Wreck of the Mentor Reviews

Reviews & Awards for Wreck of the Mentor

The NEW YORK TIMES has selected THE WRECK OF THE MENTOR 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 the underlined title above to read the article.

BOOKSAMILION chooses The Wreck of the Mentor as one of the 2026 History and Current Events Books you need to read.

I have read a lot of books on nautical history over the past 20 years, and one thing I can always count on -- if it's written by Eric Jay Dolin, it's going to be good. . . . What follows is a thorough -- and thoroughly enjoyable -- recounting of the fates of the captain and crew of the Mentor, along with several asides about the native populations of those islands and their customs, as well as other shipwrecks and encounters with the inhabitants in that region of the Pacific. The author packs a lot of information into this book, which is a fairly fast read at just over 200 pages, but it never reads like a dry history text. Dolin has a gift for transforming the nuts and bolts of our nautical past into thrilling adventure, and he doesn't disappoint here. . . . It's unlikely you'll finish The Wreck of the Mentor with very many questions ... except possibly, "When does Dolin's next book come out?" Few historians bring their stories to life so deftly, and anyone captivated by tales of the sea should definitely check him out.—Tom Knapp, Rambles.net

If there was ever a book, ever an author, who can write history and immediately absorb a reader’s complete attention, it’s Eric Jay Dolin and his soon to be released historic story, The Wreck of the Mentor. . . . [The] Mentor is a captivating, true, full of detail story of a 19th century shipwreck of a whaling ship that sailed out of New Bedford Harbor in Massachusetts bringing investors as well as sailors to wealth in the Pacific ocean. . . . The book isn’t necessarily pretty … but neither is life. There are tribal wars, plenty of fighting with axes, clubs, spears and anything else handy, and the crushing stories of how survival is won. Even when it’s painful, a reader cannot stop reading until he has seen what happens next. Dolin makes history thrilling! The book is bound to be a smashing hit once it hits the shelves in June, so those who love maritime stories, history, heroes and cowards, love and culture should put their orders in now for the June release. Oh, yes, of course there is a naval rescue! It’s a true story.

—Muriel J. Smith, Veni Vidi Scripto

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

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