrants got through only after Herculean efforts, but later in the decade complacency set in, and the result was disastrous, especially in the case of the Donner party, marooned in the snow and reduced to cannibalism. Using original diaries and memoirs, Frank McLynn underscores the incredible heroism and dangerous folly on the overland trails. His year-by-year narrative includes many thematic investigations: the events leading up to the opening of the trails, the wagons and animals used by the pioneers, the role of women, relations with Native Americans, and much else. The narrative builds to a climax with the dreadful tale of the Donner party but achieves closure with the triumphant story of Brigham Young and the Mormons. Sandwiched between the era of the fur trappers and the post-1849 gold fever, this account of the pioneering years in the overland trails abounds with high drama, tragedy, and triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. It also chronicles one of the principal chapters in the conquest of the North American continent, and the creation of the United States as we know it today.
650 0 $aOverland journeys to the Pacific.
650 0 $aTrails$zWest (U.S.)$xHistory$y19th century.
650 0 $aFrontier and pioneer life$zWest (U.S.)
650 0 $aPioneers$zWest (U.S.)$xHistory$y19th century.
651 0 $aWest (U.S.)$xHistory$yTo 1848.
651 0 $aWest (U.S.)$xHistory$y1848-1860.
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952 $a134454825$zRBN$bBROWN UNIV$hFull$iLCC$u20100803
952 $a191560218$zAQM$bAMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOC$hFull$u20100626
952 $a219552940$zCUY$bUNIV OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY$hFull$iLCC$kDDC$u20100724
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952 $a373724965$zUBY$bBRIGHAM YOUNG UNIV LIBR$hFull$iLCC$kDDC$u20100725
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948 $hNO HOLDINGS IN PMR - 1258 OTHER HOLDINGS