by Stark, Peter
First published 2014
In 1810, John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson launched an ambitious plan to establish America's first Pacific Coast settlement. Two expeditions set out for the Oregon Territory, one crossing the Rockies overland, the other sailing around Cape Horn. Peter Stark follows the 140 members of these parties as they battle starvation, violence, and wilderness conditions that drove some to madness. Nearly half the expedition members died by violence during the three-year journey from 1810 to 1813. The survivors managed to build Fort Astoria on the Columbia River, creating a trading post that would reshape American expansion. Though the settlement lasted only briefly, it opened American eyes to the Pacific's potential and blazed what became the Oregon Trail. Stark draws on original documents to reconstruct this forgotten chapter of American exploration, revealing how a commercial venture transformed into a brutal test of survival that changed the nation's destiny.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: exploration, survival
Setting: Oregon, Columbia River, Fort Astoria
Period: 1810-1813
366 pages · Hardcover · Ecco
Content warnings: death, violence