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.

I am so happy to review this book, The Wager. Two months ago I just finished David Grann's book The Lost City of Z which I devoured and gave a 5/5 stars.

Grann is an engaging and amazing storyteller. I appreciated that this book was so meticulously researched and the author did a great job presenting the sides of each of the characters in the book so we could form our own decisions on what we deemed right/wrong (or simply who to cheer for). I had empathy for all the characters in this story due to the authors fair descriptions of the trials and tribulations each faced! I love a book that I can learn from yet, at the same time, is a page turner-which this hit out of the park!

What makes this story so fascinating is the story covers so many facets; it is not just a shipwreck story. The focus of the story changes to a mutiny(or is it even a mutiny if the ships is no longer at Sea), to a survival story, to a morale conflict story (who should be sacrificed and based on what) to a legal story (the court martial), and finally a good history refresher of this fascinating time in history.. My only challenge was in the beginning I feel I had read or watched shows with many of the scenes of illness/sickness/survey/survival of the ship and not a lot was new to me. But the last 2/3 of the book was amazing including the painful decisions that had to be made by so many; including the scene where 4 Marines had to be left on the island, to the Captain shooting a mutineer which was justified by him and others to preserve order..

There was so much action in this book. Even when a few of the ships landed safely there was the court martial event-and interesting on what decisions were made based on England's desire for the world to focus on their one huge win, the capture of the Spanish Treasure ship. Danger lurked as one of the men tried publish a book in which many others tried to stop the publishing due to the fear of the events making them look guilty and subject to a court martial. The story leads us to the different versions of books written by the different people from these ships, but ultimately what we choose what we want to believe as the reader.

I am so relieved I was never on a ship during those times and would be a horrible Captain-making tough decisions daily-I will continue to be a reader of these books only ;).

I cannot wait to read Grann's other book, Killers of the Flower Moon and any future books he writes!
Thank you!

If David Grann’s name isn’t enough to draw you to this book perhaps the subtitle will flip your decision making in favor of giving this one a try.

The 1740 ill-fated sailing of the Wager on a challenging mission was compounded by a rickety vessel, a mutinous crew, raging illnesses, and an abundance of bad weather. Sent out to wage war against Spain they barely even encountered the Spanish warships before their plans were changed and disaster engulfed them.

This book is a well researched and well written narrative nonfiction. There is a lot of detail about the events with a lot of action to propel the reader from one dire crisis to the next. We can now add the Wager to the collection of naval disasters like Shackelton’s exploration, the sinking of the Lusitania, or the Halifax explosion.

I have read a number of books by David Grann, including The Lost City of Z and Killers of the Flower Moon. I am now fortunate to have read a prepublication of his latest book, The Wager. As with all his books, Mr. Grann has distilled a large amount of research. In fact, having read this book on my Kindle, the book itself was finished at 66% and the remainder of the book was citations and footnotes. It is an interesting story of the shipwreck of The Wager. it is not a spoiler to say that more than one group made it back with conflicting stories. It was quite harrowing to read all that they went through in order to survive. It was interesting to see that this event was the source material for everything from Herman Melville to the poems of Lord Byron (the grandson of a featured midshipman, John Byron). In light of how ill equipped this ship was with a reluctant crew, diseases such as typhus and scurvy, wooden ships, and no measurement of longitude, it was a miracle that anyone came back alive. Mr. Grann's prose has brought their experiences to life. Some of them are difficult to read about but Mr. Grann moves the story along to its surprising conclusion. It is a story that will fascinate readers of his previous books. A worthwhile read.

A nonfiction, nautical in the tradition of Larson's usual dramatic retellings. Given Grann's past catalog, I imagine this is old hat for him as well. It was a tale well told, and will appeal to its audience from the cover alone. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity with this title.

The Wager
by David Grann
Pub Date: April 18, 2023
Doubleday
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is the first novel I have read by the author. Grann made sure to tell us as many sides of the story as can be sourced. However, I found the pacing and detail varied throughout the book. The first half of the book was very detailed, after the castaways begin to make their ways off the island he writes in a vague manner. The second half was a letdown for me.
3 stars

I have read a couple of David Grann’s novels prior to this, which was why I wanted so desperately to read The Wager.

If ever authors, or storytellers of any kind, wish to romanticize the idea of sailors, castaways, and/or the capabilities to survive, then it is clear after reading this novel that they have not done proper research.

The Wager is just one man of war ship, part of a group sailing under Captain Anson, with orders to capture Spanish treasure ships. Unfortunately, the expedition is seized with bad weather, disease, and eventually death. The Wager, separated from Anson, is later crashed between racks, and the remaining crew make to the island now known as Wager Island.

The narratives become conflicting as the Captain David Cheap is left behind on the island by gunner John Bulkeley. According to Bulkeley, Cheap was determined to continue with his orders, despite the devastation and despair of the crew. Cheap had even murdered an unarmed man, which resulted in their desperate mutiny. Cheap’s account did not even give details of the murder, but he was quick to point out how he had been tied and assaulted before Bulkeley and company left them to die.

Given the various accounts, I have to agree with the outcome of the court-martial. Since these events are close to 300 years old, I find it difficult to pass judgment on any group of people who simply wanted to survive. They looked to their captain to save them, and some found him to be unfit, so they went to the next intelligent authority. Under the conditions that David Grann described, and hearing survivor tales from our current timeline, could anyone truly say that they would have handled anything differently?

I think the main reason why I find David Grann to be authentic is the fact that he doesn’t just rely on others’ accounts of the events. He conducts the reason from so many sources, primary and secondary, but then he makes the attempt to go to those places. In this case, he writes that he underwent a three-week voyage to Wager Island. David Grann goes above and beyond in pursuit of the research.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

I love a good adventure story, and The Wager has it all: men against the elements, the breakdown of order, the quest for fame and glory gone awry, the miracle of survival, and a humane justice that forgave what men did to survive.

In 1740, England was at war with Spain. The Wager was part of a squadron led my Captain Anson with instructions to capture a Spanish galleon filled with treasure. They would have to go around treacherous Cape Horn. The Wager had a crew of 250 men under Captain Cheap who had risen up through the ranks and was determined that his first captaincy was a success.

Grann describes the reality of life on the sea in the 18th c. The crowded conditions, the dangerous work, the vermin that carried disease. Sailors dying of ‘ship’s fever’–typhoid–and scurvy, described in chilling detail. The starvation when supplies run low. The endless upkeep of the ship to keep it seaworthy.

By the time the ship reached Cape Horn, the crew was already diminished in ranks and weakened by disease.

Storms and high seas kept the ships from rounding the Cape for months. Some turned back. Some disappeared. The Wager was shipwrecked on a desert island. With few supplies, the men gaunt and starving and in shredded clothes and shoeless, the rule of order broke down. Captain Cheap was determined to fulfill his command; they would repair the ship and keep going. The men only wanted to survive, and that mean turning back to Brazil. Cheap would not give in to the sailor’s demands. He shot a sailor, and the crew believed it made him unfit to be captain. The crew mutinied and left the captain behind with a few men loyal to him.

283 days later, 81 survivors showed up in Brazil. It took them three months, traveling in a cobbled-together and over-crowded ship.

Once they returned to England, their troubles continued. All of the survivors were guilty of some crime that would earn them the death sentence. The ship’s gunner John Bulkeley kept a personal log, which he published as a way of justifying their actions.

Captain Anson’s forces had numbered 2,000, but only 227 men were left when they fought the Spanish galleon, thrillingly described. Anson’s superior planning and organization won the day. The bountiful riches they seized surpassed any other ever taken, and made Anson rich.

Captain Cheap was rescued by natives and, five years after they had set out, arrived in England along with two of his loyal men, ready to defend his honor.

The admirals in charge of the investigation had to consider the rule of order but also the embarrassing war that cost more than Captain Anson had brought back with the Spanish treasure.

Grann shares the rich literary heritage of the Wager’s story. One young crewman, who left the mutineers to return to Captain Cheap, was the grandfather of Lord Byron, who wrote about the trip in his poem “Don Juan.” Numerous accounts were written by crew members and by Grub Street hacks. The tale inspired later writers, including Herman Melville and Patrick O’Brien.

The War of Jenkin’s Ear was over by the time the survivors returned to England. It was a horrible waste of men and ships and money. Grann’s book resurrects another gruesome and riveting scene from history.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

With The Wager David Grann once again shows that he is in the same class as authors like Erik Larson and Candice Millard in that he knows how to pick obscure historical episodes and how to tell them to a contemporary audience. While The Wager has the drive of a novel, Grann never resorts to novelization; everything that is in the text appears to be authenticated, and there is almost no speculation.

The Wager is largely a tale of shipwreck and survival. While it is as well told as Killers of the Flower Moon, I'm not sure it will find the same audience since it doesn't deal with as weighty an issue as the United States' legacy of white supremacy. The book does address issues related to British Imperialism (especially in the outcome of the court martial which I won't reveal), but they are relatively tangential.

Thanks to Net Galley for giving me an advance electronic copy. I facilitate a nonfiction book club at a local bookstore, and I will certainly put this on one of our monthly ballots (The club loved Killers of the Flower Moon).

A very interesting account of the Wager an English ship that set sail in the mid 1800s and was broken apart while trying to enter the Pacific oceant around the southern tip of South America. The crew was marooned on a deserted island with only the barest essentials that they were able to scavenge from the ship. Eventually two groups were able to return to England. Grann has thoroughly researched written accounts of the disaster and written a very engrossing depiction. A highly recommended read for all

This story was so entertaining & engaging that I think people that dont normally read non-fiction would enjoy it. I read it in two settings. I will definitely purchase this book for my library.

In 1740, the Wager set off on a journey around the world with a secret mission to capture Spanish silver and gold. Two years later, a leaking longboat lands in Brazil full of desperate men. But these are not the only survivors of the Wager, and both captain and crew end up on trial as England attempts to determine the truth.

I love a good survival story, but for some reason shipwrecks have always left me underwhelmed. Maybe it’s because I don’t like the beach. But I have enjoyed David Grann’s work in the past, and I had never heard of the story of the Wager, so I was excited for this book.

Grann vividly recreate the “wooden world” of an English naval ship, introducing us to the many people who lived and worked aboard the Wager vividly. He does a good job of grounding us in the place and time of the setting, with an especial focus on how people of different socioeconomic classes and races were regarded, and how they fit into society. The leading figures are compelling ones, serving to anchor an otherwise often chaotic story.

This book deals with the idea of narratives, and who controls the truth of any particular incident and how it is seen. As such, I appreciated how Grann made sure to tell us as many sides of the story as can be sourced almost three centuries later. He relies on the plethora of accounts from survivors among other sources, but takes pains to read between the lines to fairly present parties whose voices are not recorded, for example the “nomads of the sea,” the Kawésqar people, who tried to help the shipwrecked sailors.

However, I found that the pacing and the detail of the narrative varied throughout the book. While the first half of the book was very in-depth, events after the castaways begin to make their ways off the island are written in an occasionally vague manner, as though the author had expended the majority of his effort too early. It’s not an uninteresting second half, by any means, but rather a let-down after the interest of the first.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley.

Oh, a new David Grann book! Happy Day.
Grann’s new book details the lost of the battleship The Wager and the struggle for survival that the crew endured. It’s like Lord of the Flies meets Mutiny on the Bounty meets Swiss Family We Don’t Know Anything. The crew of the Wager was part of a group of ships that were tasked with capturing a Spanish treasure ship. The Wager sinks shortly after passing Cape Horn, eventually sinking off the coast of Chile. After making it to an island, the group eventually ruptures and a mutiny occurs.
Part of the issue that Grann addresses are the conflicting stories – that of David Cheap, the captain of the ship when it went down, and that of John Bulkley, the gunner. Bulkley contends that the mutiny was justified while Cheap, of course, felt quite differently.
What Grann does, however, isn’t just focus on the actual mutiny and following trial but on the various class and imperialistic pressures that lead up to the circumstances of the mutiny. Part of the reason why the man were on the ship to begin with had to do with the imperialistic desires of not just Britain but Europe as a whole – why else send a fleet to travel the globe just to hunt down one ship. But it is also class – should Buckley have the same right of speech, of story that Cheap would? Additionally, there is the sad tale of the only black man on the ship, a man that was lost to history for a variety of factors - imperialism and racism being the primary to.
What is also addressed is the treatment of indigenous populations by the British in particular, and Imperial powers in general. When the crew of the Wager is stranded on a smile island, one of the difficulties they have is getting food. When an indigenous tribe shows up, the British accept the much needed help but also look down up the tribe, even though the tribe’s help was necessary for the group’s survive. It is no surprise the tribe left in the midnight of the night after having enough.
It is to Grann’s credit that while he does seem a bit more partial to Buckley, he presents the various viewpoints and sides of the Mutiny. The reader is given information about Cheap, enough that Cheap does and is not the stereotypical Captain Bligh of the movies. Perhaps the crewman that Grann must feels for is Byron, grandfather of the poet, and not even twenty when he leaves on the ship. He goes from boy to man over the course of events, and it is voice and his struggle in terms of morality that resonates the most with the reader. That and the lost story of the black crewman – John Duck who had actually managed to escape not only the wreck and the island to reach Buenos Aires, and then collided with the stark reality of a imperialistic Spain.

I absolutely low a good shipwreck story, and this one did not disappoint. This impeccably researched and well-write book tells the saga of the shipwreck of The Wager in 1742 as they attempted to round Cape Horn. This story involves mutiny, struggles to survive against the elements, and the ways that people handle being in life threatening situations. This is a very detailed account, so be prepared to settle in for a long read. Those who love this genre as much as myself will find the time invested well worth it. David Grann has become one of my favorite writers and I look forward to continuing to enjoy his work for years to come.

#TheWager #NetGalley As always, David Grann weaves a tale of man's desperation and the lengths that they can go to in order to survive.

Grann does it again! He knows how to make stories come to life. The Wager tells a fascinating story from the time of sails. Highly recommended!

To say I was excited for this book would be a major understatement. All of my favorite elements are here. First, an author I already love (and if you didn't read Lost City of Z and Killers of the Flower Moon then you need to get on that). Next the tale of a shipwreck which is always a winner for me if done even remotely well. Add in some mutiny and murder and what could go wrong? The answer: absolutely nothing. This book is great.

The story is about the British ship, the Wager, and its participation in the War of Jenkins' Ear. Do you think that's a ridiculous name for a war? Well, you won't be disappointed in how it all came to be. It's as lame as you think. The Wager was sent out with other ships and the problems started before they even left port. Before long, they are getting wrecked trying to get through the worst waters on Earth off the coast of South America. Hence, the mutiny and murder get started pretty soon after. Sounds amazing right? I didn't even mention how some of the castaways got back to England.

The story itself is enough to interest anyone. On top of that, you have one of the best writers out there in David Grann. He has already proven himself adept at writing a story with perfect pacing, the right amount of mystery, and a satisfying conclusion.

Unlike the men of the Wager, I got exactly what I was hoping for.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Doubleday Books. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 4/18/2023.)