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The Wager
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder | David Grann
15 posts | 9 read | 4 reading | 27 to read
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. With the twists and turns of a thriller Grann unearths the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire. On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majestys Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as the prize of all the oceans, it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then ... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-deathfor whomever the court found guilty could hang. The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Granns recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick OBrian, his portrayal of the castaways desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Granns work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.
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review
rabbitprincess
Pickpick

A very good shipwreck book (I‘ve read one or two 🤣). Neat to fit in some reading about the 1700s, which is a bit underrepresented in my reading. Also did not know Lord Byron‘s grandfather was in the navy (he was in this shipwreck).

thereadingreference Can't wait to get this one! 3d
rabbitprincess @thereadingreference It sure is popular! I had 278 people behind me in line so had to finish it quickly 😂 3d
thereadingreference Lol I'm sure that they are grateful! 3d
19 likes3 comments
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rabbitprincess
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This Samuel Johnson quote appeared in both The Wager and The Invasion of Canada: « No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned. »

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CrowCAH
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My Godson, Isaac, gave me this book as a (God)Mother‘s Day gift! ☺️ 📕

There‘s illustrations scattered throughout and the end papers have maps of the ship‘s journey!

Can‘t wait to read it!

Deblovestoread Love the sweet bookmark 💜 6d
LeahBergen Aww, how nice! I‘m looking forward to this one. 6d
CrowCAH @Deblovestoread I agree, super sweet and cute 🥰 6d
CrowCAH @LeahBergen it definitely will be an adventurous read! 6d
75 likes4 comments
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bio_chem06
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I‘m enjoying my Sunday

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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

I love a good shipwreck or mutiny story, and this has both! Grann is such a great writer and crafts a great narrative story here that‘s completely engrossing. And as far as the audio, I need only say two words: Dion. Graham. 🤩

Aimeesue I heard the NYT interview with Grann a couple weeks ago - sounded really interesting! I‘m looking foreword to it. 2w
Christine Ooh, I had not yet noticed Dion as narrator! ❤️ 2w
JamieArc I‘m listening to The Nineties and I *dont* get Why Dion Graham is only narrating the chapter titles and footnotes. Excited to listen to this one! 2w
See All 7 Comments
Hooked_on_books @JamieArc I know! It‘s criminal what they did with him on that book! I would frankly listen to him read the phone book. 2w
Hooked_on_books @Christine He makes everything better! 2w
bio_chem06 I can‘t wait to start this one, this week! 2w
Megabooks This was great!! Nice review! 2w
62 likes1 stack add7 comments
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Tamra
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Pickpick

The best descriptor of this piece is HARROWING. 😳 What ever could happen to a ship & its crew on the high seas did happen. Simply unbelievable any one of them made it home.

I learned the word origin of limey!

LeahBergen I can‘t wait to read this one! 2w
Tamra @LeahBergen you‘re going to be amazed at the journey! 🥹 2w
jlhammar Yes, so harrowing!! Glad you enjoyed. 2w
CoverToCoverGirl I haven‘t read this one yet but it‘s in my TBR pile. I recently read this one and if you haven‘t I highly recommend it. 2w
rabbitprincess Ooh I have this out from the library! Glad you liked it! 2w
64 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Follow.my.read
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Someone is VERY against me reading today #TheWager#DavidGrann

dabbe Da sweet, stubborn kitty! “You ain't reading today, Mom, not if I can help it!“ 💙🤣🐾💚 2w
53 likes2 comments
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Follow.my.read
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Totally out of the norm for me, but let me say, so far, I LOVE IT! #TheWager#MaritimeAdventure#ShipwreckMutinyMurder#KillersOfTheFlowerMoon#DavidGrann

Tamra I‘m listening to it - harrowing! 2w
RamsFan1963 Amazing book! Now I need to get around to reading Killers of the Flower Moon that's been sitting on my TBR forever!! 2w
52 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Floresj
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Pickpick

It takes a talented writer to make a story riveting when you know the ending. It‘s absolutely incredible that anyone could have survived the Wager and the attempts to return to England. Between sailing on a man of war in 1740, enduring the storms near Cape Horn, getting scurvy and/or shipwrecked, repairing a boat and have it come apart at sea, and deciding to mutiny or not, this was one hell of a book.

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RamsFan1963
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Pickpick

44/150 One of the best non-fiction books of 2023. It's an amazing story of courage, resilience, honor and betrayal. The Wager was wrecked while sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, leaving the survivors stranded on a desolate part of Patagonia. What they went through, and what they did to survive was tragic, at times inhumane, but ultimately inspiring. 5 🌟
TW: cannibalism, animal cruelty
2nd book finished for #MarvellousMay @Andrew65

jlhammar Great review! So glad you enjoyed. 3w
AllDebooks Great review Andrew. I love nautical history. One of my favourite non-fiction reads is the story that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick 3w
62 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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jlhammar
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Pickpick

Grann is just so good! He really brings history alive. This is one tense and thrilling tale. I guess Scorsese and DiCaprio are teaming up yet again for the adaptation. If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend watching Grann‘s recent 60 Minutes profile (link in comments).

ashw21 Can‘t wait for my copy to arrive ! Great review 3w
RamsFan1963 I'm doing this book on audio from Libby 3w
LeahBergen I‘ve been looking forward to this one. 👍 3w
70 likes1 stack add5 comments
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ChrisBohjalian
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Riveting. David Grann is one of the very best historians and storytellers around, and this tale of an eighteenth-century cataclysm at sea (and on land) is alive with heroes and villains, unbelievable competence and spectacular stupidity. Every time the world intervened and I had to put the book aside, it would be in my mind as I tried to imagine how the sailors and castaways were going to make it through yet one more day. I just loved it.

SamAnne I think Gann is like Patrick Madden Keefe for me. Whatever they choose to write about, I will read. 1mo
Hooked_on_books I‘m waiting impatiently for my hold on this to come in. And I just noticed in your picture that it‘s read by Dion Graham. And I didn‘t think a David Grann book could get any better, but Dion is amazing! 1mo
38 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Sara_Planz
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Pickpick

I could not believe how compelling this book was! First of all, David Grann's writing puts you right on the ship with the crew of the Wager. I felt like I was experiencing the entire journey with them. I also truly enjoyed understanding both sides of this tragedy, and how desperation can lead honorable men down very different paths. I love how Grann also emphasized the humanity of these brave men who risked it all for country and fortune.

jlhammar Grann is a favorite of mine. Looking forward to this! 2mo
36 likes1 stack add1 comment
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GerardtheBookworm
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Pickpick

The fascination story of the 1700's British vessel that was sent on a secret mission against Spain and found themselves shipwrecked on an island in Patagonia. Starving and abused, the crew mutinied against the captain and managed to return to England only to be tried and court martialed for their actions. This is their story.

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vivastory
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Did you guys see that a new Grann is being released next spring?! I love a good story of intrigue & mutiny & have been eagerly awaiting a new Grann.

jlhammar I hadn't heard about this yet. Very exciting. I will read anything he writes! 8mo
vivastory @jlhammar Same! There are a couple of his still on my TBR but he's def a favorite 8mo
Addison_Reads I didn't know about this one either but I can't wait for it. 8mo
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Branwen Oooooh! 💕 8mo
LeahBergen I‘m excited for this one. 👍 8mo
rabbitprincess With a subtitle like that, I HAVE to check it out! 8mo
vivastory @Addison_Reads @Branwen @LeahBergen @rabbitprincess Next year is looking promising for book releases 📚📚📚 8mo
LKK526 👍📚TBR 8mo
58 likes1 stack add8 comments