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Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

7 reviews

ska1224's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

informative, fast read

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sgodfrey84's review against another edition

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adventurous informative medium-paced

4.0

The descriptions of the weather and sea conditions helped set the atmosphere for the book - you could picture the squalls and the beaches. The style of the writing was informative and I liked the vernacular. If you like history with a tinge of humour but like your history books relatively short (this is mercifully only about 250 pages not including the references and index - I’ve known history books be longer than 500 and so dry to read) this should be satisfying. 

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elenakperez's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Nonfiction that reads like fiction. I didn't want to stop reading. 

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iillianne's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

I think this is a pretty good starter book for anyone looking into naval history. It has all the elements of a good story: dynamic characters, plot & crazy drama & suspense. Author does a good job of compiling several narratives & creating a strong sense of flow in his story telling. My only complaint is the author’s use of pronouns when he’s discussing multiple people at once. A few times I caught myself questioning “who???” But ya I love me a British naval historical account🙂‍↕️

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative slow-paced

2.75

Narrator Rating: 4.0 stars

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced

4.0

This starts out incredibly slow but after chapter 5 grows into a story of mutiny, murder, and survival. You become involved in this insane story of how a British ship and its sailors fight off scurvy, the rough seas, and other crewman to eventually end up back in England depleted and desolate anywhere from a year to five years later. I'm traditionally cautious of non fiction historical books because I find them tedious and boring but, with The Wager, once the initial accounts of send off and troubles at sea are finished, you're immersed into a tumultuous account of the shipwreck. It was interesting and full bodied. 

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bibliomania_express's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann is a gripping and thought-provoking account of the voyage and shipwreck of HMS Wager in the 1740s. Drawing on primary sources and thorough archival research, Grann reconstructs the hardships of the voyage from before the ships set sail, through its perilous journey, shipwreck, mutiny, and court-martial. If you are squeamish about descriptions of disease and death, take care, but I do think Grann tow the lines of factual without going into excessive details. 

The story of the Wager is heartbreaking and amazing, with falliable human ingenuity and the unrelenting power of hope coming up against the forces of nature, disease, delerium, and himan depravity. 

I really enjoyed Grann's writing. He made the story feel engaging as a living narrative rather than a historical account. I also appreciated how he took the time to call out the intrisic racism and imperialist motives of the venture. He made space for the indigenous peoples of South America, the African slave trade, and even class divides amongst the British. 

I was mainly surprised by how the court martial ended, and I appreciated Grann's discussion of why it went the way it did. 

Overall, a fantastic book.
 

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