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Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
63 reviews
jhbandcats's review against another edition
4.5
He describes the plight of the officers, trying to outfit their ships with no money and few worthy crewmen, as well as that of the unwitting men press ganged (ie, kidnapped by the Royal Navy) onto ships they were ill-equipped to crew. No matter that some were sick, criminal, juvenile, or elderly, all were rounded up in a time of war and forced to serve.
The ship split into factions rather than working as a whole so in a time of crisis, it was no surprise that any discontent would devolve into mutiny. Alcohol, disease, starvation, and fear exacerbated the stresses on everyone. Before the benefits of vitamins were known, scurvy could wipe out a crew both physically and mentally. On top of typhus and shipwrecks, sometimes less than 20% of a crew made it back home.
Grann explains how this volatility affected the voyage of the Wager, and how the chain of command fell apart once the shipwrecked men were on shore. His copious research reveals that there were too many different versions of truth to know which was the most factual. The Admiralty wanted the embarrassment to just fade away so the court martial didn’t address any of the real issues.
I didn’t feel as much a part of this book as with Killers of the Flower Moon. I was wracked with guilt as I read what the white people did to the Osage and I felt complicit. I didn’t have that closeness to The Wager. Considering how dire the circumstances, that’s likely a good thing.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Colonisation, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
cait's review against another edition
3.5
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
marietheo's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, Gore, Medical content, Cannibalism, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Confinement, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and War
sampcupp's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Alcohol and Slavery
abicaro17's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death of parent, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Slavery, Suicide, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
miriam_in_life's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Slavery
kcbas1's review against another edition
5.0
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
4.0
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
ecourtis's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism
Minor: Classism and Colonisation
taeli's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Medical content, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Violence, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Murder, Slavery, Racism, and Trafficking