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#1 New York Times Bestseller • From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon comes a riveting story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery that culminates in a shocking revelation in a court-martial. This powerful account reveals the deeper meaning of the events of the Wager, showing that it is not just the captain and crew who are ultimately on trial, but the very concept of empire itself.
Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Time, Smithsonian, NPR, Vulture, Kirkus Reviews
“Riveting… reads like a thriller, an impassioned exploration of the layers of history and imperialism.”—Time Magazine
“A tour de force of narrative nonfiction.”—The Wall Street Journal
On January 28, 1742, a shabby little boat, cobbled together from scraps of wood and cloth, washed up on the coast of Brazil. Aboard were thirty emaciated, dying men with an extraordinary story. They were the survivors of the British Royal Ship, the Wager, which had secretly sailed in 1740 during the Anglo-French War. The Wager sank on a deserted island off the coast of Patagonia while pursuing a Spanish galleon filled with treasure, known as the Treasure of the Sea. After being abandoned for months and facing starvation, the men built the rudimentary boat and sailed for more than a hundred days, crossing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-ravaged sea. They were welcomed as heroes.
But then… Six months later, another, more dilapidated ship lands on the coast of Chile. This one has only three victims on board, and they tell a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes – they were mutineers. The first men responded with counter-accusations of their own, accusing a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It becomes clear that while stranded on the island, the crew has descended into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominance over this desolate wilderness. As accusations of mutiny and murder circulate, the Admiralty convenes a court-martial to determine who is telling the truth. The stakes are life and death – those found guilty by the court will be hanged.
The Wager is a grand story of extreme human behavior from one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann’s reconstruction of the hidden world of a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O’Brien, his description of the desperate plight of the castaways matches that of survival writing classics like Endurance, and his depiction of the military tribunal has the shrewdness of a Scott Turow thriller. As with Grann’s work, the surprising plot twists keep the reader hooked.
From the publisher
ASIN : B0B6Z4SVTH
Publisher : Doubleday (April 18, 2023)
Publication date: April 18, 2023
Language : English
File size: 63844 KB
Text to Speech : Enabled
Screen readers : Supported
Enhanced Typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Sticky Notes : Kindle Scribe on
Print length: 327 pages
Page source ISBN : 147118370X
