This book deserves all the accolades it is receiving; Grann has done his usual fastidious job of researching and then making the research disappear into a fascinating story. Unlike many of the shipwreck stories told recently, the tale of the ‘Wager’ begins with war, as the ship joined a flotilla of British warships out of harass and capture Spanish ships during the War of Jenkins’ Ear in the 1740s. The fact that the ship’s loss happened in the cause of war and imperialism put different pressures on the crew, particularly once some had miraculously returned to England and were court-martialed for mutiny. Was the ‘Wager’s’ Capt. Cheap in the wrong or was his crew? In the meantime, Grann tells a fascinating story of around-the-world travel, the primitive navigation (pre-longitude), the ferocious weather of the southern hemisphere, the mores of British sailors, and the dim understanding of disease onboard. The only thing I could have wished was a little insight into reaction at home once the ships failed to return, but perhaps the sources did not exist. Highly recommend.