"A remarkably successful re-creation of the Donner Party's ordeal. A moving, persuasive, imaginative account."-- Los Angeles Times In Snow Mountain Passage, a powerful reimagining of our most dramatic pioneer story, author James Houston tells the tragic tale of the Donner Party through the eyes of James Frazier Reed, one of the leaders, and his daughter Patty. In moving, riveting prose, we follow this ill-fated group determined, at all costs, to make it to the promised land--the California territory. A proud, headstrong, and devoted husband and father, Reed and his family travel in the "Palace Car," an enormous--and ultimately cumbersome--covered wagon, thrilling to new sights and coping with conflict and constant danger. Yet after a fatal struggle with another driver, Reed is exiled from the party and heads alone over the Sierra Nevada-the final mountain pass. Weeks later, the remaining families arrive at the foothills where they are trapped in the imprisoning snows. Slowly starving and freezing, for months they battle to survive while Reed journeys across northern California, trying desperately to find means and men for a rescue party.

An extraordinary tale of pride and redemption, Snow Mountain Passage is a brilliantly and grippingly told story of history and heartbreak. "Snow Mountain Passage is in a class by itself. A dignified, powerful narrative of our shared American destiny."-The Washington Post Book World "Powerful . The novel's clear and beautiful prose brings the realities of the journey alive."-The Denver Post "A clear-eyed view of humanity's heart of darkness."-The Atlantic Monthly.