
Captain
Bligh and Mister Christian: The Men and the Mutiny
(Bluejacket Paperback)
by Richard Hough
The mutiny on the Bounty has fascinated readers for more than two hundred years, but no
other book on this extraordinary episode in maritime history tells the story as well as
this masterly and thrilling account by Richard Hough. He has set down all the aspects of
the extraordinary story in a manner that is utterly compelling, and he has brought alive
the powerful characters who played out the events. Highly touted when first published in
1972, it is an epic drama of courage, discovery, deceit, and treachery. The story of
Fletcher Christian and the rest of the mutineers' discovery of an uninhabited island and
their attempt to fashion a community away from the pursuing ships of the Royal Navy is as
tense as it is horrific. Captain Bligh's remarkable 3,600-mile voyage to Timor in the
ship's open launch is fully described as one of the great feats of navigation. The dismal
episode of the Pandora and the remarkable survival of one of the mutineers add further
fascinating twists to the story. Amazon.com
Paperback - 288 pages (August 1, 2000)
United States Naval Inst.; ISBN: 1557502307
Captain
Bligh's Portable Nightmare
by John Toohey
Ignore the silly title; this book is a gem. Subtitled "From the Bounty to
safety--4,162 Miles Across the Pacific in a Rowing Boat," it tells the little-known
story of what happened to Captain Bligh after the Bounty mutineers herded him and
those 18 other crewmen who refused to go along with the mutiny into a 23-foot-long boat
and set them adrift in open ocean. And it is a continually amazing tale. John Toohey
writes vividly but unpretentiously, bringing to life Bligh's youthful service with Captain
Cook, an experience of mapping the South Seas that served him well when he eventually came
to be marooned, as well as his Bounty experience. Navigating by the stars, bailing
frantically as storms filled the tiny vessel with water, and eating the foulest stuff
imaginable (when a booby was foolish enough to perch on the edge of the boat, they carved
it up, discovering "to their joy" half-digested flying fish and squid in its
stomach that they also ate "greedily"). You end up agreeing with Toohey that
crossing the Pacific in a small boat under these incredible conditions constitutes
"one of the greatest achievements in the history of European seafaring," and
that Bligh himself--poor, maligned "sadist" Bligh--was actually a thoroughly
decent and even heroic figure. It is a book out of the Longitude school, but a superior
example of the type. Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare could just resurrect the
man as a neglected hero. --Adam Roberts, Amazon.co.uk
Paperback - 224 pages (February 5, 2001)
Harperperennial Library; ISBN: 0060959525
The
Bounty Mutiny (Penguin Classics)
by William Bligh, Edward Christian, R. D. Madison (Introduction)
The true story. Surprisingly readable.
While the full story of what drove the men to revolt or what really transpired during the
struggle may never be known, Penguin Classics has brought together-for the first time in
one volume-all the relevant texts and documents related to a drama that has fascinated
generations. Here is the full text of Bligh's Narrative of the Mutiny, the minutes
of the court proceedings gathered by Edward Christian in an effort to clear his brother's
name, and the highly polemic correspondence between Bligh and Christian-all amplified by
Robert Madison's illuminating Introduction and rich selection of subsequent Bounty
narratives. The Publisher
Paperback - 254 pages (May 2001)
Penguin USA (Paper); ISBN: 0140439161

The
Bounty Trilogy
by Charles Nordhoff & James Hall
An historical novel, upon which was based the Mel Gibson movie.
Paperback - 691 pages Reprint edition (July 1985)
Little Brown & Co (Pap); ISBN: 0316611662
Mutiny
on the Bounty
by Charles Nordhoff, et al
Paperback - 379 pages Reprint edition (April 1989)
Little Brown & Co (Juv Pap); ISBN: 0316611689

The
Bounty (1984) - DVD
Starring: Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, et al.
Director: Roger Donaldson
The
Mutiny on Board HMS Bounty (Great Illustrated Classics)
by William Bligh, Brendan Lynch (Illustrator), Malvina Vogel (Editor)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
School & Library Binding - 240 pages (August 2000)
Abdo & Daughters; ISBN: 0866119701

Pitcairn
Island : Life and Death in Eden
by Trevor Lummis
Hardcover (September 1997)
Ashgate Publishing Company; ISBN: 1859284310
The
Pitcairners
by Robert B. Nicolson
The Bounty Mutineers were a lost tribe in the South Pacific, who finally found a safe
haven in Pitcairn Island. There they, along with a small group of Tahitian men and women,
hid from the world and established a far from ideal community. Racism and greed created
divisions, blood was spilt - in the end, few would make it off the isolated island of
Pitcairn alive. The descendents of those that stayed, however, more than made up for the
failings of their ancestors. They became a model of piety and purity. From the fate of the
mutineers to life on the island 200 years later, Robert Nicolson reveals a fascinating
story. The Publisher
- 264 pages
Pasifika Press; ISBN: 0908597282
Serpent
in Paradise
by Dea Birkett
Most people know the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, how in 1789 Captain Bligh's
crew mutinied then founded their paradise on Pitcairn Island. Two centuries later,
the mutineers' descendants still live on Pitcairn with no cars, doctors, crime, or regular
contact with the outside world, despite the hordes of paradise-seekers who deluge the
island with requests, most of which are refused. After two years' persistence and 4,000
miles aboard a chemical tanker, Dea Birkett finally made her way to Pitcairn, but the
island paradise has a dark legacy. Birkett's account is a fascinating look at a tight
community with a notorious past and a shady present. Amazon.com
Paperback - 368 pages 1 Anchor edition (September 1998)
Doubleday; ISBN: 0385488718