The Wager: Book Review

Best-selling author David Grann is slowly becoming my favorite nonfiction author. After having read Killers of the Flower Moon, I knew I was going to read his latest book The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. Keep reading to read our book review for The Wager and see if you should give this book a read!

The Wager: Summary

David Grann starts the book off by telling us of the survivors of washing up on the coast of Brazil on January 28, 1742. They tell of their survival after their ship sunk and their lives surviving on a remote island. But six months later, we meet another crew from the same ship that also survived and they had a different story to tell that contradicted the events of the first group of survivors.

Who is telling the truth and what actually happened on the Wager and after it sunk? Grann uses journal entries and documents that survived and retells the tail of the journey of the Wager and the crew members on board. It is up to the reader to put it all together and figure out what actually happened and who is telling the truth and who is covering their tracks.

Commentary

The events in this book are all true and yet, when reading this book, it feels like a movie. Grann is an amazing author and is beautifully able to retell this story. And after reading it, you can see why Grann felt the need to share this story with the masses. It has been forgotten over the centuries and needed an author like Grann to bring it into the 21st century.

There is a lot going on in the book and trying to follow it all can be hard at times. But for the most part, Grann makes it easy to follow along. This is an historical event that feels like it should be more well known but it isn’t. The passage of time makes many important events forgotten but Grann does his best to share it with everyone.

If you have been following my blog, then you know that I don’t often read nonfiction books. But I will give a nonfiction book a chance and for the most part, my experiences have been great. There is a lot of research done before I choose a nonfiction book and I choose books that pique my interest. I have read two nonfiction books this year, both by Grann, and have enjoyed them immensely.

Conclusion

If you love history or an epic adventure, then this book should be your next read. The brilliant writing and research by Grann makes this a story unlike any other. It is no wonder that this was one of the best nonfiction books of 2023. In 2022,  Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio acquired the rights for the movie even before it was published. I know I will be watching it when it is released. Happy reading!