The Wager’s in-depth views of the major players make them feel genuinely realistic without the author making too many assumptions about their words and actions. At times, the book strays too far from the wreck itself, giving a lot of focus to the fleet that the Wager was part of and the exploit’s of that fleet’s commander after being separated from the Wager.
Ultimately, it’s hard to rate books about maritime- or really any expeditious- disasters without letting the story of the disaster itself color the decision. The wreck of the HMS Wager brought out some of the worst of humanity. When compared to other events, for example the Shackleton expedition to Antarctica, it seems atrocious, yet the book is easily as good as Alfred Lansing’s “Endurance.”