Winter of Entrapment tells the story of the Donner Party in a way that it has never been told before. Unlike many other books written on this story of hardships, cannibalism, and survival, it is written mostly in regards to the experiences of the Breen's, a large family that was part of the Donner Party. The author of this book, Joseph A. King, wanted to write the story as accurately as possible without bias or fictitious legends. Many of the books written previously on the events of the Donner Party have been heavily biased and had unreliable sources. Many people associated with the Donner Party have been harshly judged in articles and books, of which were largely based on testimonies of "one survivor who had a reputation for boasting and lying."" The book begins with a history of the Breen family and their journey from Ireland to Canada, and eventually to Independence, Missouri. From there they decided it best to move their family to California, for what reasons have not or cannot be verified--only speculated. Winter of Entrapment then goes on to tell the ordeals of the journey from Missouri to California in great detail. The journey began on April 5, 1846 in Missouri. The story of the Donner Party has many geographic locations, including: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Utah, Nevada, and finally California. The bulk of the story took place in the Sierra Nevada, where the Donner Party was trapped with little food and supplies. The Breen family, along with the Graves children and Mary Donner were rescued on March 12, 1847. Relief parties rescued other members of the Donner Party before that date, but the Breen family was not yet capable of surviving the last leg of the journey at that time. Winter of Entrapment tells the story of the Donner Party in chronological order. A few times in the book, King will forewarn to indicate what happens next, but will wait to tell the incident in its entirety until it fits into the story in chronological order.
