Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by drjoannehill
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
5.0
I wanted a history audiobook, and this seemed to be trendy so I reserved it. It did not disappoint - for a history book based in contemporary accounts (which COULD have been really dry) this is an interesting and compelling story, really well put together. The journal of a gunner on HMS Wager is the main source, alongside slightly-later accounts by shipmates (including the grandfather of poet Lord Byron) and the Wager's Captain, David Cheap PLUS filling in some maritime and geographical context with other sources. It is all really nicely put together and contemplates journalling and storytelling, the meaning of mutiny, and how to avoid being hanged for effectively trying to find any way you can to survive at literally the end of the earth.
A fleet (might be the wrong word) of British ships set sail in 1741 for the Pacific to contribute to The War of Jenkins' Ear (I think I came across this in my undergraduate studies of colonial America) but is doomed when it hits bad weather trying to get round the Cape, and the ships lose sight of each other. Sticking with HMS Wager: which hits storm after storm and eventually runs aground somewhere in Patagonia, the crew battle to reach solid ground and survive as castaways on what is now called Isla Wager in Chile. The narrative follows their months on the island living off limpets and salvage off the ship (helped by some locals, although they soon get tired of the Brits' nonsense), multiple attempts to escape, and eventually the return of some of the crew to England, only to face court marshall for mutiny / deliberate destruction of the ship.
The audiobook narrator is very interesting and dramatic, he plays a large role in making the book exciting.
A fleet (might be the wrong word) of British ships set sail in 1741 for the Pacific to contribute to The War of Jenkins' Ear (I think I came across this in my undergraduate studies of colonial America) but is doomed when it hits bad weather trying to get round the Cape, and the ships lose sight of each other. Sticking with HMS Wager: which hits storm after storm and eventually runs aground somewhere in Patagonia, the crew battle to reach solid ground and survive as castaways on what is now called Isla Wager in Chile. The narrative follows their months on the island living off limpets and salvage off the ship (helped by some locals, although they soon get tired of the Brits' nonsense), multiple attempts to escape, and eventually the return of some of the crew to England, only to face court marshall for mutiny / deliberate destruction of the ship.
The audiobook narrator is very interesting and dramatic, he plays a large role in making the book exciting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Cannibalism