Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

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

17 reviews

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.

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

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

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

gringolet's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.75

A well researched, entertaining and fascinating book. David Grann good as usual

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Death, Alcohol, Violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia

dogswithnogs's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Death, and Xenophobia

Minor: Slavery, Torture, and Animal death

cait's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Violence, Vomit, Torture, Abandonment, Animal death, Excrement, Gore, Ableism, Confinement, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Medical content, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Slavery

kcbas1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Xenophobia, Animal death, and War

Minor: Suicide, Racism, Cannibalism, and Slavery

daughterofatom's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.0

I enjoyed this. I appreciate the authors non judgemental perspective, never casting blame or guilt on any party, and keeps first hand accounts of native people in perspective. It's a tale of mutiny and horrible situations, but you never think "dang what a villain", you see the motivations of each party and are given ample details about the people to not just see them as pawns. They all had families at home they hoped to return to, some were on their first voyage, some were seasoned enough to doubt some choices. Great read for anyone looking to learn about 1700s seafaring, British navy shenanigans, or for folks looking for empathetic compelling tales of souls stuck in a true no win scenario 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, Genocide, and Animal death

Minor: Medical content, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Classism, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, and Racism

shepardsolbear's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism and Xenophobia