It could be termed a comedy of errors, if anything funny were happening. But no, the events chronicled in Eric Jay Dolin's Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery, & Survival at the Edge of the World are anything but comical, although there are plenty of mistakes made along the way by pretty much everyone involved in the story.

It involves an ambitious seal-hunting expedition to the Falkland Islands by a crew of Americans aboard the Nanina, as well as a poorly captained ship, the Isabella, returning to England from a prison colony in Australia and, much later, the brig Nancy, part of a well-intentioned but overly aggressive British "rescue" mission. Set during the years of the War of 1812, it throws people together from two warring nations, although not everyone is aware of the conflict. It demonstrates people at their best and, more often, the worst examples of human nature.

There are also callous decisions that, unnecessarily, leave five men to live -- much like Robinson Crusoe -- alone on the island with limited resources for 534 days. That everyone survived is remarkable.

The story begins in 1812 and doesn't come to its full conclusion until 1816. Through it all, the author -- who has proven himself many times over a master at relating maritime history -- relates the facts in an interesting narrative that is often hard to put down. It could almost be fiction, although Dolin doesn't embellish his text with presumed actions and made-up quotations; rather, he sticks closely to the source material, crafting a thoroughly researched story into riveting prose.

Dolin also weaves pertinent details from global politics, natural history and other arenas into the tale. By the end, readers will have learned a whole lot more than they expected.

Through it all, readers will be kept on the edge of their seats as Dolin describes naval calamities, ingenuity in the face of disaster, flaring tempers, fortunes made and lost, abandonment, courage, privation and despair, a long voyage in a small boat, greed, useful survival skills, intrigue, deceit, betrayals, reconciliations, bad weather, one very plucky dog, and a stubborn unwillingness to give up and die on a lonely island far from home. (If you're sensitive to that sort of thing, there's also a very high body count among the Falkland Islands' seal, sea lion, hog and avian populations.)

Left for Dead is anything but dull. Fans of history (nautical or otherwise) and tales of survival will absolutely love this book.

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