The Wager

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

De: David Grann

Narrado por: Dion Graham, David Grann

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a thrilling story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court-martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

A Best Book 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, tackling a multilayered history—and imperialism—with gusto.”—Time

"A tour de force of narrative nonfiction.”—The Wall Street Journal

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

But then...six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes—they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death—for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann’s recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O’Brian, his portrayal of the castaways’ desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court-martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann’s work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the listener spellbound.

©2023 David Grann (P)2023 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, Esquire, BookPage

“The most gripping sea-yarn I’ve read in years….A tour de force of narrative nonfiction. Mr. Grann’s account show how storytelling, whether to judges or readers, can shape individual and national fortunes–as well as our collective memories.”—Wall Street Journal

“Glorious, steely…a tightly written, relentless, blow-by-blow account that is hard to put down”—The Washington Post

“As much a rousing adventure as an exploration of the power of narratives to shape our perception of reality.”—The New York Times

Thorough detailed research

I appreciate the story tellers efforts capturing the details from historical records. Enjoy the book thoroughly and appreciate the matter of fact delivery of information.

zero for reader

i have been listening to books for 40 years. This reader way too enthusiastic. Needs to tone it down! His style distracts from the story.

A fascinating story of survival and corruption

I had to struggle through the annoying, breathless, over-dramatic narration to discern the tale. How many expressive inhales must one suffer? The story is compelling enough on its own.

Don’t ever get scurvy

Some of the descriptions in this book are the stuff of nightmares. The incident with the dog was horrifying. I could not stop listening to this book. And I thought airlines were the worst way to travel…

Amazing story told from several perspectives

Wonderful research done to bring to life an amazing story from history. It was a journey worth taking for the listener.

Narrator is too dramatic

It’s a compelling and interesting story, but the narrator’s continuously over-dramatic performance tends to backfire. He even attempts to make the chapter name and number sound ominous.

By dramatizing nearly every line in the book, the listener will have trouble discerning which lines deserve a bit more emphasis and which don’t. Why over-dramatize and attempt to make suspenseful, a phrase like, “Chapter Eleven”?

This over-dramatic cadence persists throughout nearly every line of the book, making the murder of a castaway seem no more important than the announcement of the next chapter.

I loved everything about it

Cool story, awesome performance, overall great. I love history told this way. I can’t wait for the movie!

Good story, hard to listen to

Interesting story and one heck of a journey.
Tough listen, even at 1.5 speed. Was always on the verge of shelving due to the "performance"

An Enthralling Tale

Thoroughly enjoyable historical account about life and death on the high seas in the 1700’s.

David Grann is da mann

Riveting and incredibly researched; just like every cinematic masterpiece mr Grann writes. Highly recommend. Sometimes I feel sad that adventures are more and more difficult to come by. But, then again: less getting decapitated by cannons. Trade offs, I suppose…