"Written like a sea story should be written, with all the legendary action. A fascinating read." —Clive Cussler

Academy Award–winning actor Gene Hackman spins a cinematic tale of pirates, shipwrecks, and sea adventure. Co-written with Daniel Lenihan, one of America's leading authorities on shipwrecks and diving, Wake of the Perdido Star is a moving story of a young boy's coming of age on the high seas, full of authentic nautical and historical detail. Wake of the Perdido Star is a captivating tale about friendship, justice, and survival.

In 1805 seventeen-year-old Jack O'Reilly sets sail with his parents from Salem, Massachusetts, aboard the Perdido Star. Jack is full of high hopes at the prospect of a new life in his mother's homeland of Cuba, but shortly after the family arrives, tragedy strikes, and in a desperate escape, Jack rejoins the departing Star as a member of the crew.

For the next three years Jack encounters storms, shipwreck, hostile and friendly natives, and enemy vessels as he travels around Cape Horn to the South Sea islands, the Philippines, and around the Cape of Good Hope. But throughout his adventures, his obsession to return to Cuba for revenge dominates his life, and his daring actions become the talk of the men of other vessels.

This book ranks among those in the long tradition of classic sea adventure novels—full of authentic historical and nautical detail, including realistic descriptions of underwater diving and salvage operations of the early nineteenth century. Jack O'Reilly provides a moving portrait of an adolescent struggling toward adulthood as he learns the meaning of justice, friendship, and survival.