Captain Bligh : the man and his mutinies /

The concept of this book was a sound one: on the 200th anniversary of the mutiny on the Bounty, update the information about William Bligh and put it in the context of how he dealt with this and the other mutinies he faced. Although the concept was sound, its execution is rather disappointing. Kennedy's approach is not balanced. Most of the emphasis is on the Bounty and the open boat voyage; subsequent mutinies receive scant attention. Earlier authors, including Kennedy in his biography, Bligh (London, 1978), did a better job. Perhaps the best part of this book is the author's analysis of the open boat voyage. Several sources were used, including the recently published Bligh Notebook (2v. facsimile ed., 1986) of the voyage. Generally speaking, although Kennedy has a tendency to make Bligh look good by highlighting the incompetence of others, he does make some rather sensible observations about his subject. Yet the author does not do all he promised, even with respect to updating information. To give one example, medical history of the Navy is virtually ignored. Still, general readers who are unfamiliar with Bligh might find this book a useful introduction to the man and his mutinies.