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the_history_shelf's review against another edition
3.0
This book started off very strong, but began to lose my interest in the middle and end. Not enough time was devoted to the survival of the 19 men in the open launch. To me, that's the most amazing part of this story. Still and all, the sources are overwhelming and the author obviously did her homework. Worth the read if you are a fan of The Bounty story.
carolpk's review against another edition
4.0
My husband and I decided to listen to Caroline Alexander’s The Bounty after listening to Bligh’s daily log account of the infamous Mutiny on The H.M.S. Bounty. We were hoping to clear up some questions we had regarding Bligh and his character. If you’ve ever watched any of the movies that depict the mutiny, you can’t help but come away with a bad taste in your mouth for Bligh. He is portrayed as the villain and Fletcher Christian appears to be justified in his rebellion.
Alexander’s book goes into great detail about the mutiny, and the court-martial of the ten mutineers who were captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in England. Bligh, in our opinion is vindicated and seems to be the victim of Hollywood and most importantly, Fletcher Christian. We both came away feeling that Bligh had his faults, that he was a disciplinarian and cut no slack to his crew. This seems just in his role as the man who is responsible for the survival of all.
William Bligh and the mutiny took place in the 1700’s so none of us were there to see it with our own eyes. We can only base our opinions on what has been recorded, researched and written about by authors and scholars. We both ended up wishing we could hear Christian’s version of the events. We are certain he would have to paint a picture to discredit Bligh but at least, we would hear it from the horse’s mouth.
Bligh continues in his career and is appointed Rear Admiral in July, 1811. Not bad for a man who was scorned by many.
There is much speculation on both men’s lives and their fateful encounter. If you have any interest in the subject, Alexander’s book is a good bet.
Alexander’s book goes into great detail about the mutiny, and the court-martial of the ten mutineers who were captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in England. Bligh, in our opinion is vindicated and seems to be the victim of Hollywood and most importantly, Fletcher Christian. We both came away feeling that Bligh had his faults, that he was a disciplinarian and cut no slack to his crew. This seems just in his role as the man who is responsible for the survival of all.
William Bligh and the mutiny took place in the 1700’s so none of us were there to see it with our own eyes. We can only base our opinions on what has been recorded, researched and written about by authors and scholars. We both ended up wishing we could hear Christian’s version of the events. We are certain he would have to paint a picture to discredit Bligh but at least, we would hear it from the horse’s mouth.
Bligh continues in his career and is appointed Rear Admiral in July, 1811. Not bad for a man who was scorned by many.
There is much speculation on both men’s lives and their fateful encounter. If you have any interest in the subject, Alexander’s book is a good bet.
romysvx's review against another edition
4.0
Doskonała książka - ogłaszałam. Jedna z lepszych jakie w ostatnich, nawet nie miesiącach, a latach czytałam, miejsce w top roku gwarantowane - sobie myślałam. No, i jak to radzą mądrzejsi - nie chwal dnia przed zachodem słońca, a ja jak rozwydrzony bachor lub - żeby było bardziej na czasie - wszystkowiedząca influencerka wielkich umysłów nie posłuchałam i, że life is brutal - co wszyszy wiemy - to zapeszyłam! I nadal twardo obstaję przy swoim, że książka Caroline Alexander to pierwszorzędna literatura faktu, ale jak to czasem bywa - ja nie jestem jej wymarzoną odbiorczynią i w pewnym momencie (dosyć długim momencie) nie pykało. Zacznę od tego, że spodziewałam się, że książka o tytule "Bunt na Bounty” w całości poświęcona będzie słynnej rebelii i rejsowi, w trakcie której miała ona miejsce. I gdyby taką drogą poszła autorka, to ten tytuł byłby dla mnie jednym z największych hitów i po przeczytaniu znalazłby się na mojej półce “hall of fame”. Alexander bez dwóch zdań doskonale potrafi odtworzyć i powołać do życia zamierzchłe historie. Z nielicznych dostępnych dokumentów, którymi się posiłkowała udało jej się bardzo realistycznie i wiarygodnie zrekonstruować przebieg żeglugi i pobyt załogi wśród tubylców na Tahiti. Równie znakomicie nakreślony jest rys psychologiczny postaci. Nie potrafię jednoznacznie stwierdzić czym Alexander bardziej zachwyciła mnie w tej książce - bogatymi, złożonymi osobowościami bohaterów i stosunków między nimi panującymi czy barwnymi, hipnotyzującymi opisami samej wyprawy oraz niezwykłych i tajemniczych wysp Oceanu Spokojnego i zaskakujących tradycji i zwyczajów wśród rdzennej ludności panujących. Fantastycznie mi się to czytało - niczym najlepszą powieść przygodową z wyższej półki. I wszystko dla mnie dalej byłoby tak pięknie gdybym pominęła drugą część książki i od razu przeskoczyła do ostatniej. W długim na grubo ponad 100 stron środku “Buntu” głównym bohaterem autorka uczyniła proces sądowy splamionych hańbą rebeliantów. I obiektywnie nie mam się do czego przyczepić - Alexander skrupulatnie i drobiazgowo, ale i przejrzyście bez popadania w prawniczą mowę relacjonuje cały przebieg procesu wymierzenia sprawiedliwości - od oskarżenia, przez pobyt w areszcie i poszukiwanie adwokatów, aż w końcu i do samych zeznań i “wielkiego finału”. Jednak taki pech, że w literaturze i filmie nic nie działa na mnie tak usypiająco i na żaden inny motyw/temat nie reagują taką obojętnością jak właśnie na wszystkie te prawniczo-sądowe zabawy. W związku z tym te kilkaset stron męczyłam przez kilka dni, przy dalszym czytaniu trzymała mnie jedynie nadzieja, że hej - przecież ten proces kiedyś w końcu musi się skończyć, niemożliwe, żeby skupiało się na nim ¾ książki - przecież jeszcze wątek Pitcairn ma być poruszony! Wymęczyłam, przeżyłam i w nagrodę “Bounty” w ostatniej części dostarczyło mi ekscytacji, wiedzy i najwyższej rozrywki na poziomie pierwszych kilkudziesięciu rozdziałów. Gdyby liczyło się tylko to jak kończysz to ta historia mającej ponad 200 lat temu inby grupki składającej się z obdartusów, pijaków, weneryków i przedwcześnie stetryczałych gostków i ich wybryków na dalekich egzotycznych wyspach byłaby dla mnie książką doskonałą - z wadami tak mikroskopijnymi (i zdecydowanie bardziej ze strony redakcji niż autorki), że te praktycznie w żadnym stopniu nie wpłynęłaby na całościowy odbiór tej pozycji i jej ocenę końcową. Ale, że, niestety dla mnie, sporą część swojego dzieła Alexander poświęca na rozwlekły opis wydarzeń sądowych to subiektywnie nie mogę przyczepić “Bounty” etykiety „ideał”. Nadal jednak, ani trochę nie żałuję, a wręcz uważam, że świetną decyzję podjęłam sięgając po „Bunt na Bounty”, bo odsuwając na bok wszelkie osobiste preferencje tematyczne to muszę przyznać, że książka Caroline Alexander to kawał fenomenalnej historycznej literatury faktu!
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asaatkamp's review against another edition
4.0
The Bounty is a truly amazing work of scholarhip; Ms. Alexander seems to have read every scrap of information regarding the mutiny and the subsequent lives of all persons involved. She lays out the problems with the voyage, the petty dictates of a class conscious society, the trials of men at sea with nowhere to go to get away from those they dislike, and how the trivial becomes paramount due to this closeness. For all these reasons, the book should have five stars.
But...
After all the scholarship, all the squinting to read spidery handwriting, all the discussion regarding the courts martial, the main question is WHY? And it is never really answered. I am not one for psychoanalyzing historical figures in the absence of evidence, but a work of this sort cries out for some interpretation as to why an event occurred rather than a sober account of what happened. She notes that Fletcher Christian is frequently quoted as saying he had been in Hell recently, but aside from saying he may have been hungover and wanting to stay in Tahiti, she never makes a judgement as to why he decided to take over the ship. Now, she does allow that another mutineer was perhaps the imp of the perverse to Christian, but at the end of the day, the mutineers followed him, why? Those questions are never really addressed.
So, this book is likely the last word on WHAT happened and for that reason should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the mutiny in specific or maritime history in general. But the reasons as to WHY will have to await another book. Let us hope that it shows the same level of erudition.
But...
After all the scholarship, all the squinting to read spidery handwriting, all the discussion regarding the courts martial, the main question is WHY? And it is never really answered. I am not one for psychoanalyzing historical figures in the absence of evidence, but a work of this sort cries out for some interpretation as to why an event occurred rather than a sober account of what happened. She notes that Fletcher Christian is frequently quoted as saying he had been in Hell recently, but aside from saying he may have been hungover and wanting to stay in Tahiti, she never makes a judgement as to why he decided to take over the ship. Now, she does allow that another mutineer was perhaps the imp of the perverse to Christian, but at the end of the day, the mutineers followed him, why? Those questions are never really addressed.
So, this book is likely the last word on WHAT happened and for that reason should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the mutiny in specific or maritime history in general. But the reasons as to WHY will have to await another book. Let us hope that it shows the same level of erudition.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
The HMS Bounty was a small merchant vessel that was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1787. The ship was purchased specifically for a singular mission to travel to Tahiti to get some breadfruit plants to ship to the British West Indies to provide food for the enslaved population there. Captain Willian Bligh is portrayed in popular culture as a terrible tyrant of a captain, who just dished out abuse left and right. However, it seems as though he was a fairly capable captain, with a lot of experience. At one point during the voyage, Fletcher Christian replaced the Sailing Master. The crew on the ship essentially split during the mutiny, with about half on Christian's side and half on Bligh's side. I won't go into anymore details than that for those who are unfamiliar with this story and want to read the book. There was a lot more to the story than I had heard up to this point.
This book was extensively researched, and written in a very captivating way. I wasn't expecting to be as interested in this book that I was. The voyage itself was a lot more arduous than I knew, with weather complications on top of the mutiny. I also had no idea why they were on the ship in the first place, so this was a great source of information for me. This was a pretty enjoyable book. First one for October completed!
This book was extensively researched, and written in a very captivating way. I wasn't expecting to be as interested in this book that I was. The voyage itself was a lot more arduous than I knew, with weather complications on top of the mutiny. I also had no idea why they were on the ship in the first place, so this was a great source of information for me. This was a pretty enjoyable book. First one for October completed!