The Importance of Byron's Writing

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In many ways he is an innocent and a child viewing these events. He just becomes an entryway for us as well to see these events through those kind of eyes. I was equally fascinated by Bokely and cheap. Cheap is a deeply flawed character and tempestuous, filled with dreams of glory,. Also very brave, very dutiful. And so even when he is, you know, doing crazy things, you understood him. The other thing that's so striking about on the island with so many other people is, youknow, they're all fallible. Some of them just show remarkable courage and bravery at times and gallantry. Another moment, they will do an act

David Grann is a staff writer for The New Yorker. His new book is The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.

“I became very haunted by the stories that [nations] don't tell. Nations and empires preserve their powers not only by the stories they tell, but also by the stories they leave out. … Early in my career, if I came across the silences in a story, I might not have highlighted them, because I thought, Well, there's nothing to tell there. And now I try to let the silences speak.”

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