The Voyage of H. M. S. Bounty

Book excerpt: A timeless story of the Royal Navy The story of Captain Bligh, the quest for breadfruit and the mutiny is perhaps one of the most famous concerning the Royal Navy in the great days of sail. Much of this can be attributed to the several motion pictures made of the story. Predictably, fact was far from fiction. This book-written by Captain Bligh himself-reveals a fine and able officer, well regarded by peers and superiors, who set about a difficult task that led ultimately to the infamous ordeal of mutiny within his crew. As Fletcher Christian and the mutineers took his vessel and returned to the pleasures of Tahiti, Bligh and the other loyal unfortunates in his open boat began the long struggle for survival which would see the deaths of many of them. Bligh recounts the entire history of the voyage of the Bounty from commission to mutiny to final deliverance, enhanced with much detail of interest to students of navigation and maritime history. A true classic.