Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian: The Men and the Mutiny (Bluejacket Books)

The mutiny on the Bounty has fascinated readers for more than two hundred years, but no other book on this extraordinary episode in maritime history tells the story as well as this masterly and thrilling account by Richard Hough. He has set down all the aspects of the extraordinary story in a manner that is utterly compelling, and he has brought alive the powerful characters who played out the events. Highly touted when first published in 1972, it is an epic drama of courage, discovery, deceit, and treachery. The story of Fletcher Christian and the rest of the mutineers' discovery of an uninhabited island and their attempt to fashion a community away from the pursuing ships of the Royal Navy is as tense as it is horrific. Captain Bligh's remarkable 3,600-mile voyage to Timor in the ship's open launch is fully described as one of the great feats of navigation. The dismal episode of the Pandora and the remarkable survival of one of the mutineers add further fascinating twists to the story.