While the story of the Wager and its crew are actually a crazy true story of hardiness and survival, Grann goes even further and makes the story less about the shipwreck and subsequent events. But rather about the vast power of empire and how they have the ability to undermine history with the flick of a hand. Any book that focuses so heavily on the silences in the archives and in society are a 10/10 to me. Call them out, and Grann does so beautifully.