Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

40 reviews

ekcd_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Slavery, Cursing, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Trafficking, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, War, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Racism

eleanorjmca's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Incredible read. I was gripped from the start to the finish. It helps when you’re writing a history book if you have a thrilling event to write about, but Grann really brought it to life. I particularly liked the emphasis he placed on the competing narratives of the events left by different survivors, and the care he took to highlight the role of the Kawesqar and Chona people in the story. Very extensively researched with thorough endnotes and a bibliography for further reading. A tour de force of history writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Abandonment, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Slavery, Racism, Cannibalism, and War

knkoch's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

3.75

I found this worthwhile and informative, if bleak in its reminders of the way naval stories like this are shaped by the huge and destructive forces of imperialism and ruthless extraction of resources. All the human folly that went into conscripting hundreds of deathly ill men to run ships that take thousands of century-old trees to build just to attempt needlessly difficult cape passages, only to shipwreck in an extremely challenging climate and

waste the lives of hundreds of people from disease and starvation!

I really liked that David Grann gave great context into the Indigenous tribes the men from this ship interacted with and the impact that naval expeditions had on them and all others in South and North America in the eighteenth century especially. It felt like he was resetting the image of journeys like these, moving away from glory and adventure into the grinding hardship, weaknesses of leadership, imperial greed, racist assumptions of superiority/inferiority, and endless jockeying between major European empires like Spain and England. Grann developed the historical characters well, and clearly established how naval honor codes, class, and rank influenced the events at sea and land. Shocked to learn that

the value of the seized Spanish galleon, then the greatest single event war bounty seized, was dwarfed by the full millions-of-pounds cost of the entire expedition to seize it.

And yet, we can't forget that history can be so easily spun into self-congratulatory stories that flatter rather than invite critical examination. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Murder, Body horror, Medical content, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cannibalism

Eating disorder: Much discussion of starvation, but not sure what TW may fit better.

samchase112's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book truly swept me away!!! I was enthralled by the writing, the narrative, and the narrator. I lost time listening to this story, and took walks to get further. David Grann made me feel like I was traversing the hazardous seas, searching the desolate island, and scribbling on the page with these men — truly impressive. I’ll be recommending this book (and especially the audiobook!) for a while to come!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Gun violence, War, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide, Cannibalism, and Genocide

kalaser's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Gun violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

amy14's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gun violence, Animal death, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

tigerkind's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

3.5

Quite an interesting read not only about a tale of (mis)adventure but also about the importance seafaring had in shaping the world. 

On a side note; I recommend looking up Wager Island on Maps after reading for a bit of a laugh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Body horror, Animal death, Colonisation, Torture, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Alcohol, and Xenophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Vomit, and Slavery

mikaylawood's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

This is my first time reading David Grann and it will not be my last! Beautiful writing about a moving, albeit devastating, historical event. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Cannibalism, Death, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Blood and Medical trauma

Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Excrement

simmonsj's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

This review is for the audio book read by Dion Graham 

This is a very well researched book concerning the HMS Wager and its shipwreck in 1741, including the events of the crew while stranded on an island in Patagonia. I was surprised how many sources of information there were for this event. Grann does a fantastic job pulling together the account from many sources, making a narrative fiction-like story of true events. Everything wraps up decently with the exception of a few pieces (which I expect with real events, especially from the 1740s). 

The narrator did a great job as well, expressive and a good cadence throughout. 

Overall a really good non-fiction read of a really interesting and at times larger-than-life story of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder - just like the title promises.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Abandonment, and Death

Minor: Cannibalism and Slavery

saraverboom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Colonisation, Violence, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, and Death