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Summary: The Bounty
Review: I read the "Bounty Trilogy" over 40 years ago, and I never forgot the fascinating story of the Bounty. As the years passed,I read other books on the subject, including Bligh's account of the voyage and mutiny. All were interesting.Finally, we have a wonderful new book on the subject. "The Bounty" could not have been a more enjoyable, and fascinating reading experience. I am still depressed the book is finished. The book tells as true a story of the muntiny as one could expect. It was not,of course, like the old "Bounty Trilogy," but it was written as well, and told a wonderful non-fictionl account of the events. I learned more background, and the fate of the crew and others involved in the mutiny. The section on the court martial was extremely interesting. I think this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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Summary: Good to see a serious history book doing well
Review: In a time when so much rubbish is churning out, it is a relief to see a serious history book doing well! This, and Simon Winchester's book on Krakatoa show that you can write serious history without having to dumb down. Christopher Catherwood, historian, teacher and author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)
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Summary: THE non-fiction book to read this year.
Review: It is an essential read as everyone will soon be discussing it from the water cooler, to npr, to television, from Paris to Kansas City. The added benefit being that this is an exhilarating read in addition to being an important one. It is time we start getting our history from the accurate sources like Alexander and not from Hollywood.
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Summary: Setting the Record Straight
Review: Caroline Alexander's entertaining, impeccably researched book may finally lay to rest the popular notion-fostered primarily through fiction and film-that Captain William Bligh was a sadistic, seafaring monster. "The Bounty" does justice to a man who certainly had his faults as a leader, but who happened to be a brilliant navigator who genuinely cared for the health and welfare of his crew. "The Bounty" is a judicious, well-balanced account of the mutiny that occurred on that ship in April 1789. For more than 200 years, people have discussed the events surrounding the mutiny, including the question of who was to blame for the insurrection-a bloodless event, yet one that ultimately resulted in the loss of many lives. The mutiny generated an astonishing chain of events, including William Bligh's heroic, perilous open boat voyage; the mutineers' attempts to settle in the South Pacific; the Pandora's pursuit and capture of the mutineers, followed by shipwreck and a second open boat voyage; a suspense-filled court-martial; and a tale of murder and redemption on Pitcairn Island, where descendants of the mutineers still live today. Ms. Alexander handles all of these elements with great skill, and her interpretations are solidly based on primary materials, notably contemporary accounts of the people and events. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Peter Heywood not so bad as Alexander says
Review: My family is related to Peter Heywood's and I don't think, after reading over the evidence pro and con, that Heywood was the spoiled, rich man's son that Caroline Alexander makes him out to be. It has long been a "fact" in our family that Peter H. was sort of a Regency St. Francis, famous for giving away everything that he owned, even to the very shirt on his back and the money out of his pockets. That said, Ms. Alexander is a skilled writer, marvelous at painting atmospheres, and both the frigid English manners and the warm, riotous Tahitian "adagios of islands" are luminously evoked. She knows how to lay out a complicated story on several levels at one time, satisfying both the historian in all of us and also the child who likes to hear a romantic tale. The book is beautifully done and I'm not surprised it has been an international bestseller. Has it altered our appreciation of the famous movie with Gable and Laughton? I think not. All of the versions I've seen (including the one with Mel Gibson and the notorious Brando one) have some merit, and the story of conflict is one that keeps repeating itself over and over like a nightmare of civilization. Caroline Alexander sees it as a class fable, in which poor old William Bligh may have whipped a few men here and there, but no worse than the way he was treated as a boy and young man.
So continues the cycle of abuse, lo, even unto the next generation. All in all, a tiptop read.
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Summary: It really is the true story
Review: I (like many others I am sure) believed "Captain" Bligh to have been a cruel, unjust man and therefore thought that the loss of the ship Bounty was essentially his own fault. In short, I watched too many movies. This book gave me an unexpected and a realistic take on what really happened on board his majesty's ship Bounty from the time it left England until years after the last of the mutineers had died. I found it most interesting that even though we have court martial documents and letters of correspondence to prove other wise, Captain Bligh is still remembered as "the villian". Anyone who has even a little bit of interest on this subject should read this book. I am now reading it for the third time and still can't put it down.
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Summary: "Mr. Christian, come here!"
Review: Most people's thoughts about the Bounty mutiny are inevitably based upon the Charles Laughton - Clark Gable movie. There we saw a tyrannical Capt. Bligh and an almost saintly Fletcher Christian. It seems that literature has painted Christian as the "hero' of sorts, with Bligh playing the "evil captain" part. This book attempts an even-handed explanation of what happened on the Bounty. Due to many contradictions in testimony, even from eyewitnesses, this was difficult, but the author has handled the situation quite well. The book reads, at times, like a novel, which makes page-turning a pleasure. All readers will certainly find something new about this famous mutiny within the pages of this book, and I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Maybe more accurate, but less entertaining
Review: The factual differences between this and earlier versions were not apparent to me, and previous renditions are more entertaining.
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Summary: Lifting the Lid on Bligh
Review: Alexander's work is astounding. A result of enormous research and careful study.
No stone is left unturned in this account of the Bounty mutineers and how Bligh's precarious character was used to secure their pardons. Debunks many of the popular myths of Bligh as a draconian slave-driver and re-examines the complicity of the mutineers.
A must for any student of the subject and a jolly good read to boot.
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Summary: An extremely thorough review of the Bounty Mutiny
Review: I gave this book four stars only because it was too thorough, and thus really long for an audio book. Beside that, it was a very good read. The facets of the book are very interesting, in that it touches on multiple aspects that could be books on their own. For example, the treatment of the mutiny court-martial could make a good "Law and Order" episode or movie. The open boat trip makes for a study in survival.
Although some reviewers criticized the focus on Thomas Heywood, I find it interesting to understand the power to revise history. Indeed, the concept of "spin" is an old one. It is amazing how a convicted mutineer could get off scott-free with the right friends and the right spin. It's almost the equivalent of pardoning Squeaky Fromme because she was young and stupid.
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