Open-account

You are going to buy this book, of course you are. How can you not, for it is the actual book written by the notorious Capt. Bligh himself. If you are the least bit interested in the voyage that became the Mutiny on the Bounty and its aftermath, you've got to get to it. This book is fascinating not so much because of the description of the mutiny because Captain Bligh surprisingly has very little to say on the subject. No, you'll find this fascinating stuff because it allows one a glimpse into life in the South Pacific hundreds of years ago, and how miserable a castaway crew can become. You will also be able to form your own opnions about the sort of man Captain Bligh was. It is an interesting and challenging task to do so, however, because the man is careful to conceal most of his personality and emotions behind a rather dry and unimaginative journeyman's description of this adventure. Actually, it is this mechanical and rather bloodless recitation of facts surrounding what was a most terrifying and terrific adventure that clues one in that Captain Bligh, despite being an extraordinary seaman was certainly obtuse and even a bit of a creep (pompous ass, at the very least); at least he made my skin crawl at times. He also caused me to marvel at his many skills and tenacity (orneriness?), and even he was unable to completely suppress his emotions and allow himself free rein to personalize a few of the incidents that occured along the way. Few people could have accomplished his feat, that is to sail more than one thousand miles across the ocean in a small wooden boat filled with a hopeless and starving crew always teetering on the brink of disaster. It's also funny that Bligh turned up in all sorts of places around the globe in his life time and one finds him sprinkled throughout history. Did you know, for instance, that he commanded a ship under Lord Nelson in at least one of that man's most famous battles? He also accompanied the famed Captain Cook on one of his famous voyages which is how he got the job on the Bounty. I've ranked this only four stars because the book is really not a joy to read, Captain Bligh's skills most certainly lay in the nautical world. In this day and age, he probably would have found a ghost writer to lively up his self. Yet, this book is essential grist for the mill of Bounty hunters.