axelaubl's Book Journey

An immersive and gripping tale, sure to hook even readers "not into history." The nature of this microhistory inherently lends itself to a narrative style, and Grann paints scenes by bringing in various contemporaneous sources, facts, and standards of the time period and naval life to enhance his foundation of primary source material of journals and first-hand accounts from the journey. The narration from Dion Graham is impeccable, truly situating the listener on the 18th century ship through Grann's words.

I have never felt closer to climbing the treacherous levels of a mast, harassed by the wind, cold, and sea spray, as the ship rocks on the waves. This is only one example of how Grann pulls in details to fill out the sparse and technical logbooks of the crew. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone, whether they are interested in history or especially if they aren't. The Wager would serve as a great intro in how history can be interesting for those who were bored in high school and haven't wanted to try anything since! Especially the Dion Graham narration.

Grann thoroughly documents and explains the entire final journey of The Wager, from the dockyards to Wager Island to the aftermath both back in London and the remainder of the fleet around the world. He even explains how such a sensational story was quietly dismissed and relegated to the lesser-known annals of history.