Men Against the Sea

This picks up the story of Captain Bleigh when he is cast off the HMS Bounty in a long boat by Fletcher Christian. Bleigh rows half way accross the Pacific under very great difficulty avoiding easier alternatives just to reach a British port. He put his small crew in great danger, lack of food and water, and even faces dangerous natives on some of the islands he comes accross in his journey. I first read this book in Junior High in the 1950's, when reading was a boar to me. I couldn't put it down and really established my love for reading.I gave an oral book report and got an A when I described that as times got tougher for Captian Bleigh, he grew stronger as his men got weaker, with his determination to return to Britian to see that the mutineers were brought to justice.

Really a fantastic read -- you'll get to see another side of William Bligh than of that of the first novel, Mutiny on the Bounty. This one, too, is a real page turner!

I actually picked up Men Against the Sea expecting a mundane but entertaining sea story. It started off innocently enough until the unlucky crew was sentenced to their watery fate. Then the book suddenly plunged into turbo mode. Now, for an authour to write such a long book about the adventures of 18 men on one small boat and not skip a beat is remarkable. Captain Bligh establishes his presence on the vessel with an iron grip. His leadership skills and confidence are quite extrodinary as he takes control of boat. One cannot help but feel for the crew as they struggle against all odds. Men Against the Sea is one of those stories that swipes the reader right of their comfy couch and throws them head-first into the raging ocean. The writers describe the hunger and thirst of the men so convicingly that I actually had to grab a bite myself or starve with them! The storms and squalls are believably violent and the Island natives frightfully savage. It is really a great adventure story. The book manages to surpass its predecessor, Mutiny on the Bounty, by leaps and bounds. From rationing food barely sufficient for one man amongst 18 hungry seamen, too eating raw fish, the crew, lead by their relentless captain, are determined to survive. You will no doubt find yourself cheering at their victories and subsequently mourning their defeats.What makes the read even more enjoyable is the realization that it is basically a true story. Man against Nature! Trully a book not easily forgotten. It has been 4 years since I read the book and it is still imprinted in by mind. Read it for yourself. Such books makes being an avid reader so much fun!

It was a hot summer day, and I was in the mood for a sea story. I luckily picked up MEN AGAINST THE SEA and quickly became engrossed. Where the prequel, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, was a story of a mutiny, this one was one of the best men against the elements stories ever penned. We see a very different Captain Bligh, whose temper still flares up from time to time, but who this time is successful in managing a small crew of men in an open boat over 3,000 miles from the site of the mutiny to Timor, which is today part of Indonesia. Fletcher Christian and his mutineers allow Bligh and his loyalists no guns, three cutlasses, a small medical kit, and a pitiful store of water and victuals. Their boat must skirt all inhabited islands because they had no gifts to give to the natives -- which in the islands at that time meant that they were risking attack every time. Their water supply came from rainstorms and occasional landings for food. They had no gear for fishing. All they had to go on were Bligh's knowledge and guts. I actually prefer this book to MUTINY and now eagerly look forward to seeing if PITCAIRN'S ISLAND, the third volume in the trilogy, is as good.

Both historically accurate and extremely entertaining. It is a very different type of novel when compared with traditional tales about the sea.