Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

15 reviews

kimmykelly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

theabee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Slavery, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Animal death, Colonisation, and Murder

maison's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Violence, Racism, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Racial slurs, and Animal death

Minor: Cannibalism and Child death

jordan_e's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

4.5

Incredible seafaring tale of a mission gone wrong. Well researched and written impeccably.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Violence

Minor: Murder, Gun violence, and Cannibalism

bibliomania_express's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann is a gripping and thought-provoking account of the voyage and shipwreck of HMS Wager in the 1740s. Drawing on primary sources and thorough archival research, Grann reconstructs the hardships of the voyage from before the ships set sail, through its perilous journey, shipwreck, mutiny, and court-martial. If you are squeamish about descriptions of disease and death, take care, but I do think Grann tow the lines of factual without going into excessive details. 

The story of the Wager is heartbreaking and amazing, with falliable human ingenuity and the unrelenting power of hope coming up against the forces of nature, disease, delerium, and himan depravity. 

I really enjoyed Grann's writing. He made the story feel engaging as a living narrative rather than a historical account. I also appreciated how he took the time to call out the intrisic racism and imperialist motives of the venture. He made space for the indigenous peoples of South America, the African slave trade, and even class divides amongst the British. 

I was mainly surprised by how the court martial ended, and I appreciated Grann's discussion of why it went the way it did. 

Overall, a fantastic book.
 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Animal death, War, Medical content, Violence, Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Murder, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Slavery, Child death, and Cannibalism

marioosa517's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, War, Excrement, Cannibalism, Confinement, Vomit, and Child death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

emily_koopmann's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

robdawgreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

There are some gory scenes described in the book but, otherwise, I really enjoyed learning about this historical event!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Slavery, and War

linneak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Confinement, Torture, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Trafficking, Grief, Slavery, and Colonisation

alisonvh's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative fast-paced

3.5

This book is well written and has a fascinating subject, but it just didn’t grab me for some reason.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Child death, Violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Chronic illness

Minor: Cannibalism