A brilliantly researched and written book.

An intimate & tragic account of life at sea & desperate survival. Completely unputdownable. It’s as if Grann were there the whole time.

Enjoyed reading this book immensely. What humans do to survive…. Wow!

A well-researched and well-told tale of misery and the strength of human perseverance.

From land to seas to land to sea and back to land, nothing captures the world of early global navigation like this work. The ramshackle creation of the fleet, the piecemeal manpower and the thin line of leadership that held it together until it could no longer bear weight, is unimaginable. This work grabs the reader from the start and captures the reader’s senses till the last word.

Very well written

Great read! Especially if you’re looking to be entertained while learning history.

A tragedy brought vividly to life. Impossible to put down almost read it cover to cover. You won’t be disappointed.

Descriptive as always. Flows from beginning to end

The research involved to recreate the details leading up to, during and after the voyage are impressive. The sheer madness of the lack of preparedness leading to so many tragedies and deaths is pretty evident. There are so many passages describing events to which you have to ask “why”, not to mention the absurdity of the war mission itself and the final encounter. The narrative, for me, is less engaging than the actual events but, if you are a student of history, naval or not, you will enjoy this book.