The Wager. A True Story of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder

1740, Britain. His Majesty's ship "The Wager" sets off in pursuit of a Spanish galleon. On board are 250 strong healthy men. 1742, Brazil. A makeshift boat arrives at the shore with the remnants of the crew of "The Wager" – 30 half-dead emaciated sailors who survived scurvy, a shipwreck, managed to reach an uninhabited island, survived, and returned. Their homeland welcomed them as heroes. Newspapers wrote about them, each received financial compensation. And four years later… three more members of the "Wager" crew returned from hell – the captain and two of his assistants, who had been considered dead for several years. Their version of events shocked everyone... The British authorities decided to convene a military tribunal – to determine what really happened – and the guilty party would face the death penalty... Cinematic and gripping, David Grann's book "The Wager" is the story of a voyage in which everything went awry; it is a saga about how harsh conditions at the brink of survival can strip away human identity, push towards betrayal... and even murder.