Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

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

58 reviews

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

ifeanart's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Racism, War, Body horror, Child death, Murder, and Xenophobia

readhaileyread's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Colonisation, Death, War, Cannibalism, Slavery, and Murder

sonygaystation's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: War, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, and Vomit

leahthebooklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative tense

4.5

"The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" was riveting. It is non-fiction but reads like a historical fiction thriller. The author's extensive research is evident, but serves to enhance the story rather than bog it down. Much of the story is taken directly from the actual journals of the men who were a part of the ill-fated expedition. Dion Graham is an excellent narrator, weaving together this mesmerizing story with his expressive voice. His pacing is excellent, adding urgency and suspense to an already dramatic story. Author David Grann is best known for "Killers of the Flower Moon" (*now a major motion picture*) which I read about 1 1/2 years ago. I liked "The Wager" even more than "Flower Moon". I listened to it every free moment I had. It definitely "un-romanticizes" life on the high seas, but that's part of why it's so good - it vividly portrays the gritty, unadulterated, harrowing reality of the experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Bullying, Physical abuse, and War

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Slavery

chrschn's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative tense medium-paced

4.25

Extremely well researched and as captivating as any fictional naval adventure. Plenty of seafaring adventures to be had, as well as some incredible human endurance, which I’m not typically interested in reading about but was amazed by here.  

Flew through this one, Grann is a very gifted author, telling the events so as to be informative but compelling. The events are thorough in their retelling, but without becoming a tedious logbook of what transpired. The two main “factions” for lack of a better word are both represented fairly and the events are not sensationalized, though he notes that other accounts have done so in order to paint the Admiralty in a more impressive light. Grann is rightfully critical of imperialism without the writing redirecting focus away from the crew of the Wager. Part of me wishes this was explored a bit further, but Grann trusts the reader to be able to put two and two together. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Slavery

maryclaire92's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense fast-paced

4.25

A harrowing account of the misadventures of the HMS Wager and its unlucky crew. This book kept my attention and I tore through the back half of it. Grann compiles the subject matter into a gripping narrative that seems genuine and representative of the historical documents available on the subject. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, War, Physical abuse, Slavery, Colonisation, Murder, Cannibalism, Death, and Racism