A sailing ship battles turbulent waves in the foreground beneath a dark, stormy sky with the text "The WRECK of the MENTOR" written across the top.

Andover Center for History and Culture

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<table><tbody><tr><td>The Wreck of the Mentor - by Eric Jay Dolin - author lecture and book signing</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1738269757/kylbk8wvu9apdt4fik3e.jpg" style="width:213px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;position:relative;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790179449/wysiwyg/l4jwosk7qeccokrhkax9.jpg" style="width:218px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;max-width:100%" />The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail An astonishing true story―one of the most gripping maritime sagas of the nineteenth century―told by our era’s “expert literary steersman” (Washington Post). 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 this gripping saga of cultural collision, tribal wars, and dashed hopes, award–winning historian Eric Jay Dolin vividly reconstructs the Mentor’s doomed voyage, the years of perilous captivity, and the delicate negotiations and fraught naval rescue mission that followed. Illustrated by more than 100 images and maps, The Wreck of the Mentor is at once a powerful story of survival and a revealing window into the great Age of Sail―a time when maritime ambition collided with local sovereignty, and when the outcome of one voyage rippled across oceans and empires. The Wreck of the Mentor was recently selected by The New York Times as one of the most anticipated nonfiction books of 2026! The title of the article is "The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026" (click on this link to read the article -- <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/books/review/most-anticipated-nonfiction-books-2026.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LlA.eXpu.I1yrEllP6_d7&amp;smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/books/review/most-anticipated-nonfiction-books-2026.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LlA.eXpu.I1yrEllP6_d7&amp;smid=url-share</a> ). “A vivid castaway story. From the Odyssey to Lord of the Flies, the shipwreck genre may be the world’s oldest, and few readers will object to this addition from best-selling maritime historian Dolin. High-seas adventures that’ll keep readers hungrily turning the pages.” —Kirkus Reviews The Wreck of the Mentor is number 15 on the New York Times bestseller list for June 21, and number 12 on the NYT combined e-book/hardcover bestseller list. It is also number 5 on the bestseller list for Independent booksellers, for the week ending June 7. It also recently jumped onto the Boston Globe bestseller list.  <table><tbody><tr><td>(Liveright, 288 pages, 92 bw images, 8-page color insert, map, June 2, 2026)</td></tr></tbody></table> JOIN US! A collaboration with Andover Bookstore Eric Jay Dolin books will be available at the event <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1738269593/owhq11aptfpt4gvl8kea.png" style="width:271px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto;text-align:center;position:relative;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" /> Eric Jay Dolin Bio:           Eric Jay Dolin is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen books, including Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America; A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes; Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates; and Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution. His forthcoming book (June 2, 2026), is The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail. Dolin's 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 for Adult Nonfiction; Samuel Eliot Morison Book Award for Naval Literature; L. Byrne Waterman Book Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research and Pedagogy in the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences; James P. Hanlan Book Award; and the Outdoor Writers Association of America Book Award. Many of his books have been chosen as “must reads” by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Other honors include being chosen as a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, and as one of the best books of the year by The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, the Library Journal, and Booklist. Dolin lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family. Location: Andover Center for History and Culture97 Main StreetAndover, MA 01810 *PLEASE NOTE: Zeffy is a free platform for nonprofits, however they include an intrusive ask for donations to the platform. To remove their intrusive request, select "Other" in the drop down and enter zero (0)</td></tr></tbody></table>