Customer Reviews

Men Against the Sea: A Novel

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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.

Men Against the Sea is the fictionalized second book in the Bounty Trilogy. Mutiny on the Bounty recounts the tale of the voyage of the H.M.S. Bounty from England to Tahiti and a little way back, the mutiny, and the subsequent events that affect those of the Bounty's crew who remain on Tahiti. When last seen in that book, Captain William Bligh is cast adrift far from land in a small vessel overladen with 18 other loyal men and about 7 to 8 inches of freeboard above a flat sea. Practically speaking, their chances are slim.

Men Against the Sea begins with the mutiny and describes what happens to Captain Bligh and those he commands as they make their way eventually to the Dutch settlement of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. Along the way, Captain Bligh and his men traverse around 3,600 miles in their fragile vessel while suffering many horrors including attacks from the native people, lack of sleep, storms, bailing for their lives, cold, thirst, too much sun, and hunger. The authors make a good decision in choosing to have the ship's surgeon serve as the narrator of this saga. This perspective made it possible for the book to include his physical descriptions of the deprivations of the Bounty's abandoned crew to help make the story more compelling. In the true spirit of a story about English tars, there is a considerable discussion of how the starvation the men experienced affected their intestinal tracts.

Captain Bligh comes across very poorly in Mutiny on the Bounty. The opposite occurs in Men Against the Sea. His leadership is one of the great accomplishments of seamanship of all time. Throughout the troubled voyage to the first landing at the Dutch settlement on Timor, Captain Bligh only lost one man. Captain Bligh also comes across as a brave, worthy, and dedicated sailor who is more than willing to share the deprivations of his men. In one stretch, he mans the tiller for 36 straight hours despite being exhausted. At the same time, even the most querulous of the crew usually keep their silence.

But the men are only human after all. Someone steals two pounds of pork. Another shipmate sent to capture birds is overcome by the need to eat them, and spoils the hunting for everyone. In their weakened state, they miss many wonderful chances for food. When they reach civilization and begin to recover from their privations, complaining quickly returns.

My test of how well written such an adventure tale is that I often felt like I was in the boat struggling with them. The main weakness of the book is that it skips many days on end, when the circumstances were at their most dire such as during unending days of storms. By doing this, the reader is denied the chance to have the full horror of the crossing bear down more strongly.

Most of the weaknesses of Mutiny on the Bounty are overcome in Men Against the Sea. So if you found that work unappealing, give this one a chance. It has many of the qualities of great survival and adventure books.

After you finish this remarkable tale, I suggest you think about the ways that adversity brings out the best in you. How can you do as well when times and circumstance are not adverse?

Squarely face the challenge, with confidence that success will follow!

I imagine the original publishers of this book had a look of incredulity on their faces when first pitched the idea for this book - put 19 men in a boat so small that they cannot move around in it, and have them sail the south Pacific for 43 days. That it was a true story no doubt helped, and that it was a companion story to the obviously interesting plot of The Mutiny on the Bounty would also have contributed to getting the go-ahead. The result is much like Tom Hanks's film Castaway - the very nature of the problem coupled with the delivery of the story makes this a riveting story. At ~200 pages, it doesn't wear out its welcome, and tells its story with the simplicity and narrative force such a tale requires.

There is really little else to say about this book, except to point out that, while it is the middle story of a trilogy, it probably can be read stand-alone or out of order of the other two. In terms of timing, it splits off from the story in "Mutiny on the Bounty," and ends sooner, so there are no real "spoilers" in the second book. I think it is, overall, a better-written story than the first. It is not as rich and detailed in presenting British sea life at the end of the 18th century, but it does bring forth the sheer magnitude of the achievement of these sailors against all odds, travelling such a great distance in an open vessel with scant supplies.

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!

This second edition of the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy follows the adventure of Captain Bligh and his loyal crew members who are forced onto a launch and travel 3600 miles to Dutch territory. This is not quite as exciting as the first volume which details the mutiny and the subsequent trial, but it is an adequate follow-up. Nordhoff/Hall again combine historical accuracy (apparently painstakingly researched) and literary license to produce an enjoyable book.

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

***"then, for no reason unless acting in accordance with some superstition concerning the Moon, the savage Chief, shouting some unintelligible words to his followers, abandoned their pursuit, turned and headed back toward the land. Ten minutes later, we were alone on a vast, empty, moonlit sea."
***** page 349

The Trilogy - this writing team of Nordhoff and Hall was beyond doubt, an essential read, at the time, and again even today, if it has not been part of your literary experience before now. The three books should be read in sequence to obtain the fullest enjoyment of all of them, because they are forever entwined within each other:

** Mutiny On The Bounty
** Men Against The Sea
** Pitcairn's Island

All three works are commanding, but of the three, "Men Against The Sea" was probably, in my view, the most gripping, as it dealt with scenarios unimagined. It is quite comfortable to absorb a tale of lusty, unruly men and women as set forth in an enchanting background of swaying palm trees, ripe breadfruit, succulent roasted fish with perhaps a drop or two of fresh lime juice; of soft ocean breezes that caress the bare skin from the serenity of a beautiful South Pacific shore. But it is quite another matter entirely to be rudely jerked out of bed in the middle of a mutiny, unceremoniously cast asunder in a leaky launch,reduced to eating Albatross beaks and feet, drinking it's blood and staring morosely at the glistening entrails which are up next - as the struggle to stay alive turned human into animal. This brings a whole new dimension to the idea of "survival at sea" and to the three stories overall.

Set truly as "men against a sea", it cast the reader away from the safety of the Ship Bounty, out into the savage, open, barely charted ocean, with the seamen who chose to remain with Captain Bligh - in the "launch", a boat much too small for the cargo it was to take back to England, if, indeed, it could make it back at all. This epic journey took Bligh and his loyalists across 3,000 miles of vast sea, the only islands that they came in contact with populated with wild eyed natives; without enough fresh water, food, or protection from the sun and storms. Captain Bligh, the man most of them had detested prior to the mutiny, was of a different turn in the face of this emergency, and the ragged crew found themselves thankful of his leadership as the grim hand dealt them played out against the elements. His iron hand had been responsible for placing them all there in the little boat - that same hand, steady on the rudder and on the discipline of those that remained with him, brought them through the peril that accosted them from every turn.

This second novel is adventure in it's rawest form; rudimentary, basic - and yet the authors managed to bring forth the vivid graphics, without gruesomeness. This is especially talented when describing the delicate subject of a starved man's feces being the size and shape of BB's. ( Well, I never said this was going to be a tasteful review) It was all in the choice of the wording, and it was effective.

***"He was gone - the finest seaman under whom I have ever had the good fortune to sail. From the bottom of my heart I wished him God Speed.." **** - last pg, final sentence, "Men Against The Sea"

This story relates another aspect of the events surrounding the mutiny on the Bounty. It looks at what happened to Captain Bligh and 19 loyal men, set adrift in a 23-foot open boat, overloaded with men, but with scant supplies. Captain Bligh then proceeded to lead them on a 3600 mile voyage across the sea. It remains one of the greatest feats in sea-faring history.

The narrative is compellingly told by the acting surgeon, who is in a unique position to relate the effects on the men of starvation and the harsh conditions. The narrative never drags and is always enthralling, despite the fact that the basic events of the voyage (starve, storms, bail, row, unfriendly natives, starve, storms, etc) do not vary.

The portrayal of Captain Bligh is fascinating, much better than Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel which assassinates his character, portraying him as an unusually cruel captain quick to flog, when he in fact flogged his men much much less frequently than most captains. He may have been short-tempered, but he wasn't a cruel tyrant. That false perception of him has resulted in many being unaware of his great achievement in his 3600-mile open launch voyage, bringing all but one of his men safely to port, against all odds. This book gives him the honor he deserves for his accomplishments.

I would highly recommend this book as good reading for anyone. It can stand alone from the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel, but is better understood with at least some basic knowledge of those events. If you enjoyed Mutiny on the Bounty: A Novel, this book is far superior.

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!