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The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty (2003)

by Caroline ALEXANDER

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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1,5043011,923 (3.89)83
More than two centuries have passed since Master's Mate Fletcher Christian mutinied against Lieutenant Bligh on a small, armed transport vessel called Bounty. Why the details of this obscure adventure at the end of the world remain vivid and enthralling is as intriguing as the truth behind the legend. In giving the Bounty mutiny its historical due, Caroline Alexander has chosen to frame her narrative by focusing on the court-martial of the ten mutineers who were captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in England. This fresh perspective revivifies the entire saga, and the salty, colorful language of the captured men themselves conjures the events of that April morning in 1789, when Christian's breakdown impelled every man on a fateful course: Bligh and his loyalists on the historic open boat voyage that revealed him to be one of history's great navigators; Christian on his restless exile; and the captured mutineers toward their day in court. As the book unfolds, each figure emerges as a full-blown character caught up in a drama that may well end on the gallows. And as Alexander shows, it was in a desperate fight to escape hanging that one of the accused defendants deliberately spun the mutiny into the myth we know today-of the tyrannical Lieutenant Bligh of the Bounty. Ultimately, Alexander concludes that the Bounty mutiny was sparked by that most unpredictable, combustible, and human of situations-the chemistry between strong personalities living in close quarters. Her account of the voyage, the trial, and the surprising fates of Bligh, Christian, and the mutineers is an epic of ambition, passion, pride, and duty at the dawn of the Romantic era.… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 29 (next | show all)
Very informative true account of the Bounty mutiny and all the people connected to it. Not quite as simple as the movies or the Nordhoff and Hall trilogy which I read years ago. Very detailed. Bligh is not the brute he seems in the films and Christian is not quite the hero. Great book for a history buff. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
A wonderfully done abridgement told with the smooth voice of Michael York. The book goes through the mini-biographies before and after, setup, the journey, the mutiny and its aftereffects. I enjoyed listening to the contradictory accounts of what happened to Fletcher Christian. For further discovery about the resting place of the Bounty and her mutinous crew, see http://archive.archaeology.org/9905/etc/bounty.html. ( )
  nab6215 | Jan 18, 2022 |
Too much time and space devoted to very minor characters. It just did not contribute to the story. ( )
  ChuckRinn | Oct 4, 2020 |
A good, thorough-going history of the Bounty mutiny and its aftermath. Well written and quite readable, for all the detail. ( )
1 vote JBD1 | Aug 7, 2018 |
I love this story and tis well told here. More reading along these lines to come.... ( )
  untraveller | Jun 10, 2018 |
Showing 1-5 of 29 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
ALEXANDER, Carolineprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Prebble, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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His small vessel pitching in the squally winter sea, a young British naval lieutenant waited restlessly to embark upon the most important and daunting voyage of his still young but highly promising career.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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More than two centuries have passed since Master's Mate Fletcher Christian mutinied against Lieutenant Bligh on a small, armed transport vessel called Bounty. Why the details of this obscure adventure at the end of the world remain vivid and enthralling is as intriguing as the truth behind the legend. In giving the Bounty mutiny its historical due, Caroline Alexander has chosen to frame her narrative by focusing on the court-martial of the ten mutineers who were captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in England. This fresh perspective revivifies the entire saga, and the salty, colorful language of the captured men themselves conjures the events of that April morning in 1789, when Christian's breakdown impelled every man on a fateful course: Bligh and his loyalists on the historic open boat voyage that revealed him to be one of history's great navigators; Christian on his restless exile; and the captured mutineers toward their day in court. As the book unfolds, each figure emerges as a full-blown character caught up in a drama that may well end on the gallows. And as Alexander shows, it was in a desperate fight to escape hanging that one of the accused defendants deliberately spun the mutiny into the myth we know today-of the tyrannical Lieutenant Bligh of the Bounty. Ultimately, Alexander concludes that the Bounty mutiny was sparked by that most unpredictable, combustible, and human of situations-the chemistry between strong personalities living in close quarters. Her account of the voyage, the trial, and the surprising fates of Bligh, Christian, and the mutineers is an epic of ambition, passion, pride, and duty at the dawn of the Romantic era.

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