England and Spain have never been best friends, to put it nicely. Occasionally they've broken out into actual war. This book centers around a time of such conflict, when in the 1740s England decided to commission a fleet led by a Commander Anson to go after Spanish galleons and loot them for their gold.

It was a disaster. By the time they actually set sail, they were headed for the worst weather of the year around the Cape Horn. There were already problems before they got there, including scurvy, but by the time they got to the bottom of South America, the fleet had broken up and one of the ships, The Wager, ran aground. Mayhem and mutiny ensued, along with starvation and murder.

I don't know why I love these nautical disaster books so much. I'm a total landlubber. I can't even swim. I didn't even see the ocean until I was an adult. But for whatever reason, I love reading these books. This one definitely did not disappoint. It was full of drama and emotion, and the best part was that it was all true and taken from the accounts written by the actual survivors. If you like tales of shipwreck or disaster, add this one to your list. I raced through it and I'm so glad I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book. This did not affect my review.

David Grann's research is apparent in this book as he takes the reader along for a perilous ride around the cape!

Shocking