Mutiny on Board H.M.S. Bounty

By: William Bligh

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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!

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.

editing errors in the narration but otherwise good

some of the first or last portions of a chapter are repeated by the narrator which must have been an editing mistake. the book itself is something everyone should read. very informative and fun

Great Story, Great Narration

Great story about skill, knowledge, courage, and the will to not just survive, but to prevail. Bernard Mayes was a pleasure to listen to.

A Chronicle of the Voyage, Nothing More

This is a chronicle of the voyage, as seen by William Bligh, from the time of the Bounty's commissioning to Bligh's return to England. The description of the actual mutiny occupies less than ten minutes. It is all a first-person report of events. It includes a steady dose of dry daily position reports and mundane details of the voyage pre and post-mutiny, which lasted over two years. If you're already familiar with the story, some of Bligh's commentary is interesting. He was very much a sailor, navigator, diplomat, and explorer. His personal courage and resourcefulness are unquestionable. However, there is little personal insight offered regarding the events leading up to and reasons for the mutiny other than the attraction of life in Tahiti to the crew. There is no mention of his interaction with the crew that doesn't appear self-serving given his well known hot-tempered personality. Fletcher Christian, an obviously prominent figure before and during the mutiny, is barely mentioned. The narrator's delivery is, for me, what I imagine Bligh might have sounded like reading it.

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.

Reads like an official report

Four stars for narration since occasionally sentences will be repeated and waver in volume, but otherwise the narrator is the perfect fit for the portrait of Captain Bligh and delivers the book wonderfully.

This book reads as an official report, and not a story for casual consumption. The only downside of this, for my mind, is the constant listing of latitude and longitude coordinates that do nothing to further the listener's comprehension of the events. The consequent benefit of the format, is that care is taken to describe many things that may otherwise be glossed over as the Captain wanted to ensure full understanding by the reader. This means that a large amount of the book is spent learning about the natives of the islands and how the British interacted and traded with them making the book far more valuable than just a story of a ship's crew.

It was also disappointing that the vast majority of dates listed do not mention the months, making it impossible to keep an accurate timeline without external research (one of the few if not only times that the author appears to have presumed knowledge by the reader).

Minor complaints aside it is a wonderful primary source to learn about the mutiny on the ship, as well as the general atmosphere of adventure and trade in this era, and is delivered excellently by Mr. Mayes.

Truly marvelous story

I was very surprised by how engrossing and moving is this amazing story. Although I had known of this incredible 3600 mile voyage in an open boat I had never imagined or conceived of what an astounding feat of seamanship and leadership it really was. Bligh has certainly been misrepresented in other narratives and it took having these events put into the proper perspective for me to appreciate his courage skill and humanity. His narrative is very well written, very involving, very engrossing and I am surprised that I had never heard of this work before. Very highly recommended.

Another Look At Bligh

As a young lad I thought Captain William Bligh was a criminal, but as I have grown some whiskers, including 6 years in the USN, its pretty obvious Christian and his mates were the criminals under laws of the sea. Bligh was a bit paranoid, but he surely does not get due credit for his navigational brilliance. A good book for a high schooler and those that cannot get the salt water out of his veins.