The Wager

I usually like stories of shipwrecks and such but this one went off on tangents too much for me. Especially towards the end, a few other stories are discussed that I felt were unnecessary. Without a lot of history knowledge most of the other stories were new to me as well and kind of distracting. Apart from that I enjoyed it.

The book delivers on its title. The author is the same guy who wrote Killers of the Flower Moon and he sure know how to write page-turners. Here, the basic story is about a squadron of British ships that, in 1740, were sent to chase after a Spanish galleon to steal its supposed load of silver. In order to do that, the squadron would have to round Cape Horn. A lot happens. Three different groups from the original crews make it back to England after about 6 years, some were shipwrecked, some carried out the mission, and two different groups of castaways ended back home through separate routes. It is a rich narrative, and a darn good story. Colonialism still sucks.