[.ca] Bounty Unabridged Ca (ISBN 0142800309)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Few episodes in the history of British sea-faring are as gripping and sensational as The Bounty--an account of a mutiny of 1789. While the French were having a revolution in Paris, in the South Pacific a very English coup took place when Master's mate Fletcher Christian deposed Captain Bligh, the ruler of his ship, and set off with his fellow mutineers for a new life in the paradise of Tahiti. The tale has all the ingredients of an adventure--Robinson Crusoe, Captain Cook, Robert Louis Stevenson and Lord of the Flies all rolled into one. And, as Caroline Alexander points out, myth and legend have often got in the way of the real truth of why the mutiny took place. She sets out to find out what really happened, and does so by not only reconstructing the fateful voyage of the ship, but also by focusing in on all the principal and minor characters in the drama. The trouble with this book is that there seems to be too many different tales to tell and the author struggles to keep up with her narrative. Like a lost ship we set sail in one direction only to back-track and recover the same course over again. The promised treasure--why Christian really did it--is never found. Readers wanting a clearer and simpler chart might be better advised to read Captain Bligh's own famous account, and Edward Christian's defence of his brother The Bounty Mutiny and then follow-up with Greg Dening's book, Mr Bligh's Bad Language. --Miles Taylor

Caroline Alexander Reveals the Truth about Bounty:
Caroline Alexander's scholarship (just a glimpse of her notes and resources will serve to convince the skeptical reader!) is most impressive as well as entertaining. I always suspected there was something "off" about those Hollywood portrayals of romantic nonsense about what in fact was an exceptionally cruel chapter about Englishmen in the age of sail, the cruelty being on the shoulders of Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers. The setting of Bligh and the men loyal to him afloat in an open boat in the middle of nowhere -- surely Christian and company assumed their victims would die horrible deaths by slow starvation and thirst? Obviously they couldn't have cared less. Going back to the Hollywood image of Christian as a handsome and glamourous hero (loose white shirt fluttering in the breeze, long hair tossed back) - this is totally laughable. Caroline Alexander sets the record straight about this creep once and for all by mocking him in the passage that concludes he was trying to "out-Byron Byron" (another highly overrated would-be sex symbol). The most important aspect of correcting history is done by the author's changing of Hollywood's image of Captain Bligh as some sort of slavering tyrant. Here Alexander reveals a man who was truly a hero. His maintenance of his men's discipline and hope: the example he set them during that incredible 48-day voyage in the open boat, and his sharing their terrible hardships of thirst and starvation, these matters are what stirred this reader's blood and made up her mind once and for all who was in the right and who was steadfast to his duty. Indeed, the earlier chapters that show Bligh caring deeply about his men's welfare are very touching(in an age when sailors had to be ready for very rough treatment). From his reluctance to use the lash to his "dancing lessons" (the image makes the reader unsure of whether to laugh or cry!) and settle the question once and for all as to who showed true mettle and bravery. Caroline Alexander sets this part of English naval history straight, a long time after the actual events occurred. The matters that she touches on as side issues, such as the heartbreaking account of how the mutineers repaid the love of some Tahitian women by passing on venereal disease to a people that had no defence against it, or the narrative regarding Peter Heywood's (a common murderer) being able to bribe and lie his way out of paying for his crimes at the main court-martial, are certainly fascinating. But the bottom line is that Ms. Alexander shows us once and for all an historical series of events that proves a complete reversal of the usual roles and characters of Mr. Christian and Capt. Bligh.

Tale of the Bounty, and of how the legend came to be:
Caroline Alexander has written an interesting exploration of the mutiny aboard the Bounty, and then, how the legend of the Bounty which has Bligh as a villain and Fletcher Christian as a hero came to be. Alexander is at her strongest when discussing Bligh. She gives us a coherent tale of the man, prior to the Bounty, during the voyage, and afterwards. It is interesting to note the legend of the Bounty becoming established during Bligh's own lifetime, and Bligh's dismissive reaction to that. Perhaps more could have been written concerning the second mutiny against Bligh, twenty years after the first, in Australia. Alexander contents herself with a short defense of Bligh (whom she clearly admires, and in the text devotes herself to his defense) The lengthy description of the court martial of the captured Bounty crew members is another highlight of the book, which is worth reading just for that. Also interesting is the attention devoted to Peter Heyward, a poor relation of several naval families who is convicted in the court martial but is later pardoned and goes on to a successful naval career. Alexander tries very hard to make a connection between Hayward's family connections and the pardon, but the sources are just not there for her. Heyward, interestingly, was also seen as a key character by Nordhoff and Hall, writers of the book "Mutiny on the Bounty", who made the character based on Hayward (Roger Byam) the central character of that book. While the book tells how the Bounty legend began, a chapter continuing past the deaths of the last of the Bounty crew (which ends the book) and showing how the legend reached its present state, with the Nordhoff and Hall trilogy and the several movies, would have been helpful. Greater discussion of the voyage of the mutineers on the Bounty and their lives on Pitcairn Island would also have been good--it receives scanty coverage as is (though Alexander paints a fascinating picture of the efforts to obtain information from Alexander Smith, last of the mutineers on Pitcairn). Good reading. Recommended.

A reassessment of Captain Bligh:
Caroline Alexander attempts to correct popular history and resurrect the reputation of the commander of HMS Bounty, the infamous Captain Bligh, the "celebrated navigator who first transplanted the Bread Fruit Tree from Otaheite to the West Indies." The mutiny on the Bounty in the year 1789 is one of the most famous of stories and Bligh the most infamous of villains. Was he really a villain? The author says no - although she does not paint him in the most attractive of colors. He demonstrated a "relentless perfectionism, an unwavering and exacting adherence to the strictest letter of the laws of his duty." But he was also a navigator of enormous skill, took great pains to ensure the health and welfare of his men, and was very sparing of the lash - by comparison with many of his contemporaries. The motivations of the mutineers are unclear, although they certainly had to do with the seductions (female) of Tahiti and the hardships of life aboard a small ship on a big ocean. Although there is much confusion in a plethora of similar names (Huggan, Hayward, Heywood, etc.) this is a thorough history of all the events of the Bounty story: the voyage to Tahiti, the idyllic five months on the island, the mutiny, the amazing sea voyage of Bligh and his loyalists in a small launch, the hunt for the mutineers, the trial of those captured, the later life of crewmembers of the Bounty, and the discovery many years later of one surviving mutineer on tiny Pitcairn Island. "The Bounty" is a well-written, fascinating, and authoritative account of a trivial but enormously interesting event. The author persuades me that Bligh has been unfairly maligned by history - although he will likely remain secure in his position as one of Hollywood's favorite villains.

A True Bounty Primer:
As others have noted, this book seems to be weighed down by thousands of tiny details, all vying to make an equal contribution to the story as a whole. If you are a first-time explorer into the world of 'Bounty' or you are just looking for yet another rousing telling of a high-seas adventure, this is probably not the book for you. Having read almost everything I could get my hands on dealing with Pitcairn's Island, after first being exposed to the Hollywood version of this piece of history, I found the book enlightening and intriguing. What Ms Alexander has crafted is somewhat akin to the modern version of the DVD extras we commonly see included with deluxe version of some feature films - sort of a "The Making Of..." if you will. It was only after reading this book did I gain a greater understanding of the motivations and implications behind the various actions taken by the many players involved. To be fair, the numerous characters one is introduced to are hard to keep track of and Ms Alexander's penchant for constantly using phrasing that says something along the lines of "this seemingly innocent action/remark will have an unforeseen impact later on" does get tedious. Especially since one can hardly keep track of all these telling instances. The many personal documents and letters referenced are not presented in any judgmental way. Ms Alexander presents the information and simply offers opinions or conjectures on how each piece may weigh into the subject at hand; thus allowing the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. A novel way to present a piece of true history, I think. Hollywood will never be able to do justice to this story, but with the aid of this book, one can enjoy the tale and then come back to this reference work and gain the deeper meanings.

A Bounty Primer:
As others have noted, this book seems to be weighed down by thousands of tiny details, all vying to make an equal contribution to the story as a whole. If you are a first-time explorer into the world of 'Bounty' or you are just looking for yet another rousing telling of a high-seas adventure, this is probably not the book for you. Having read almost everything I could get my hands on dealing with Pitcairn's Island, after first being exposed to the Hollywood version of this piece of history, I found the book enlightening and intriguing. What Ms Alexander has crafted is somewhat akin to the modern version of the DVD extras we commonly see included with deluxe version of some feature films - sort of a "The Making Of..." if you will. It was only after reading this book did I gain a greater understanding of the motivations and implications behind the various actions taken by the many players involved. To be fair, the numerous characters one is introduced to are hard to keep track of and Ms Alexander's penchant for constantly using phrasing that says something along the lines of "this seemingly innocent action/remark will have an unforeseen impact later on" does get tedious. Especially since one can hardly keep track of all these telling instances. The many personal documents and letters referenced are not presented in any judgmental way. Ms Alexander presents the information and simply offers opinions or conjectures on how each piece may weigh into the subject at hand; thus allowing the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. A novel way to present a piece of true history, I think. Hollywood will never be able to do justice to this story, but with the aid of this book, one can enjoy the tale and then come back to this reference work and gain the deeper meanings.