To fully appreciate Mutiny on the Bounty, Read the full trilogy | Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel

The story of a captain who understood the letter but not the spirit of the law | Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel | Charles Nordhoff, James Norman Hall

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	• Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel Charles Nordhoff, James Norman Hall Back Bay Books, 1989 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 29 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Mutiny On The Bounty. the book

The book closely follows the movie with Marlon Brando. I purchased the movie on DVD and of course after reading the book I can see the real parallel between them. As always, I admire accuracy in movies and the book that the movie was made from. It was a very good novel and I enjoyed it very much.

To fully appreciate Mutiny on the Bounty, Read the full trilogy

I would contend that one simply cannot fully summarize or comment on the book "Mutiny on the Bounty" without reading the full Bounty Trilogy. The central issues raised in the first book are resolved implicitly and at length in "Men Against the Sea" and "Pitcairn's Island," where the authors flesh out the denouement. Yes, they are novels, and entertaining in their own right, but on a deeper level they provide moral lessons that make the conclusions inescapable and unforgettable. This was required reading in my high school class and it wasn't until years later that I came to appreciate the full meaning and broad scope of this story, which addresses timeless issues central to the human condition, providing a greater understanding of people, society, and their relationship with the cruel indifference of nature. Although they are novels, I have done some further research on the story, read the trial transcripts, and have found that the facts of the story only bear out more strongly the implicit thesis of the authors. These works are some of the most memorable and useful literature I have ever read. To paraphrased a great philosopher: Read me now, and believe me later. Highly recommended.

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The story of a captain who understood the letter but not the spirit of the law

The story of the Mutiny on the Bounty is actually a trilogy of three books. "Mutiny on the Bounty," is the first, detailing the mutiny itself and the fate of several of the mutineers (and some innocent bystanders) when they are eventually caught. "Men Against the Sea" follows the men who were kicked off the ship when the mutineers took control, and "Pitcairn's Island" is the story of 9 of the mutineers who were never caught because they went to live on the remote and difficult-to-access titular island.

The captain of the Bounty, one William Bligh, is painted as an embezzeler who is also harsh on discipline. He bullies the quatermaster into signing false consumption reports (and then sells what isn't eaten at port), threatening to hang anyone who disagrees with him. Similarly, he is a harsh disciplinarian who orders flogging for the least offenses, regularly insults his first mate (Christian), and is quick to invoke the Law of the Sea to keep the men in line, rather than trying to win their affection and respect. Eventually, he pushes Christian too far, which precipitates the mutiny.

This book is probably the least interesting of the trilogy. It follows a standard narrative structure, being narrated by one (fictional) young officer that Bligh believed to be part of the mutiny. Because of Bligh's testimony, all those left aboard the Bounty (however unwilling) were guilty of mutiny, which sets up the situation where the narrator must depend on the testimony of mutineers to prove his innocence. But overall, there is something meandering about the story that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the book. The most interesting aspect of the book is how well it relives the golden days of British seapower and how it demonstrates the difficulty of the average seaman when faced with a petty tyrant for a captain.

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Mutiny on the Bounty

From Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall comes a timeless saga of the men who served aboard the H.M.S. Bounty. Fated to never return to England again, the Bounty would be set adrift in the stormy seas crewed by mutineers and her men across the globe with some reaching tragic fates. Mutiny on the Bounty, the first of the Bounty trilogy follows a young midshipman by the name of Roger Byam. During his voyage, many events happen that cause Byam to question his view on honor, courage, and loyalty. Even as events happen around him, Byam finds a deeper meaning to each of those traits. He realizes that honor, courage, and loyalty are the greatest traits that any sailor could possess, but that it is the man he is loyal to that really determines his nature. This amazing sea adventure will appeal to those who love ocean adventures because this novel will bring the reader to the depths and back. From mutiny to sinking ships and castaways, this is an adventure that sea lovers cannot miss. So join Byam and get ready to set sail on Her Majesty's Ship Bounty and experience the adventures that await the British sailor aboard one of Her warships. Read the book and lash yourself tight to the riggings as you ride the high seas. This book is surely to wash you away!

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British Naval adventure of a different variety

If the pleasure that you derive from reading books about turn of the 19th century British Navy is based mainly upon the recounting of broadsides and boarding in the smoke (a la Aubrey/Maturin, Hornblower, et al), then the Bounty Trilogy (Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, and Pitcairn's Island) should probably not rank high on your list of things to read. However, if what you enjoy about the genre is the period itself, British Naval culture of the era, and intense if non-martial conflict between men, these three books should be high on your reading list indeed. For not only is the period well depicted and the history well laid out in a non-obtrusive fictional account, but the even-handed characterization of the primary actors is a joy to read. There is neither the sermonizing about Bligh nor hagiography of Christian that would be the approach expected of most most modern writers as they view bygone times through the moral squint of contemporary sensibilities. If written along such lines, the Bounty Trilogy would be a vapid depiction of Bligh as a purely bourgeois-imperialist ogre and Christian as a singular paradigm of revolutionary goodness. Instead, Nordhoff and Hall have given us complex characters that fully and deeply engage the reader and make the books a joy to read in-spite of the reader's knowledge of the ultimate outcomes of each volume. Highly recommended to anyone who feels they fit into the above described category of likely-to-be-pleased reader. 5 stars for the entire trilogy.

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MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the thrilling account of the strange, eventful, and tragic voyage of His Majesty's Ship Bounty in 1788-1789, which culminated in Fletcher Christian's mutiny against Captain Bligh. - Like many great works of literature, the novels in the Bounty trilogy appeal to readers both young and old. - Perennial bestsellers. Since their initial publication in the 1930s, the Bounty novels have sold many millions of copies. - The appetite for nautical adventure stories is at an all-time high--as evidenced, for example, by the success of Back Bay's recent repackaging of C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels.

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