David Grann on 'The Wager'

Westport native and New York Times best-selling author of "Killers of the Flower Moon" David Grann returned to Westport to talk about his latest acclaimed book, "The Wager."

Recorded June 22, 2023, via Verso Studios at The Westport Library.

Keep Learning with the Library:

[lauriekay]

I know nothing about sailing, yet David Grann is such a talented writer, there was nothing that I couldn’t understand in The Wager.

[tvthayer]

You can open this book to any page and immediately be swept up in the high drama and emotion of The Wager.

[HS-nftf]

Absolutely superb book. I honestly couldn't recommend it enough.

[MatthewGlenn]

Awesome book and beautiful song at the end. Quite possibly my favorite book to date.

[alhines]

I couldn’t put the book down! Quite a read. I was a Minesweeper Sailor in the 60’s

[michaelstrickland]

Really enjoyed the book and realized how tough and determined these people were!

[jeanie]

Well articulated story that kept my attention throughout. Very interesting.

[MaryJaneHancock]

Such a great book & song. Talented family. Thank you for posting. ❤

[Bill-zcem]

Brilliant book! Couldn't put it down.

[Ajaw]

Read the book in two days, couldn"t stop. Very well written. Thanks

[laurencecahill]

The account of what they went through even before they started was horrific enough. They endured the most extreme challenges imaginable for years yet somehow Anson captured a treasure galleon across the Pacific off the Philippines with the skeletal remains of the crews and brought unimaginable wealth home. That any of the Wager crew survived is hard to believe!

[richard]

This is an amazing book for anyone interested in the sea, 18th century sailing ships, and the behavior of men under unimaginable stress. I do wish The Wesport Library could have done a better job of managing their audio-visual equipment. The repeated failures were distracting.

[Hangnailer]

Just finished reading it. Really captures and illustrates the many trails the Captain and crew experienced at sea and the internal conflicts and desperation for survival as well as the fear of going against the English Navy’s articles of war and potential punishments that would take place in England halfway across the world if they were to make it back home despite their horrid conditions on Wager island. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t but you’re also starving. Definitely worth the read and happy to hear they’re making a movie out of it.

[aldarroch]

This book was so damn good. Do not pass this up... but I'm preaching to the choir.

[bkvision]

Never in my life would I have expected the Creed-meets-Meatloaf balladry exhibited in the unofficially official song of The Wager. Incredible.

[lisalasoya]

Next to Leo Urinis, this book is a tug-of-war mystery. It haves it's moments of lure. On January 28, 1742 a ramshackle vessed of patched together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside, were 30 emaciated men. All with tuphis, in some instances, some survived, but the rest were ravines' and so the story is told.

[rhino_sailor]

Where can I find a recording of the song Davids son wrote. Amazingly cool song!

[Chef_]

If you enjoyed this book, try Astoria by Peter Stark

[rolos]

nelson didn't come from aristocracy ... he progressed through skill and risk. class played a part but was not the only thing. typical bs using known truths to spread your own 'story'

[rihardhedley]

Many good books were written on The Wager before David Granns'. Historians in Chile and UK have known the details and written sbout this survival story. Seems a bit too disingenious to promote this as a fresh research project. The local Spanish put together a salvage party the following year, survivors appeared and found the wreck.. This story is famous in Chile as their history is full of naval battles with the British. This ine occured before the American War of Independance.