Caroline Alexander's account of the mutiny on His Majesty's armed transport Bounty is a far cry from what most people grew up hearing of the story.  Alexander dug deep into historical documentation to come up with what seems to be a much more fair, and more realistic, view of the events and personalities involved in the mutiny.
What we find is a Lieutenant William Bligh who is not a tyrannical, brutal monster, but an anal-retentive micromanager with a loose (and harsh) tongue, who happens to be a pretty brilliant seaman.  Alexander explains how Bligh's posting was a recipe for disaster, from Bligh's secondary duty as the ship's purser (always an unpopular man on the ship) to the lack of marines to help Bligh keep order on board the Bounty.  Bligh's hope to finish his voyage without a single flogging is certainly contrary to what most people are taught about him.  We also find that Fletcher Christian is not a dashing, honorable young man torn between his duty and his shipmates, but a prideful and somewhat confused individual with a strong sense of entitlement and a psyche that is far from in order.
Alexander did her research here, and it shows.  From her findings of the true cause of Bligh's image problems (the Christian family) to the enigma that was Peter Heywood, there is plenty of depth to this story, especially with regard to the court-martial of the captured mutineers.  The Pitcairn Island mutineers--including Fletcher Christian--aren't really discussed much, but that's due to the fact that there isn't a lot of solid documentation about what happened to them.  It's mostly speculation, and Alexander did her best to sort through the stories to get what she could.
The book does read a bit as a defense of Bligh, as most of his transgressions are shrugged off by Alexander as being no worse than a sailor would have seen on any other ship of the time.  In addition, the entire Christian family is shown in a less-than-flattering light.
I enjoyed this book, and was amazed at how far off-base modern understanding (or at least modern Hollywood's understanding) of the mutiny on the Bounty is.  Previous comments notwithstanding, Alexander's version of the story doesn't really condemn anyone, and is pretty fair to everyone involved, even if Bligh does get the best of it.  The only complaint I have is the doses of near-nonsensical old English included in the text.  It's nice to get some things in the words of the actual people involved in mutiny, but I would appreciate a little helpful editing, just to ease the pain of deciphering some of these people's thoughts.  Ultimately, however, this is a very interesting and informative book that I would recommend to anyone interested in the whole story of Bligh, Christian, and the Bounty and her crew.
Caroline Alexander's account of the mutiny on His Majesty's armed transport Bounty is a far cry from what most people grew up hearing of the story. Alexander dug deep into historical documentation to come up with what seems to be a much more fair, and more realistic, view of the events and personalities involved in the mutiny. What we find is a Lieutenant William Bligh who is not a tyrannical, brutal monster, but an anal-retentive micromanager with a loose (and harsh) tongue, who happens to be a pretty brilliant seaman. Alexander explains how Bligh's posting was a recipe for disaster, from Bligh's secondary duty as the ship's purser (always an unpopular man on the ship) to the lack of marines to help Bligh keep order on board the Bounty. Bligh's hope to finish his voyage without a single flogging is certainly contrary to what most people are taught about him. We also find that Fletcher Christian is not a dashing, honorable young man torn between his duty and his shipmates, but a prideful and somewhat confused individual with a strong sense of entitlement and a psyche that is far from in order. Alexander did her research here, and it shows. From her findings of the true cause of Bligh's image problems (the Christian family) to the enigma that was Peter Heywood, there is plenty of depth to this story, especially with regard to the court-martial of the captured mutineers. The Pitcairn Island mutineers--including Fletcher Christian--aren't really discussed much, but that's due to the fact that there isn't a lot of solid documentation about what happened to them. It's mostly speculation, and Alexander did her best to sort through the stories to get what she could. The book does read a bit as a defense of Bligh, as most of his transgressions are shrugged off by Alexander as being no worse than a sailor would have seen on any other ship of the time. In addition, the entire Christian family is shown in a less-than-flattering light. I enjoyed this book, and was amazed at how far off-base modern understanding (or at least modern Hollywood's understanding) of the mutiny on the Bounty is. Previous comments notwithstanding, Alexander's version of the story doesn't really condemn anyone, and is pretty fair to everyone involved, even if Bligh does get the best of it. The only complaint I have is the doses of near-nonsensical old English included in the text. It's nice to get some things in the words of the actual people involved in mutiny, but I would appreciate a little helpful editing, just to ease the pain of deciphering some of these people's thoughts. Ultimately, however, this is a very interesting and informative book that I would recommend to anyone interested in the whole story of Bligh, Christian, and the Bounty and her crew.