The Wager is a ship that capsized in treacherous waters off the coast of Patagonia in 1740. From sailor’s log books, their personal writings, history books about the Wager and other well researched writings, Grann presents an exciting, tragic tale of what men do when they are faced with desperate circumstances.

Although I’m usually not a fan of seafaring books, I wanted to read The Wager because I enjoyed David Grann’s other works of nonfiction. The Wager did not disappoint. It is exciting, frightening and poses complicated dilemmas. There are a number of crew members that are described at the beginning of the book. At first it was a bit difficult to keep them straight, but eventually they all are sorted out with their own jobs and personalities.