- Hardcover: 211 pages
- Publisher: Diane Pub Co (November 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0756753155
- ISBN-13: 978-0756753153
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
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
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Instead of rehashing the tale of the famed 1789 mutiny on the HMS Bounty (as done by so many historians, novelists and filmmakers), Australian historian Toohey tells the story of what happened to Capt. William Bligh after the mutiny was over. After his ejection from the Bounty, Bligh traveled halfway across the Pacific (to Java) on a cramped 23-foot launch with 18 crew members. Drawing heavily on survivors' accounts and other contemporary sources, Toohey recounts the dramatic tale of this voyage in an almost novelistic narrative, reconstructing conversations and interior monologues and capturing the terror and cunning of men facing slow death on the high seas. Like other "pro-Bligh" historians, Toohey implies that the mutiny occurred largely because Bligh's spoiled crew had trouble readjusting to navy discipline and rations after spending six months eating, sunning themselves, and having sex on Tahiti. Bligh, he argues, was not the abusive tyrant of Hollywood epics but a misunderstood perfectionist, a brilliant navigator and explorer, a family man and an empathetic personal friend to at least some men on the launch. He often seems to forget that Bligh was also an imperialist--his mission was to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to feed West Indies slaves; he sets Bligh's saga, only offhandedly, in the context of Britain's expanding empire, James Cook's fatal 1776 voyage to the Pacific (on which Bligh served as cartographer) and European rivalries. Still, this fiercely lyrical, stylish chronicle is likely to resurrect debate over the mutiny, Bligh's character and his place in history. B&w illus., maps. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable read,
By Tony Hughes "stellarossa, From Fear to Flatte... (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Capt Blighs Portable Nightmare (Hardcover)
It's rare that I give 5 stars for a book review but this, in my opinion, has earned it. I'm a self-confessed Bounty-phile, sucking up all the literature that she has to offer and this was no exception.William Bligh must go down as one of the most maligned persons in history. This from a man who acted as second in command to Cook in his early 20's, became governor of Australia and, as this book explains, sailed over 4000 miles from memory in a 23 foot boat losing not a single man during the voyage. Toohey starts us with the happenings at Keakekua Bay, Hawaii the day Cook was murdered. This, according to Toohey, stayed with Bligh all his years and coloured his actions thereafter. Sections of the book contain dialogue between the men in the boat; this has to be guessed at obviously but Toohey makes a decent stab at it. This wil not take you long to read but will provide some valuable information on an oft-neglected area of the whole Bounty lore.
1.0 out of 5 stars
A rehash of old material,
By
This review is from: Capt Blighs Portable Nightmare (Hardcover)
This is simply a rewrite of what has already been published many times. William Bligh published a full account in 1792 with the full title, "A Voyage to the South Sea Undertaken by Command of His Majesty for the Purpose of Conveying the Bread-Fruit Tree to the West Indies in His Majesty's Ship the Bounty Commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh and an Account of the Mutiny on Board H.M.S. Bounty and the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew in the Ship's Boat, from Tofoa, One of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch Settlement in the East Indies." That book was republished in 1961 with a shortened title, "The Mutiny on Board H.M.S. Bounty." I am sure that there are copies in various libraries and private collections. Nordhoff and Hall published a fictionalized version, and that seemed to lead to a spate of books in the 1930's about the life of Vice Admiral William Bligh. The story is well known, and there is little to add. Bligh's problems came mainly from inexperience coupled with his own brash way of addressing people. He took command of the Bounty at the age of 33, and it was his first command of a Royal Navy vessel. Prior to that he had been a ship's master, with a very short period as a lieutenant. He was on his own far from the fleet. His skill as a navigator saved the crew members in the ship's boat (although many died from illness after reaching Batavia, a well known fever port).
3.0 out of 5 stars
Did not compare well to fictionalized 'Men Against the Sea',
By
This review is from: Capt Blighs Portable Nightmare (Hardcover)
While this book was nicely written and a quick read, I did not particularly enjoy it. While the story of Bligh and his men and their journey across the South Pacific is truly one of the most amazing stories of sea survival ever to occur, this book tooled thru so much of the journey so quickly that I never got the sense of its scope or its heroic nature. I also agree with comments of other reviewers that it did not convey Bligh's great leadership abilities well. In that regard the fcitionalized 'Men Against the Sea' (Nordhoff and Hall) did a much better job. If anything, this telling made me more understanding of the resentment of the men in the boat (as opposed to those who stayed behind after the mutiny) against Bligh, while the novel made it clear that the same qualites of control and rigor which resulted in the mutiny are also the major reasons that Bligh and his men survived the journey. I would heartily recommend the entire MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY trilogy for those who are interested in the Bounty story over this somewhat factual account.
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