Left for Dead

Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World

By: Eric Jay Dolin

Narrated by: L.J. Ganser

In Left for Dead, Eric Jay Dolin—“one of today’s finest writers about ships and the
sea” (American Heritage)—tells the true story of a wild and fateful encounter
between an American sealing vessel, a shipwrecked British brig, and a British
warship in the Falkland archipelago during the War of 1812.

Fraught with misunderstandings and mistrust, the incident left three British sailors
and two Americans, including the captain of the sealer, Charles H. Barnard,
abandoned in the barren, windswept, and inhospitable Falklands for a year and a
half. With deft narrative skill and unequaled knowledge of the very pith of the
seafaring life, Dolin describes in vivid and harrowing detail the increasingly
desperate existence of the castaways during their eighteen-month ordeal—an all-too-common fate in the Great Age of Sail.

A tale of intriguing complexity, with surprising twists and turns throughout—
involving greed, lying, bullying, a hostile takeover, stellar leadership, ingenuity,
severe privation, endurance, banishment, the great value of a dog, the birth of a
baby, a perilous thousand-mile open-ocean journey in a seventeen-foot boat, an
improbable rescue mission, and legal battles over a dubious and disgraceful
wartime prize—Left for Dead shows individuals in wartime under great duress
acting both nobly and atrociously, and offers a unique perspective on a pivotal era
in American maritime history.

“An absorbing adventure that explores the dark shadows of instinct and self-preservation, and the hardships and stress that stretch the bonds of humanity.
Fascinating reading.”—Stephen R. Bown, author of Island of the Blue Foxes:
Disaster and Triumph on the World’s Greatest Scientific Expedition

©2024 Eric Jay Dolin (P)2024 Recorded Books

How the author developed the characters

Chilling account of abandonment and ultimate survival. Live the insight into the perils during the age of sail. Well researched.

Fascinating times; regular people, hard things

I think the most amazing part of this story is that for the time it wasn't that unusual. Ship finds survivors of a wreck, then part of the crew gets stranded. People just used what they had to survive, thinking that there would be another ship or other shipwreck survivors coming shortly. Like if you missed your bus and just waited for the next one. But the next one could be a year or two.

I know they had probability on their side being in a relatively well traveled lane with common stopping points for fresh food and water. But still, this is regular people doing really hard things and making it work.

Also, a great look into the life of the times and in the age of sail. Seeing who helps who and how group dynamics work for survival or don't for those that didn't make it. So many close calls and hardships that are survived. In this time of instant gratification, just thinking back to a time when you could wait a year for your delivery and it could be late 6 months or more. Helps to realize how times have changed and gratitude for the conveniences of modern life. And how few people could survive in a situation like that now.

Disjointed

I had a hard time following the storyline because it felt that it jumped around a lot.

never a dull moment

you will like this book guaranteed. pure survival adventure. great audio reader as well peace

Those humans were something else.

Just by reading this book you get an idea of the hardships they faced. But by having the opportunity to visit the area described and tasting the elements they faced, even on a far more comfortable condition, we must bow with astonishment for what they accomplished with so little resources. Very well researched and written.

Great history

Well researched and well written with a good flow. A very good listen. Better than fiction.

An interesting read

Its a very solid book, read well - though falling just short of the excitement and drama of other selections from the genre ive read.

Amazing story and narrator

I really liked the story, very compelling and lets you dive in on how people thought and how laws worked back then

Riveting and Nail-Biting!

A strongly captivating story, with nearly as many plot twists as a novel, though it be a true story.

Nauseating violence

The prologue promises an intriguing story but the early chapters of background relate tale after tale of horrific animal slaughter: sea otters exterminated from their native grounds, seals clubbed to death in their thousands, with proper sealing technique lovingly described. The nauseating violence against animals is leavened by a story of nauseating violence against a child, which leads to a story of grotesque emotional and financial abuse by a father against a son. The writing is stolidly matter of fact, as if discussing the weather, which adds to the horror. It’s real life, that’s the way humans are, but don’t start this book unless you want your face rubbed in it.