Don Wildman

Yes.

Well, certainly the PTSD aspect of this must have lived with them for ages.

Though it was sensationalized, they did prove that the cannibalism actually happened, right?

I mean, there was archaeology done on this.

But the tenor of the whole thing has changed, certainly largely due to your book, I guess, from 2009.

Over these last years, you must have felt the change as well.

I mean, it's gratifying to know that the positive aspect of what these people pulled off

is underscored as much as the scandalous stuff.

The whole event, the Donner party in general, just reminds us how thin the line can be between ambition and catastrophe, especially on the frontier, which we've been talking about so much in this series we've been doing.

It's a tale of suffering, but also a warning about the risks of overconfidence, the limits of human endurance, the impossible choices people face when their survival is on the line.

But that was the story of so many of these wagon trains, especially the ones that went off the trail.

For the few among us who have not read this man's book, I recommend you do.

We have been discussing The Indifferent Stars Above, the harrowing saga of the Donner Party.

Boys in the Boat, about the Olympic rowers, became a George Clooney movie, and then there was Under the Flaming Sky and Facing the Mountain, about Japanese internment.

There's a whole list of books that you must get and read this man's work.

It's been a great honor to meet you, Daniel.

Thank you so much for doing this.

Well, thanks so much for having me.

I've enjoyed it.

Hey, thanks for listening to American History Hit.