wwatts1734's review against another edition
4.0
In this, the second installment of the Bounty trilogy, the jettisoned crew of Captain Bligh's 23 foot launch travels 3600 miles from the island of Tofoa to the Dutch colony of Timor. This novel is based on a true story of Captain Bligh's miracle, whereby he saved the lives of 18 of the 19 men who were marooned with him on the little launch to fend for themselves in the vastness of the South Pacific.
Honestly, I enjoyed the "Mutiny on the Bounty" better, but "Mutiny" had it all - adventure, the interaction of cultures, and the legal drama of the mutiny trial. In contrast, "Men against the Sea" is a grinding tale of hardship. The men on this little launch suffered through days of privations, barely enough food to survive, storms, cold, heat, murderous natives and their own arguements and struggles. The Captain Bligh character did a 180 degree turn in this novel. No longer the petty, tyrannical and thieving officer that he was in "Mutiny", in "Men" he is a selfless, courageous and inspirational leader. There were just enough references in "Men" to the mutiny to remind the reader of Bligh's shortcoming, but other than that, you would not know that this is the same man. It is quite interesting.
Although "Men against the Sea" is not as good as "Mutiny on the Bounty", it is a riveting story of survival at sea. I would recommend it to anyone, particularly to anyone who loves a good sea story, and anyone who enjoyed the "Mutiny on the Bounty".
Honestly, I enjoyed the "Mutiny on the Bounty" better, but "Mutiny" had it all - adventure, the interaction of cultures, and the legal drama of the mutiny trial. In contrast, "Men against the Sea" is a grinding tale of hardship. The men on this little launch suffered through days of privations, barely enough food to survive, storms, cold, heat, murderous natives and their own arguements and struggles. The Captain Bligh character did a 180 degree turn in this novel. No longer the petty, tyrannical and thieving officer that he was in "Mutiny", in "Men" he is a selfless, courageous and inspirational leader. There were just enough references in "Men" to the mutiny to remind the reader of Bligh's shortcoming, but other than that, you would not know that this is the same man. It is quite interesting.
Although "Men against the Sea" is not as good as "Mutiny on the Bounty", it is a riveting story of survival at sea. I would recommend it to anyone, particularly to anyone who loves a good sea story, and anyone who enjoyed the "Mutiny on the Bounty".
snekmint's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
4.0
This book continues the story of mutiny aboard the British armed vessel, the Bounty. It picks up the story of its captain, William Bligh, following the mutiny and details the 3600 mile voyage across open seas he took with 17 other members of the crew.
Nordhoff and Hall turned this adventure story into something more than mere action; it provided an alternative psychological insight into Bligh from the one detailed in the first book of the trilogy. It is extraordinary how Bligh transforms from a psychotic martinet into a bonafide hero in Men Against the Sea. From being a character of disgust, Bligh becomes a man uniquely suited to the task he faces of saving himself and his 17 member loyal crew.
Another turn in this volume from the first book Mutiny on the Bounty, is the change in narrator. Mutiny has as its narrator the young midshipman, Roger Byam. In Men Against the Sea, the narrator is the older, wiser, and more knowledgeable ship's surgeon, Thomas Ledward. Accordingly, the narration shifts from the perspective a young man eager for action and adventure--while being more than a bit naive--to an older man more nuanced with life and its disappointments and harsh demands. Ledward's narration and dialogue, therefore, is a bit more complex and expert than Byam's. This is a subtle shift that Nordhoff and Hall managed to pull off in a manner so to shift the reader's entire point of view from that of the first book.
Finally, there is the description of the sea. Men Against the Sea yields an image of the ocean that is constantly changing. From storms and purple clouds to sunlit days of blinding clarity, the passage of the men through the waters is as varied as any trek along the land. Blue waters, clear waters, foul waters, all turned glassy calm or foamy and violent, the sea is ever changing. By novel's end, the reader is just as eager to follow the fate of the Bounty's loyal seamen as he or she was to see out the eventual fate of the mutineers in the first volume.
Nordhoff and Hall turned this adventure story into something more than mere action; it provided an alternative psychological insight into Bligh from the one detailed in the first book of the trilogy. It is extraordinary how Bligh transforms from a psychotic martinet into a bonafide hero in Men Against the Sea. From being a character of disgust, Bligh becomes a man uniquely suited to the task he faces of saving himself and his 17 member loyal crew.
Another turn in this volume from the first book Mutiny on the Bounty, is the change in narrator. Mutiny has as its narrator the young midshipman, Roger Byam. In Men Against the Sea, the narrator is the older, wiser, and more knowledgeable ship's surgeon, Thomas Ledward. Accordingly, the narration shifts from the perspective a young man eager for action and adventure--while being more than a bit naive--to an older man more nuanced with life and its disappointments and harsh demands. Ledward's narration and dialogue, therefore, is a bit more complex and expert than Byam's. This is a subtle shift that Nordhoff and Hall managed to pull off in a manner so to shift the reader's entire point of view from that of the first book.
Finally, there is the description of the sea. Men Against the Sea yields an image of the ocean that is constantly changing. From storms and purple clouds to sunlit days of blinding clarity, the passage of the men through the waters is as varied as any trek along the land. Blue waters, clear waters, foul waters, all turned glassy calm or foamy and violent, the sea is ever changing. By novel's end, the reader is just as eager to follow the fate of the Bounty's loyal seamen as he or she was to see out the eventual fate of the mutineers in the first volume.
raeese's review against another edition
4.0
This book is similar to the previous one, sans all of the happiness. A group of men travels an absurd distance across the sea on a schooner with little supplies. I honestly don't know how anyone could survive this journey, but they did. All the while, I pondered the most crucial question of the book: what happened to everyone's teeth?!
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2927397.html
I read Men Against the Sea during a particularly insomniac night; it's the shortest of the three books, told in the voice of the (historical) surgeon's mate of the Bounty, Thomas Ledward, explaining the epic 41-day, 6,500 km journey taken by Bligh and 18 others in an 7-metre long open boat from the site of the mutiny (near Tofua, one of the Tonga islands) to Kupang at the western end of Timor, avoiding the potentially hostile shores of Australia and other islands - one man was killed at the very beginning, on Tofua. It is an extraordinary feat of navigation, and Nordhoff and Hall succeed in spinning it out; the internal tensions among the 18 survivors are easy to imagine and well portrayed. The impact of their ordeal on the men's digestive systems also is a disturbing but reasonable detail. Interestingly, Samuel is portrayed here as just another crew member; the previous book's anti-Semitism has disappeared. The book ends with Ledward taking his leave of Bligh, who is on his way back to London. In real life, Ledward was one of the five crewmen who died very soon after they reached Batavia (where they all went shortly after arriving in Timor).
I read Men Against the Sea during a particularly insomniac night; it's the shortest of the three books, told in the voice of the (historical) surgeon's mate of the Bounty, Thomas Ledward, explaining the epic 41-day, 6,500 km journey taken by Bligh and 18 others in an 7-metre long open boat from the site of the mutiny (near Tofua, one of the Tonga islands) to Kupang at the western end of Timor, avoiding the potentially hostile shores of Australia and other islands - one man was killed at the very beginning, on Tofua. It is an extraordinary feat of navigation, and Nordhoff and Hall succeed in spinning it out; the internal tensions among the 18 survivors are easy to imagine and well portrayed. The impact of their ordeal on the men's digestive systems also is a disturbing but reasonable detail. Interestingly, Samuel is portrayed here as just another crew member; the previous book's anti-Semitism has disappeared. The book ends with Ledward taking his leave of Bligh, who is on his way back to London. In real life, Ledward was one of the five crewmen who died very soon after they reached Batavia (where they all went shortly after arriving in Timor).
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