Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare: From the Bounty to Safety--4,162 Miles Across the Pacific in a Rowing Boat

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.

A few years ago, I visited the Museum of Gardening History on the south embankment of the Thames in London. The Museum is housed in a former church, and plant specimens from the New World as well as the remains of Tradescants, the botanists who discovered and classified many of them, are located on the grounds. The crisp October day I visited the museum, Tradescantia (blue-flowered Virgina Spiderwort) were in bloom and the leaves of the Virginia Creeper were turning a bright red. I lingered in this beautiful spot, reading the inscriptions on the tombstones, and in so doing discovered the grave of Captain William Bligh. Until that moment, I had had no idea Bligh was anything other than the dreadful character portrayed by Charles Laughton in the film "Mutiny on the Bounty." That day, I learned he was an educated man who transported a number of botanists overseas, including the Tradescants, and thereby played an important role in the collection and classification of plant life. Since then, I have made it a point to learn all I can about this amazing and much maligned man. For example, I once lived in Hawaii, and knew Captain Cook had died at Kealakekua Bay, but I did not know Bligh was on that ill-fated expedition until I saw the 1980's film "The Bounty" starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as Bligh. (A far more accurate film than the older version.) I enjoyed Toohey's book. It is an excellent history: factual, interesting, balanced. I did not know until I read Toohey's book that Bligh had distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars. This man was truly a hero, and deserves to be re-discovered and honored for his accomplishments.

An old and familiar story retold from new perspectives and with fresh insights into history and character. This is a fascinating book and you will enjoy it whether you are an amateur historian or just enjoy good writing. Reminds me of Joyhn McPhee's books -- the writer is so good he can make any subject interesting.

Apologies to Charles Laughton, Hollywood's swaggering, autocratic 18th Century British naval officer who loses HMS Bounty to Marlon Brando's Mr. Christian. Author John Toohey's book "Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare" lends long overdue balance to the extremely capable if troubled William Bligh.Combining history with literary license, Toohey weaves a gripping account of survival and intrigue. The book's early focus is on Bligh's experiences as ship's Master and principal cartographer during James Cook's third exploration of the Pacific. When Cook is killed in the Sandwich Islands Bligh feels blame. This guilt is compounded by disgust when, upon returning to England, Bligh finds he has been deprived credit for his work on the expedition's soon famous maps of the Pacific. These "failures" drive Bligh to seek an opportunity to reclaim just honor and recognition. It comes in 1787 when Bligh is sent on a mission of moderate importance. Like all he does, Bligh is compelled to conduct it as though the world were watching (as they had Cook ten years earlier). There is a mutiny. Bligh and eighteen men are set adrift in a 23 foot launch with a meager ration of food, water, instruments but no charts. His leadership and navigation skills are challenged by storms, starvation, exposure, and (again) growing dissention yet Bligh negotiates nearly 4,200 miles of ocean to safety in Timor -- with the loss of one man and all the while obsessively (if not dutifully) making notations and drawings of landforms along the way. It is an incomparable achievement yet, upon returning to England questions of the mutiny share headlines with the tale of brilliant navigation and survival. Though Bligh's wife's words, Toohey sums up the man best: "He has always given the impression he has been victimized, yet he seems wilfully prepared to destroy his career for an insignificant principle... His troubles consume him... He is so determined to abide by the letter of the law he can never understand how he aggravates people who know that certain situations require more imagination than he is prepared to put in. They admire him, respect him, call him a hero -- but they never warm to him... More than any man she has ever met he feels utterly alone."Toohey description of Bligh and his interrelationship with his "boat mates," -- particularly stubborn William Purcell and the conspiring John Fryer -- lend intrigue. This story evokes qualities from "Bridge On the River Kwai" and "Tweleve Angry Men". It's a good read and a balanced account that helps the reader climb into a 23 foot boat in the South Pacific and into the head of Britain's most maligned sea captain.

Apologies to Charles Laughton, Hollywood's swaggering, autocratic 18th Century British naval officer who loses HMS Bounty to Clark Gable's Christian. Author John Toohey's book "Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare" lends long overdue balance to the extremely capable if troubled William Bligh. Combining history with literary license, Toohey weaves a gripping account of survival and intrigue. The book's early focus is on Bligh's experiences as ship's Master and principal cartographer during James Cook's third exploration of the Pacific. When Cook is killed in the Sandwich Islands Bligh feels blame. This guilt is compounded by disgust when, upon returning to England, Bligh finds he has been deprived credit for his work on the expedition's soon famous maps of the Pacific. These "failures" drive Bligh to seek an opportunity to reclaim just honor and recognition. It comes in 1787 when Bligh is sent on a mission of moderate importance. Like all he does, Bligh is compelled to conduct it as though the world were watching (as they had Cook ten years earlier). There is a mutiny. Bligh and eighteen men are set adrift in a 23 foot launch with a meager ration of food, water, instruments but no charts. His leadership and navigation skills are challenged by storms, starvation, exposure, and (again) growing dissention yet Bligh negotiates nearly 4,200 miles of ocean to safety in Timor -- with the loss of one man and all the while obsessively (if not dutifully) making notations and drawings of landforms along the way. It is an incomparable achievement yet, upon returning to England questions of the mutiny share headlines with the tale of brilliant navigation and survival. Though Bligh's wife's words, Toohey sums up the man best: "He has always given the impression he has been victimized, yet he seems wilfully prepared to destroy his career for an insignificant principle... His troubles consume him... He is so determined to abide by the letter of the law he can never understand how he aggravates people who know that certain situations require more imagination than he is prepared to put in. They admire him, respect him, call him a hero -- but they never warm to him... More than any man she has ever met he feels utterly alone." Toohey description of Bligh and his interrelationship with his "boat mates," -- particularly stubborn William Purcell and the conspiring John Fryer -- lend intrigue. This story evokes qualities from "Bridge On the River Kwai" and "Twelve Angry Men". It's a good read and a balanced account that helps the reader climb into a 23 foot boat in the South Pacific and into the head of Britain's most maligned sea captain.