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

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

5.0

This is one of the best history books I have ever read. While I am not particularly well-versed in shipwrecks, naval history, or even eighteenth century Britain, within the first lines of this book, I was absolutely gripped. Grann's prose is unusually fluid, thrilling, clear, and direct. About halfway through the book, because I was enjoying the story so much, I began to fear that the conclusion would feel rushed or incomplete, as is the case in many popular history books. But Grann did not disappoint - the conclusion addressed and questioned the historical nuances of this story, but most importantly, seemed to honor the so many that died not only on HMS Wager, but all the man-of-wars of the time. 

There is so much to praise about this monograph, but I am most impressed with Grann's research and his use of direct quotations from the source material. It is very easy to sensationalize history based on a shallow reading of material - unfortunately, we see this a lot in popular history books. However, in this case, it is so overwhelmingly clear that Grann took his time not only with consulting all the available relevant texts, but also in positioning the story within history at large. This book is a true role model for young historians such as myself. Posterity will be grateful for this text. 

Also, the audiobook by Dion Graham was phenomenal - one of the best narrations I have ever experienced.