Books about "Mutiny on the Bounty" (A HA Story)

Share and recommend books and websites that you think are worth checking out.
Post Reply
pandabear
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2077
Joined: December 30th, 2012, 7:54 pm
Location: USA

Books about "Mutiny on the Bounty" (A HA Story)

Post by pandabear »

Since movies about Mutiny on the Bounty have been mentioned, I thought that I would recommend some relevant books for you:

The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, by Caroline Alexander. Extremely well researched, and very well written.



After the Bounty: A Sailor's Account of the Mutiny, and Life in the South Seas, written by James Morrison, one of the sailor on the Bounty. Very fascinating story.



And, Captain Bligh's side of the story, A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; And The Subsequent Voyage Of Part Of The Crew, In The Ship's Boat, by William Bligh.

Jester
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 7870
Joined: January 20th, 2009, 1:10 am
Location: Chiang Mai Thailand

Post by Jester »

Unfortunately not reading books these days, perhaps that will change but that would be another topic.

But if you have read these books, tell us please, who was the good guy?

I think Fletcher Christian's marooning (is that the word) or stranding (?) of Capt. Bligh et al was despicable. And the mutineers were damn selfish about the way they divvied up native women (native men allied with them had to share a woman... not nice) And mutineers descendants are infested with incest to this day. (A curse for their actions, or common among islanders? Not sure.)

So were the mutineers really bad guys? Or not? What do you think?
"Well actually, she's not REALLY my daughter. But she does like to call me Daddy... at certain moments..."
pandabear
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2077
Joined: December 30th, 2012, 7:54 pm
Location: USA

Post by pandabear »

Capt Bligh had a fiery temper, and called Fletcher Christian a thief. Back in those days, this would have called for a duel. Mr. Christian was extremely angry on a particular morning (after Mr. Bligh had accused him of stealing coconuts), and, with a handful of men, took over the ship.

Incest apparently still goes on in the Marquesas Islands:
http://www.svfreeradical.com/log_nuku_hiva_0426.htm

Fletcher Christian only lived a fear years after that (as did most of the men who went with him to Pitcairn's Island).
Jester
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 7870
Joined: January 20th, 2009, 1:10 am
Location: Chiang Mai Thailand

Re: Books about the Bounty

Post by Jester »

pandabear wrote:Since movies about Mutiny on the Bounty have been mentioned, I thought that I would recommend some relevant books for you:

The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, by Caroline Alexander. Extremely well researched, and very well written.



After the Bounty: A Sailor's Account of the Mutiny, and Life in the South Seas, written by James Morrison, one of the sailor on the Bounty. Very fascinating story.



And, Captain Bligh's side of the story, A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; And The Subsequent Voyage Of Part Of The Crew, In The Ship's Boat, by William Bligh.

Was there one book by a Nordhoff?
pandabear
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2077
Joined: December 30th, 2012, 7:54 pm
Location: USA

Re: Books about the Bounty

Post by pandabear »

Jester wrote:
Was there one book by a Nordhoff?
Yes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bounty_Trilogy

A fictionalized version, though.
Jester
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 7870
Joined: January 20th, 2009, 1:10 am
Location: Chiang Mai Thailand

Re: Books about the Bounty

Post by Jester »

pandabear wrote:
Jester wrote:
Was there one book by a Nordhoff?
Yes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bounty_Trilogy

A fictionalized version, though.
Yeah, that guy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Nordhoff

I used to date his Tahitian granddaughter.

My first "HappierAbroad" experience.

Definitely felt like Fletcher Christian.

:wink:
User avatar
Winston
Site Admin
Posts: 37670
Joined: August 18th, 2007, 6:16 am
Contact:

Re:

Post by Winston »

Jester wrote:Unfortunately not reading books these days, perhaps that will change but that would be another topic.

But if you have read these books, tell us please, who was the good guy?

I think Fletcher Christian's marooning (is that the word) or stranding (?) of Capt. Bligh et al was despicable. And the mutineers were damn selfish about the way they divvied up native women (native men allied with them had to share a woman... not nice) And mutineers descendants are infested with incest to this day. (A curse for their actions, or common among islanders? Not sure.)

So were the mutineers really bad guys? Or not? What do you think?
There was no good guy or bad guy. It was a case of the bad man vs the mad man. There was the mad man Fletcher vs. the bad man Bligh. Bligh was too harsh and had a bad reputation even before the Bounty voyage. He had bad people skills and was only a genius in navigation. But Fletcher Christian's motivations were very understandable. He was in love with a girl in Tahiti and the men were happier there under the fun and sun of the relaxed lifestyle that was not ruled by money. It's perfectly understandable that those sailors would prefer such a paradise over duty in the British navy. Plus life on the ship became unbearable, not just because of Bligh, but because the breadfruit plants that they were bringing back, took up much of the living space on the ship, making it feel like a hot compression cooker. Eventually the steam had to blow.

Here is a documentary that examines both sides of the issue about whether Captain Bligh was bad or not, and what Fletcher Christian's motivations were. It features research by the descendants of both Bligh and Christian and what they both think based on the evidence, the trials of both men and the eyewitness testimony of the mutineers aboard the Bounty. It also explores the reasons why the mutineers and eyewitnesses would concoct a conspiracy to destroy Bligh's reputation and what their motives probably were.

The Captain Bligh Conspiracy



Here also is a History Channel documentary about the subject. But it basically just tells the version of events shown in the movies about the mutiny on the Bounty.



Btw, the most recent film about this true story was in 1984 called "The Bounty" and starred Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as Captain Bligh. Any of you see it?

The Bounty (1984)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086993/
Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
User avatar
WorldTraveler
Experienced Poster
Posts: 1071
Joined: June 3rd, 2008, 7:46 am

Re: Books about "Mutiny on the Bounty"

Post by WorldTraveler »

I've seen at least two versions if not all three versions of the "Mutiny on the Bounty". It gave me a fascination with the Pacific Islands before I'd ever heard anything about the Philippines. I thus traveled to Tahiti before I had ever traveled to the Philippines. I had an early fascination with Southeast Asia. I watched the 4 part documentary and own a copy of "Ring of Fire" which is about Indonesia. My first trip to SE Asia was to Thailand and Indonesia.



There are 3 more parts all about different islands in Indonesia. They also did a return to Indonesia many years later which is also on YouTube now. :D
User avatar
Winston
Site Admin
Posts: 37670
Joined: August 18th, 2007, 6:16 am
Contact:

Re: Books about "Mutiny on the Bounty"

Post by Winston »

Hey check this out. I found the 1984 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkings, on YouTube in full. I saw it the other day and it's pretty good. Well done. The women were beautiful, exotic and sexy, especially the lead that played Fletcher Christian's girlfriend.

The Bounty (1984) Full version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vFg-uKvips

If that ever gets taken down, there is a paid version on YouTube for 3 dollars here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQumBbUacE

Also, here is an audio book of Mutiny on the Bounty, written by Captain Bligh himself, which tells his version of the story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIIionpoc64

Btw, here's the dance scene on Tahiti from the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, where Fletcher Christian sees his love interest for the first time and is smitten by her erotic dancing. lol

Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
User avatar
Winston
Site Admin
Posts: 37670
Joined: August 18th, 2007, 6:16 am
Contact:

Re: Books about "Mutiny on the Bounty"

Post by Winston »

There's something I don't get about this story. At the end, when Fletcher Christian and the mutineers go to Pitcairn island because it's not charted on British naval maps, making it the perfect hideout, why do they then burn the HMS Bounty ship? Isn't that the stupidest move, to burn a big valuable ship like that and strand yourself on an island with no way out? Seems like a totally stupid decision. So what was the logic of it? Just so passing ships wouldn't see it and figure out that they were there? Doesn't seem like a wise move either way, since with the ship at least they had a fighting chance to escape or move if need be.

The benefit of destroying it seemed far less than the benefit of having a ship that gave you mobility and means of escape and travel. And the consequence of destroying it seems far greater than the consequence of keeping it. So the logic behind burning it seemed horrible. I would never have done that if I were them. Besides, such a ship was very valuable and hard to attain, so it could have been sold for a lot of money, treasure or gold too.
Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Recommend Books and Websites”