Across the Wide & Lonesome Prairie

  Tired of the Trail?

Sincerelyornot of Oregon, 10/10/2011

Living in Oregon, occaisionally you get tired of reading about the Oregon Trail. All the museums and books etc, the trail gets a kind of rosy safe glow, this aura of fun-times-at-Disneyland, instead of the complicated, risky, dangerous adventure that it was. This book focuses on the risk aspect, showing how the people who set off on the Oregon Trail were not the normal, suburban families of their day. These people were adventurers, who were willing to take a chance that their families would die, their fortunes wash away in the river crossings. If you're looking for a down-to-earth Oregon Trail refresher, this is it.