Mutiny on Board H.M.S. Bounty

By: William Bligh

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

In 1787, William Bligh, commander of the Bounty, sailed under Captain Cook on a voyage to Tahiti to collect plants of the breadfruit tree, with a view to acclimatizing the species to the West Indies. During their six-month stay on the island, his men became completely demoralized, and on the return voyage mutinied. Yet a resentful crew, coupled with ravaging storms and ruthless savages, proved to be merely stages leading up to the anxiety-charged ordeal to come. Bligh, along with 18 men, was cast adrift in an open boat only 23 feet long, with a small stock of provisions, and without a chart.

His narrative, deeply personal yet objective, documents the voyage and Bligh’s relationships to his men, and thereby exposes the oft debated question of what manner of man he really was.

Public Domain (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

First hand account of naval genius

Captain Bligh is a naval genius. Although portrayed as a villain in movies, his own account seems the mutiny seems balanced and highly professional. The first part is a bit dull, but the mutiny and open-boat journey is one of the greatest feats in naval history... almost 20 men packed in a jolly boat, over 3,000 miles through hostile tribal islands. Bligh's brilliant navigation and iron discipline saved his men.

Easy envisioning

If you seek to relive a great adventure this is a great source. I highly recommend this narrative to the sea-faring adventurer!

3000+ miles sailed out of pure spite

My man sailed half way around the world from memory in a 24 foot long boat just to spite Mr. Fletcher Christian. Wild.

An Epic True Story!

I read this book years ago and it has remained in my mind all these years hence. It was and is, while being a cadence of a log, is a fascinating as a maritime novel. I can only wonder at how Bligh brought himself and his cast-off crew to their first survivable destination made such an epic voyage in an open boat. It is a true story from his perspective and is a high adventure of any in the days of sail. It is a stand-alone account of superior seamanship, crewmanship and steadfast determination. It fires my mind when compared with much lesser tales of fiction; and with actual survival at sea stories. A remarkable work!

Great "other side" of the story

Very well done in terms of a reading. I have read most everything on The Mutiny On the Bounty. Oddly, until now, I had not read lieutenant William Bligh's own account. This was quite good. Interesting how only a few minutes were even spent on Fletcher Christian. From Bligh's respective, Fletcher was not a major element in the entire voyage, on their than the actual mutiny of course. Other writings and movies of course paint this big picture of a relationship between the 2 and ultimate animosity. Bligh would disagree. This is certainly the most accurate representation of what actually happened, from the departure in England until Bligh and company's landing in Timore.