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

2.0

The Wager was a ship in an armada that left England in 1740. They were on a secret mission during a war with Spain to capture a Spanish ship that was loaded with treasure. The expedition was lead by George Arnson. While trying to round Cape Horn, the Wager, by this time captained by David Cheap was wrecked on a desolate island in Patagonia. The men suffered scurvy, freezing temperatures and starvation. After several months of starving and mutinous activities, another vessel was hobbled together to try to escape the island and get back to England. The group lead by Blakeley sailed east through the strait of Magellan all the while losing men along the way. They had left Captain Cheap on Wager island with a few men and no supplies because they lost confidence in him as a leader. Then a few months later, Cheap and the castaways were able to escape the island as well and headed toward Valparaiso, Chile. After a couple of years, and struggle, imprisonment by the Spanish the survivors made it back to England. Cheap, several months after Blakeley. The court martial surrounding the Wager was held. Cheap was not charged for killing a man in cold blood and Blakeley and his men were not charged with mutiny. Interesting tale but it was a bit bland. The author did a lot of research and used the few logs and diaries that survived. Hard to imagine anyone wanting to sail across the ocean in the 1700’s at all. Then to be able to survive on an island that was pounded by bad weather and having no food source was amazing.