Book Review: The Wager

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann showed up on my library's recent acquisitions list. I had heard good things about his book, Killers of the Flower Moon, but that topic wasn't stirring me enough. This seemed to suit my interests more. What an absorbing read! Like I've done with Hillenbrand's Unbroken and Brown's Under a Flaming Sky, I couldn't help but read passages aloud to my sons and husband. Fascinating!

As the story goes, in 1738, a Spanish officer supposedly cut off a British officer's ear. This triggered the "War of Jenkins' Ear." England was desperate to retaliate and assert their imperial superiority. They sent a vessel, the Wager, among a fleet of ships, pursuing a Spanish galleon rumored to hold untold treasure. Thousands of sailors set out on this secret mission; only hundreds returned.

After navigating the treacherous route around Cape Horn, the ship hit a rocky bottom near a deserted island. Food supplies dwindled, morale declined, and anarchy threatened. This book isn't for the faint-hearted. It details amputation, scurvy, and all manner of deaths at sea. Thanks to Grann's narrative skill, you get a feel for the diverse personalities at play in this drama of high stakes. 

The inside cover aptly proclaims: "His portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court-martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spell-bound." I devoured this book in a few days. It was impossible to look away.