About the book
It reconstructs the 1741 wreck of a British warship and the rival accounts of its survivors.
It was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Curated by intendle
Published
History, Society & Current Affairs
The Wager
A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
Written by
Published by
Doubleday (Penguin Random House)
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder is a work of narrative nonfiction by the journalist David Grann, published by Doubleday in April 2023.
- Published
- 2023
- Pages
- 352
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
In 1741 a British warship, the Wager, wrecked on a desolate island off Patagonia; months later two groups of survivors reached opposite coasts of South America, each telling an irreconcilable story, each accusing the other of mutiny and murder.
David Grann reconstructs the whole grim saga from journals, logbooks and court records, and turns an archival mountain into a propulsive tale of shipwreck, starvation and the war over who controls the narrative.
Grann, the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, is a master of narrative nonfiction, and here he uses an eighteenth-century disaster to probe how empire, class and self-preservation shape the 'truth' that survives. intendle recommends it as history that reads like a thriller and thinks like a courtroom. A #1 New York Times bestseller and a best book of 2023 nearly everywhere, it is impossible to put down.
By the last page you will distrust every witness and admire every sentence.
The book
At a glance
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Pages
352
Published
2023
Doubleday (Penguin Random House)
Where to buy
Format
Hardcover
First edition
Language
English
History, Society & Current Affairs
ISBN
978-0385534260
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