A compelling and beautifully told story of extreme events that resonates the terrible cost of the American Dream. A powerful work of fiction that recreates one of the most tragic events of pioneer America, as a wagon train crosses the country to the Promised Land of California, only to be halted in the final stages by an early winter in the high reaches of the mountains. The emigrants endure the bitterest of winters with only the most slender of supplies and some members of the party are forced to extremes to stay alive. Based on the true story of what became known as the Donner party, the story of James and Margaret Reed and their children is one that begins with restless optimism, encompasses remarkable feats of courage and endurance, as well as the depths of human degradation, and ends with what seems like a miracle. Part of the story is told by James and Margaret′s daughter Patty, reminiscing long after those dark days of 1847 when as an...

During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life.At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Written with her husband, Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.Farewell to Manzanar has...