#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •
A gripping tale of disaster, survival, and brutality from the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, which culminates in a court martial that uncovers a startling reality. The compelling story unveils the greater significance of what happened on The Wager, demonstrating that the concept of empire itself was put on trial in addition to the captain and crew.
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, TIME, Smithsonian, NPR, Vulture, and Kirkus Reviews have named a book of the year.
"Sharp...Reads like a thriller and takes on imperialism and a complex past with flair. —Time
"A narrative nonfiction masterwork." —The Journal of Commerce
A dilapidated ship made of linen and wood that had been stitched together washed up on January 28, 1742. near the Brazilian shore. Thirty thin men, barely alive, with an amazing story to tell, were inside. They were the surviving members of the British ship His Majesty's Ship the Wager, which sailed from England in 1740 on a covert mission amidst an imperial conflict with Spain. The Wager went down on a barren island off the coast of Patagonia as it was pursuing a Spanish galleon that was rumoured to contain treasure and was dubbed "the prize of all the oceans." The guys constructed the rickety vessel and sailed for over a hundred days, covering roughly 3,000 miles of storm-tossed seas, after being stranded for months and faced hunger. They received hero worship.
However, six months later, an even more dilapidated craft arrived on the Chilean coast. There were only three castaways on this boat, and their accounts differed greatly. The thirty sailors who set foot on Brazilian soil were mutineers, not heroes. In response, the first group launched their own counterattacks, accusing a senior commander and his goons of being despotic and deadly. It became evident that the crew had descended into chaos while stranded on the island, with rival groups vying for control of the desolate landscape. A court martial was called by the Admiralty to find out who was telling the truth since charges of betrayal and murder were rife. The stakes were life or death; the hangman may be anybody the court ruled guilty.
One of our greatest nonfiction writers tells a big tale of extreme human behaviour in The Wager. Grann's His depiction of the severe circumstances faced by the castaways is on par with the best survival literature, like The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the sharpness of a Scott Turow thriller. His reproduction of the secret world on a British warship is comparable to that of Patrick O'Brian. The amazing narrative twists captivate the reader, as they usually do with Grann's writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment