The Wager - A Real Life "Lord of the Flies"

I actually never got around to discussing the Lord of the Flies element of this book. But trust me it's in there!

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann Published: 2023 352 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

This book is about what happened to HMS Wager, a Royal Navy ship that was shipwrecked on the south coast of Chile in 1741. The journey before the shipwreck was brutal, and it only got worse from there. Out of an initial crew of roughly 250, only about 36 eventually made it back to England.

What's the author's angle?

Grann is a writer for the New Yorker who has written three books centered around unearthing interesting and often tragic historical events. His first book was The Lost City of Z. (Which I have read, and it was quite good.) His second and best known book is Killers of the Flower Moon (which I have not read). This is his third book in that same vein.

Who should read this book?

I quite enjoy books like this: true survival stories, particularly those framed by ambitions and sensibilities we can barely imagine in 2025. It's also history at its pointiest, the tale of a single ship, and really just a handful of men. (The book largely focuses on just three.) If all that sounds appealing, then I think you'll like this book.

Specific thoughts: The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there