The Wager, David Grann

The Wager is a great adventure, and I definitely enjoyed it more that David Gramm’s other heavily-lauded book, Killers of the Flower Moon. I am always impressed when a non-fiction writer can unearth and weave together tiny scraps of history to form a gripping narrative. In The Wager, Grann does this so well. The level of detail is exquisite, and it’s clearly due to his diligent reading and synthesis of the surviving primary sources.

Undoubtedly, Grann had to take some creative liberties and shade in some blank spaces, but when he does so it never feels heavy-handed or immersion-breaking. Each of the main characters, particularly Captain Cheap, John Byron, and Bulkeley are well-sketched and I really enjoyed getting each of their perspectives on what transpired on Wager Island.

Just as strong as a the character work, is Grann’s world-building. The setting of Wager Island and its environs seems almost supernatural; a perfect blend between desolate and beautiful; dramatic and haunting. This backdrop is essential to conveying the stakes for the Wager’s crew.

Finally, what I appreciated most is the way in which Grann uses the tale of The Wager to touch on several bigger political and cultural themes of the age. The mindset of the age of exploration and European colonial rivalry is very much front and center in the portions of this book that zoom out from the Wager’s crew and their immediate survival needs. Grann goes so far as to argue in the concluding chapters that the relative obscurity of The Wager tale is largely due to its incompatibility with imperial tales of naval grandeur and the nobility of European civilization. Less overtly, lovers of English literature and early modern British culture will appreciate the ways in which the tale of The Wager would go on to influence Lord Byron (and by extension, generations of Romantic and Gothic literature) as well as maritime novelists like Herman Melville. The vividness of this world also offers hints as to the origins of colonial-era European folklore, fantasy, and proto-science fiction.

Overall, The Wager is a great non-fiction read. It tells a fascinating tale at a quick pace and never overstays its welcome. I would definitely recommend it to lovers of history and good old adventure.