The Wager

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann

Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

#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

Critic reviews

#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

Great story- wish there was a different narrator

The story was amazing. I very much enjoyed it. However, the narrator left a lot to be desired. Taking breaths, where they should not be, felt very disjointed. I can see there was an effort to be excited about the story however, the emphasis in the paragraphs was frequently misplaced. This made it challenging to listen to.

Disappointing

With no interesting central character to cheer for, this story is a slog. Had high hopes that it would be like “River of Doubt” but those hopes were dashed.

The Wager

A story of survival and mutiny on a voyage gone wrong. The reader is breathless with excitement, which is a bit tiring.

Well written, great research.

I. Enjoyed listening to this book. The details about the ship, the sailors’ jargon. Reminded me of Moby Dick. Most of all I am impressed by all the research the writer must have done to tell the story of a forgotten piece of history.

Well Done!! Fantastic Sea Story

I finished Patrick O’Brian last year and was excited to see another sea story come to publication Worthy read

Narrator Ruins It

This would have been an exciting account of harrowing maritime disaster. Instead, the narrator's hammy overacting gets in the way of the text. Why didn't someone give him better direction? If he had read the narration straight and only acted the dialogue, the audiobook would have worked better. But he acts out the entire book, overenunciating words in a goofy imitation of Barack Obama doing a goofy imitation of William Shatner turned up to one thousand. I recommend reading a print copy of this book.

Duplicity abounds

Great writing and performance. Such hardship, hunger, mendacity and national cruelty. A very good read.

Hmmmmmm

Not sure where to start. I’ll still can’t determine if I just listened to a piece of fiction or non fiction. It read like a documentary a lot of the time. The narration was a little breathy and I had my fingers on the volume constantly bc the sound went way up and then way down. I picked it bc I heard an intriguing interview with the author on npr.

Exciting true story

A real page turner, drags a little at times, but still well worth the time. It should prove an exciting movie as well since Spielberg and diCaprio have the rights

Excellent story and narration

Riveting story told in an excellent manner. Truth can be more shocking than fiction. Thankful for this account.