The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

I was recommended this book by Kai Ryssdal (the host of Marketplace) and I'm glad I borrowed this from the library.

The story is of the HMS Wager, a British warship in the 1700s that was on a mission around Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America. The ship wrecked off the coast of Chile and the men were stranded on an island that became known as Wager Island. It involves a mutiny and two separate groups from the survivors surviving and eventually making their way back to Britain.

David Grann does a great job of telling the story of the ship, and its survivors efforts to stay alive and survive with very few resources, and little knowledge on how to survive in what were horrific conditions. The book is based off the journals of John Bulkeley, John Byron, and others.

It was a captivating story and one I hadn't heard of before. I really enjoyed the way Grann told it. The mutiny and conflicting reports prevented a complete history and understanding of what truly happened, but Grann was able to weave the ends together in such a way to still give the reader a good idea of what happened, while still being clear about what might never be known.

It has the aura of a real life mystery and I enjoyed it.