The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder (David Grann)

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Is this guy my new favourite author? I love his style so much, the way he tells these real-life stories in so much detail and colour while still using only first-hand accounts is really awesome. The amount of research projects like this would take feels like a life's work, but he already has a handful of these.

Anyways, this is a wild story about a shipwreck, and the whole time I just felt so miserable for these people. He does a great job tying in themes that clearly resonate with him in Killers of the Flower Moon as well, small-folk being abused by people in power. In fact I think the most powerful part of this book is the ending, where it is kind of revealed that all of this was basically for nothing.

I guess that's a spoiler, but who cares, the attraction to this book is the insane living conditions for these sailors. How humans ever explored the whole Earth is beyond me, since every time they set out I feel this dread. The navigation is so primitive, weeks are lost of you make tiny mistakes. My absolute favourite section was where he describes a sailor climbing the mast. The level of danger for this everyday task is staggering, and the agonizing detail puts you right there. And I think the passage Joe mentioned is when the sailor gets to the top, and that was the only part of the book that made this sound like a magical life.

I read this book in like 2 days, and I am starving for more. I wouldn't say I am super interested in reading history books, unless they are all as tightly knit as this one. There were moments I wanted more detail, but the pace of the book keeps you hooked. Grann has poured over the accounts and refined it to only the necessary parts, and I am thankful for his work. Give me the Scorcese movie!