An intimate and tragic account of life at sea and desperate survival. Completely unputdownable. It’s as if Grann were there the whole time.

A story of bravery, persistence, and mutiny at its core, The Wager takes on the task of reviewing all known historical accounts of the sea-bound vessel and its fated crew. The author does a magnificent job of recounting the tale in a manner that could be mistaken as a novel. While the journey and key events are compelling and historically significant, there ultimately wasn’t enough here to culminate in an extraordinary or significant experience for the reader.

Enjoyable book with an exciting story to recount. Well documented with excellent details. The characters are brought back to life as you experience their trials and tribulations. Surprising ending not what one would have expected.

I enjoyed this narrative. The author seems to give a balanced view of events. He keeps the narrative going. He doesn’t bog the story down with minute details.

This book was fantastic! It’s an excellent tale of mutiny, hardship, and the human spirit’s will to survive. A must-read for any shipwreck enthusiast.

I just didn’t find it as exciting as I thought it would be based on the description,

Starts off good and finishes strong. I was thoroughly engaged throughout.

The meticulous recounting of a British ship, a man-of-war’s voyage from England through the Strait of Magellan and its shipwreck off the coast of southern Chile An extremely detailed work, but too bogged down with the facts. I didn’t really care about the survivors. Too dry for my taste.

David Grann always does a great job bringing history alive, and this is no different. A captivating history of a shipwreck and what desolation and desperation can do to a human.

A brilliantly researched and written book.