"As much a rousing adventure as an exploration of the power of narratives to shape our perception of reality." -- The New York Times

"Glorious, steely...a tightly written, relentless, blow-by-blow account that is hard to put down" -- The Washington Post

"Propulsive....finely-detailed...a ripping yarn...remarkable." -- The Boston Globe

"Riveting...The Wager reads like a thriller, tackling a multilayered history--and imperialism--with gusto." -- Time Magazine

"The most gripping sea-yarn I've read in years....A tour de force of narrative nonfiction. Mr. Grann's account show how storytelling, whether to judges or readers, can shape individual and national fortunes - as well as our collective memories" -- Wall Street Journal

"The story of the shipwreck and its aftermath features scenery-chewing characters, unexpected twists and an almost unimaginable amount of human misery. Grann, the author of the acclaimed

"Killers of the Flower Moon," tells it with style. He manages to wring maximum drama out of the events and sketch out nuanced portraits of key players on the doomed ship." -- Associated Press

"A genre-defying literary naval-history thriller, part Master and Commander, part Lord of the Flies" -- Vanity Fair

"A thrilling account...dramatic and engrossing." -- The Economist

"A masterclass in story-telling...With a series of twists and turns worthy of a well-plotted thriller, the author of 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' uncovers an epic sea-faring tale...Epic true story as told by a master... David Grann has produced this riveting book...with the artistry of a superb novelist." -- The Toronto Star

"Not just a good but a great story, fraught with duplicity, terror and occasional heroism... the story of the Wager is, like many of its antecedents -- from Homer's

"Odyssey" to

"Mutiny on the Bounty" -- a testament to the depths of human depravity and the heights of human endurance, and you can't ask for better than that from a story...The Wager will keep you in its grip to its head-scratching, improbable end." -- Los Angeles Times

"[Grann's] meticulously researched stories, with their spare, simmering setups that almost always deliver stunning payoffs, have made him one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today...[Grann] has mastered a streamlined, propulsive type of narrative that readers devour for its hide-and-seek reveals...David's stuff reads like literature, but every detail, every quote, every seemingly implausible glimpse into a subject's mind is accounted for" -- New York Magazine

"Your favorite writer's favorite writer for decades...David Grann is poised to become the moment's leading storyteller... [Grann] specializes in gripping historical chronicles and crime stories...so rich in intrigue that they would strain credulity in fiction...[Grann's] become one of our culture's leading sources of holy shit page-turners." -- GQ

"David Grann is one of the premier nonfiction storytellers of our time...Grann's masterful new book...is at once an adventure on the high seas, a horror story, and a courtroom drama -- a little bit Rashomon meets Lord of the Flies." -- Rolling Stone