Jake Grossman's Book of the Month - The Wager

“Astonishingly, that much-maligned ship kept going. Hemorrhaging water, she sailed on through the Gulf of Pain- without a mast, without a rudder, without a captain on the quarterdeck. The men quietly cheered her on. Her fate was theirs, and she fought with all she was worth, proudly, defiantly, nobly.” 

I am not particularly shy when it comes to my interest in studying history. Consequently, people know that I am always looking for a new read. I guiltily admit that I have a pretty lengthy list of books I need to get to (do not worry I’ll get to them)! Sometimes, however, a book sounds so interesting I have to get right to it. That was the case when our friends Dr. Ned and Dr. Julie Sharpless told me about a book authored by David Grann called The Wager:  a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder. They emphatically told me about a secret mission that ends in shipwreck, a possible mutiny, a miraculous escape back to England, and the following tempestuous court case. I knew I had to check it out. Not only did I read the Wager, I chose to write about it for this month’s OBF’s book review! 

The Wager is a nonfiction narrative that traces the events of a ship, The Wager, and the crew, during the War of Jenkins' Ear in the 1740s. The Wager was one of the smaller vessels (123 feet) in an armada of British ships on a mission to harass Spanish merchant ships on the western side of South America. Of great interest for the English was a Spanish galleon that was supposedly lurking in those waters. Without giving away too much I can safely say that not everything goes “swimmingly” for the Wager.

Map of the Wager Route- Jeffery Ward found inside The Wager

Problems plague the expedition throughout, yet escalate as the fleet rounds Cape Horn. Mariners must traverse a narrow channel that has no aid to navigation (no lighthouse!) with prevailing high winds, large waves, and strong currents that quite often become a nuisance. The Wager successfully rounds the Cape but becomes separated from the rest of the fleet in the process. 

The Wager was now alone with a struggling and dejected crew riddled with scurvy.

Indeed, at least 50 out of the 250-person crew had already succumbed to the disease. Grann highlighted that scurvy “killed more mariners than all other threats- including gun battles, tempests, wrecks, and other diseases- combined.” Included in the deceased was the captain David Cheap’s nephew and apprentice, “Henry Cheap, AB, DD [discharged dead] … at sea.” Of those who remained a sailor wrote were “so weak and so much reduced that we could hardly walk the deck.” Two of the most prevailing symptoms of scurvy are fatigue and poor night vision, not ideal symptoms for sailors in rough waters. Thus, it is rather unsurprising, that the Wager ends up running aground on a small island off the west coast of Patagonia. Yet, this is not the end of the story (although it is of my summary as to not give away too much). On the contrary, this is where it truly begins. 

Copperplate engraving from George Anson, "A Voyage to the South Seas, and to Many Other Parts of the World," pub. R. Walker, London 1745. British Library, London

David Grann vivified the sailors through a myriad of sources such as logbooks, government records, sea ballads, and sketches from the voyage, in such a deft way that will leave any historian in awe.  Yet the book is by no means narrowly targeted to historians. Grann weaves his source work into eloquent prose to create an approachable narrative for a general audience. Not only will readers enjoy the book, they will learn from it. One of my personal highlights was learning about the Kawesqar (need to add the accent over the e) peoples. They were a nomadic indigenous people who developed such effective ways of staying warm in Arctic temperatures that NASA looked to them to train astronauts on how to survive on a frozen planet. Methods I am certain Grann pondered when he stayed on Wager Island for three weeks to research the book! Whereas I must praise his source work and storytelling, I do admit, I have a couple of very small critiques. 

Author David Grann

Grann went with end notes instead of foot-notes. I admit I do prefer foot-notes, yet, end-notes are certainly more approachable, so I might be in the minority there. The book is not very long, 257 pages, but towards the end I was losing stamina. I feel that is a testament to Grann’s ability to encapsulate the reader with the utter misery experienced by the characters, rather than a sign that the narrative was dragging. Regardless of these minor hitches, I cannot recommend this yarn of maritime mayhem enough. Stop by the Museum Store (is that what we are calling the shop?) to grab your copy and discover why a lighthouse would have solved this book's entire premise.