DESPERATE PASSAGE. Rarick, Ethan. Read: April 2008.

Revisionist account of the tragic Donner Party story.
Past accounts have traditionally portrayed the pioneer party unsympathetically. Rarick's account is more forgiving, while still critical of the party's fateful blunders - starting the journey too late in the season; underestimating the potential perils of their journey; and underestimating the American Western landscape in general.

In all, a very enjoyable, engaging read. I read this in about three days, which, for me, always means I could hardly bear to put the book down. This is the kind of history book I love and crave more of - factual and rich in detail, yet the narrative pace is fluid and seamless.
I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the American West. It's more than just a tale of what forces good citizens into horrid circumstances like cannibalism. Rarick succeeds in showing how the Donner Party really embodied the essence of the first pioneer FAMILIES trying to push through the desert and mountain barriers to the coast.
Very good read.

Updating past posts. . .

I'm in the process, tongith and tomorrow, of updating (i.e., filling in details) my past posts on this blog. I refer to those posts with only the title of the book. My intentions for this blog is to at least indicate if I liked the book or not, if I recommend it, for whom, and a brief synopsis and analysis of the book.

So, if you scroll down (you know, YOU, the sole person besides myself to ever read this blog) the page you'll see a few details about the books I've read.

THE ROAD. McCarthy, Cormac. Read: August 2008.

"A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls, it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there."

So states the blurb on the back cover of the paperback version of THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy.
This is the first - and, so far, only - book I've read by McCarthy, and I'm terribly impressed. I read this in two days flat. I simply could not put it down. I stayed up late reading it in bed, and I never stay up late reading anymore.
The gist of the story is stated above, but although the tale is universal and so general, really, that we're never informed why the world is the way it is - in fact, we're never even told the man and boy's names - it is also an immensely personal story, a common story shared between a child and his parent.

Highly, highly recommended. One of the best novels I've ever read, period. I am in awe of McCarthy's narrative genius. So much that it's hard to define.

A warning that it's somewhat depressing.