The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail
Eric Jay Dolin
(Liveright, 2026)

Largely lost to the ebb and flow of history, the story of the wreck of the American whaleship Mentor in 1832 speaks to the promise and perils of the whaling industry and the challenge of cross-cultural encounters in the Age of Sail. Dolin vividly reconstructs the Mentor’s voyage to the western Pacific, the years of perilous captivity in the archipelago of Palau, and the delicate negotiations and fraught naval rescue mission that followed. In addition to her captain and crew, the story includes nomadic beachcombers, native chieftains, naval rescuers, and bickering politicians.

This event is presented in partnership with Historic Lewes.

About the Author
Eric Jay Dolin is a maritime historian and best-selling author of seventeen books. He studied biology and environmental policy at Brown before earning his master’s in environmental management at Yale and his Ph.D. in environmental policy and planning at MIT. Dolin and his family live in Marblehead, MA.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partner —  The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2026 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, the Red Wagon Foundation, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Griswold Home Care for Sussex & Kent Counties and Groome Church; our Closing event is presented by the Delaware Community Foundation. The Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library for event promotion and production; Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival; and Historic Lewes for event promotion and author hospitality. Thanks also to the Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.