The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty

by Caroline Alexander

confinement had been made less rigorous than under Edwards, and as Morrison noted, they had begun to regain their health and strength. May 1 brought an extraordinary diversion: two sharks were caught and in the belly of one was found a prayer

After twenty-five days of battle with the sea, the Bounty was, at 59° 05’ south, more or less where she had begun.

“Thank God, I have done my duty” were Nelson’s last

While Bligh had defended himself in crisp, logical naval fashion, he failed to comprehend that he was doing battle with a force more formidable and unassailable than any enemy he would meet at sea—the power of a good story.

And in the clumsy, erratic testimonies of his “Appendix,” Edward Christian had unleashed the most irresistible elements of the story now known as “the Mutiny on the Bounty.”