Hardcover
Shipwrecked sailors face peril and cultural collision in the Pacific.

The Wreck of the Mentor

A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail

$66.12

  • Hardcover

    272 pages

  • Release Date

    18 July 2026

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Summary

From the best-selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters comes the story of the American whaleship Mentor, wrecked in 1832 on a remote reef in the western Pacific. With supplies dwindling, the eleven surviving crewmen face not only the miseries of shipwreck in unfamiliar territory but also the profound uncertainty of contact with the Indigenous people of the Micronesian archipelago of Palau, who within days approach the deserted men brandishing axes, clubs, and spears. In th…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781324096320
ISBN-10:1324096322
Author:Eric Jay Dolin
Publisher:W W Norton & Co Ltd
Imprint:Liveright Publishing Corporation
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:272
Release Date:18 July 2026
Weight:552g
Dimensions:25mm x 163mm x 244mm
A-Format
B-Format
C-Format
The Wreck of the Mentor by Eric Jay Dolin - ISBN: 9781324096320
163 × 244 mm
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Mr. Dolin is an experienced hand at nautical adventure; this is his 17th book. In addition to recounting an exciting and at times almost unbelievably dramatic story, the author helps readers appreciate how Western visitors affected the delicate balance of power among indigenous cultures. The Wreck of the Mentor makes for less-guilty adventure reading, depicting a scenario where the odds were leveled by circumstance.” – Michael O’Donnell - The Wall Street Journal
”[Eric Jay Dolin] is a talented researcher and natural storyteller… Dolin’s masterful storytelling is on full display as he details how the shipwrecked men faced indecision, intrigue and sheer terror in a part of the world they barely knew.” – Michael Taube - The Spectator
“The Wreck of the Mentor is a fascinating adventure story – one which the Age of Sail produced few quite like. Dolin’s keen observational eye will ensure that it will never be forgotten again.” – Michael Taube - The Spectator

About The Author

Eric Jay Dolin

Eric Jay Dolin is the best-selling author of numerous works in maritime history, including Left for Dead, Black Flags, Blue Waters, and Leviathan. His books have won many awards including the John Lyman Award for U.S. Maritime History, Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Excellence in American History Book Award, and the Samuel Eliot Morison Book Award for Naval Literature. He was also a finalist for the Kirkus Prize. He now lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family.

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