Fans of Erik Larson will Love The Wager

Meticulously researched and deeply detailed, this is the story of an ill-fated British warship, the Wager. Although an entire fleet left England in 1740 on a secret mission against the Spanish, only one ship returned to England. A couple of ragtag groups of shipwrecked survivors, who endured unimaginable privation and hardship, also made it home more than two years after setting sail.

David Grann literally takes the reader onto the deck of the Wager. The reader is swept along as the crew weathers storms, scurvy, and finally, shipwreck. He focuses on the stories of a handful of the officers and seamen who played critical roles in the fate of the ship and its crew. Their thoughts, fears, and determination make for riveting reading.

The book is broken into four sections: pre-mission preparation, the disastrous voyage, the desperate struggle for survival after the shipwreck, and the improbable return of the few survivors to England. The conflicting accounts of the voyage and shipwreck by these survivors adds to the drama. Amazingly, after enduring great hardship to finally return home, the survivors are rewarded with a trial to judge their actions and, potential hanging.

While this is an absorbing and fascinating book, the story takes a long time to get going. There is an overabundance of detail on shipbuilding and the pre-trip preparation, as well as on the other ships in the fleet. However, once the fleet sets sail, the book takes off.

a bit dry at points but the DADS of the world will gobble this up. well-researched and full of little tidbits of information about life on a working ship in the 18th century. if you've got a hyperfixation on boats you're gonna loooove this one

This historical record of maritime adventure covers a sequence events starting with staffing an
18th century Man of War ship through the trials and terror of sailing around the Horn, from being devastated by scurvy to becoming shipwrecked, and then there’s a mutiny, a miraculous survival and the capture of an $80M ship’s booty, and finally a trial for the survivors. Grann places the reader front-and-center in all the excitement and horror as crews struggle to maintain seaworthiness as their bodies break down as much as their ship. The details are exquisite and the tale is told with flourish. This is one book that is hard to put down. Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for an advanced readers copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This is a very interesting shipwreck story with a fairly standard prose narrative. It's the second shipwreck book I've picked up in the past year and it is slightly worse than the other, especially when it comes to rhetorical style, but the author's careful research in making sense out of the source material still pays off. I'm not sure if I would actively recommend it to my social networks but I did enjoy reading it!

Fascinating view of life abroad a British was ship in the eighteenth century. Hard to believe anyone would subject themselves voluntarily. it is made clear how completely life is based on the class system, even after the ship was destroyed. Initiative shown by the lower classes was frowned upon, even if it was clearly helpful.
Much of The Wager reads like fiction both in the extreme suffering and the fluidity of the writing.

I received this book from BookBrowse. I was not enjoying the book so stopped reading. Bookbrowse stated that was OK, so this is a NEUTRAL review.

The book might be for you.

Thrilling and fascinating account of an unbelievable ordeal. The characters come to life with unique personalities, and the visual descriptions are vivid and horrifying. How has this story been kept under wraps for so long? Fans of Erik Larson and Patrick O'Brian will both love this.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Very interesting book--it details brutal times, conditions, and people. Questions are left unanswered, but I suppose the real truth is dependent upon perspective.

If you needed any confirmation of the absolute misery of 18th-century sea travel look no further — David Grann’s The Wager delivers in spades. Pieced together meticulously through journals, sea logs, and accounts written after the fact, Grann recounts the misguided military campaign to sail from England around South America in search of a Spanish galleon loaded with treasure. Already struggling with disease and terrible weather, The Wager finally shipwrecks off the coast of Chile, and the hardship multiplies as the men must now deal with starvation and mutiny. Readers need to steel themselves for a lot of suffering and not a lot of plot, but a thoroughly researched account of historical ship life, tragedy, and unimaginable survival in the face of disaster.

After "Killers of the Flower Moon," I'll try anything by David Grann. Like that book, "The Wager" is clearly meticulously researched, and I think Grann's gift is providing just enough information that the reader has the necessary knowledge and context without it ever feeling like an overwhelming information dump. Life on an 18th century British Naval ship isn't something I'd tell you I was particularly interested in, but Grann clearly articulated how it could be exciting and full of adventure but dangerous and occasionally even boring. I found the climax to be a little bit of a letdown, but that's on history more than Grann. Overall, this an incredible story of just how much humans can endure but also how much damage we can do to each other in the name of survival.

Overall I found it to be enjoyable and interesting. I’ve read this author before, I find his writing to be intriguing and easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who either enjoys ships or that time period.

I give this book five stars. The book combines adventure story with exploration of serious topics of imperial hubris. The writing is so vivid, one can easily imagine scenes in technicolor. It is cannot-put-down tale of XVIIIth century colonial exploration. A British Armada' s ambitious voyage through the most southern tip of South America where two oceans meet at Cape Horn is at the center of the book. To this day this route is very dangerous, They consider it the nautical equivalent of reaching Mount Everest's summit. People interested in the era of exploration will find many fascinating facts and period details in the book. But the most interesting aspect of it is in exploration of a human nature showing the castaways' experiences as an account of missed opportunities, and how extreme conditions strip off veneer of civilization in the fight for survival. What also makes this book unusual is that David Grann does not confine this book to recounting of nautical adventures and the survival struggles on deserted island with familiar stories of hunger, disease, cannibalism and mutinies. He also uncovers the story's political foundation of colonialism showing how empires treat facts to serve their purpose and how people's "unthinking complicity" "allows empires to endure." David Grann accomplishes that without being too academic, making the book attractive to a wider audience. This is a great choice for a book discussion group.

I absolutely loved this unique nf book! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the arc ebook for allowing me to read it.I had never read any maritime stories in great depth in the past and was happy I did not pass up the opportunity to read this one now. The Wager was exciting,read like a novel not a stuffy nonfiction explanation of a ship’s disaster. It had all the elements of danger,interesting characters,tragedy,suspense and misery beyond belief.I found just the history of what it took to build those warships of the 1700’s fascinating along with the life of those sailors who manned those ships. So many tragic happenings are either erased or deeply hidden by countries so as not to suffer embarrassment in future years/centuries.This book is enjoyable not just for guy but also gals who would never want to waste time reading a book with this subject matter. Trust me,you’ll love it. Lastly,I was sorry when I finished it,it could have been much longer for me.

David Grann's skill as a master storyteller, researcher and historian has long been evident in his writing. With "The Wager," Grann exceeded every expectation I had. The story of one ship (which I had never before heard of) captivated me from the beginning and never let go. I already have two copies preordered for gifts to others, readers I know appreciate history and how vibrant it can be in the hands of the right writer. David Grann is that kind of writer.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read an advance copy of "The Wager."

I had never heard of the ship the Wager, an armed trading vessel bought by the Royal Navy in 1739 to help attack and capture Spanish ships. This is an account of the hardships the crew endured when they became marooned on an island after their ship wrecked and the aftermath when the survivors were rescued.
The story kept my interest but there was a lot of technical jargon about the ship that I did not understand. Drawings or pictures would have helped.
This was a sad tale of the many months of bad weather and starvation while trying to survive. Mutiny was inevitable and many men did not survive.
The ending was not what I expected and it left me disappointed that no one was held accountable for all that transpired.
I appreciate all the research done by the author to bring this story to life!

"The Wager" tells a sweeping story of a ship that wrecks on a "secret mission," the events leading up to it, and the twists and perspectives that came after, upending any idea of a truly reliable narrator or clear judgment in the face of unspeakable acts. After the first few chapters are a bit slow, but necessary to establish the characters and give context to the story, I found this book impossible to put down. Grann has created an engaging tale of high stakes, human nature and actual nature amid real life events.
Beyond the highly readable structure and well-researched subject matter, I appreciated that Grann throws in useful trivia, such as seafaring vernacular that is now used in everyday speech.
If you're already familiar with Grann's work, you will be excited to have something new to read. If this is your first exposure to it, it will inspire you to peruse his backlist.

Thank you, Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

David Grann is an auto-read author for me. This story of a ship on a perilous journey is scary and eye-opening. The deprivations and the loss of lives are huge. I was all in for the adventure.

I can’t imagine too many other pursuits that would combine this level of hardship, danger and cringe-worthy conditions over an extended time.

I enjoy a well-crafted nonfiction narrative. This was a good one.

This well-researched narrative of The Wager takes elements of true crime and history and combines it with a deliciously literary way of storytelling to make a very compelling read. Set in 1740, The Wager was part of a squadron whose mission was to capture a treasure-filled Spanish galleon near the tip of South America. To say this mission was a disaster is actually understating the case. Grann does an amazing job of piecing together the extensive source material to create a narrative of what likely happened after The Wager vanished. Without spoiling the book, let's just say it's an incredible survival story, but also, a story of what happens to civilized order when lives are on the line. Grann then overlays that with observations on media and empire-building and how this small story has big lessons for us all.

Engaging, succinct, and a wonderful way to be introduced to important historical concepts while grabbing the reader and not letting go.

There are a host of books involving men at sea or stranded on land as a result of seafaring. This account of the ill-fated voyage of a British man-of-war is among the best I've read.

The ship is part of a squadron sent to the south Pacific during the War of Jenkin's Ear between Britain and Spain. In passage around the treacherous southern coast of South America the squadron is scattered and the Wager is cast ashore on the coast of Chile. This begins the core of the tale as the remnants of the crew struggle to survive in an inhospitable land. With little to eat and the land not providing anything other than the occasional seabird, grasses and seaweed, desperation soon leads to dissent and mutiny among the survivors. The ship's captain, who was promoted to his position during the voyage when the original skipper dies, is unable to maintain order and himself succumbs to a form of madness that cause him to murder one of the crew members. Riven with dissent the various groups of survivors break up and attempt to leave the island in small boars. One party, including the captain, opts to continue their mission and seek the rest of the squadron in the Pacific, while a group of dissenters chooses to return to England by attempting to retrace their route east around Cape Horn. For each party, additional trials, starvation and even imprisonment await before they return home and an accounting for their various actions.

This remarkable story is only made possible by the detailed journals kept by several of the the crew, including one by a midshipman who became the grandfather of Lord Byron. One wonders if today's vast volume of tweets and blogs will tell stories of our times as well as those of these 18th century sailors. David Grann does a remarkable job in retelling their tale.

I received an advanced copy of The Wager from the publisher. I couldn’t wait to read the latest by David Grann. His works are always fascinating and meticulously researched, and this was no exception. What a fabulous read! Part survival story, part mystery, part legal thriller, The Wager transports the reader to a time of burgeoning — and bumbling — empire to illuminate the fate of a British man-of-war and its naval crew, separated from their squadron and shipwrecked by some of the roughest waters in the world in Tierra del Fuego. Years later and years apart, two groups of survivors return to England, one telling a story of survival and impossible decisions — the other telling a story of mutiny. Employing a remarkable cast of characters, including a celebrated British naval hero and a teenager who would become the grandfather of poet Lord Byron, Grann pieces together a harrowing tale and paints it in visceral imagery, bringing to life competing struggles for survival and control under the most dire of circumstances.

I actually read this book while traveling South American (and Antarctic) waters on a sailboat, which added another layer, and I couldn’t stop talking about it to my fellow expeditioners.