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The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific
A celebrated travel writer tells the story of the tiny, fascinating island of Pitcairn, home of precisely 49 people, all descendants of the original founders of the island, the famous mutineers who were the basis for the novels and movie, The Mutiny On the Bounty.
The public has been fascinated by Pitcairn since tales of it first started spreading in the early 1900s. But beyond the fictional Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy, there's never been a true deep dive, with full, unencumbered access. Until now. In The Far Land, travel writer Brandon Presser chronicles his time living on the island with its two resident families, marrying the island's haunting legend with his modern-day misadventures. He delves into its history: investigating the motives of the original mutineers who felt the need to burn their boats when they found this unmapped piece of rock in the middle of the Pacific, and why so many years later, people still stay there. He unpacks the natural resources and topology that first caused British explorers to decide to never return to their previous lives and families. And he goes deep into the problems inherent in such a matriarchal society where modern society's norms travel slowly.
The Far Land is also about an outsider studying the most insular community on Earth while at the same time reckoning with his own (and all of our own) human nature as he finds so many of the problems this tiny society faces are not at all exclusive to them. The book is an operatic thriller rife with lust, jealousy, and greed, told with newly unearthed detail and unprecedented access to the island and its people.
The public has been fascinated by Pitcairn since tales of it first started spreading in the early 1900s. But beyond the fictional Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy, there's never been a true deep dive, with full, unencumbered access. Until now. In The Far Land, travel writer Brandon Presser chronicles his time living on the island with its two resident families, marrying the island's haunting legend with his modern-day misadventures. He delves into its history: investigating the motives of the original mutineers who felt the need to burn their boats when they found this unmapped piece of rock in the middle of the Pacific, and why so many years later, people still stay there. He unpacks the natural resources and topology that first caused British explorers to decide to never return to their previous lives and families. And he goes deep into the problems inherent in such a matriarchal society where modern society's norms travel slowly.
The Far Land is also about an outsider studying the most insular community on Earth while at the same time reckoning with his own (and all of our own) human nature as he finds so many of the problems this tiny society faces are not at all exclusive to them. The book is an operatic thriller rife with lust, jealousy, and greed, told with newly unearthed detail and unprecedented access to the island and its people.
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First published January 1, 2022
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January 28, 2022
Many readers will be familiar with this saga from the three books written by Nordhoff and Hall starting in 1932. These are Mutiny on the Bounty, followed by Men Against the Sea, and Pitcairn Island which was based on the aftermath of the mutiny. Many consider them the greatest sea stories ever told. Then there were the movie versions starring Clark Gable (1935) and Marlon Brando (1962) both playing Fletcher Christian the leading mutineer. There is also The Bounty movie(1984) with Mel Gibson. I read all three of the exciting and interesting books years ago and notice that they are now classified under historical fiction. I thought I knew the story, but now realize I only knew the outline of the facts based on some documented reports and embellished with speculation.
Renowned travel writer, Brandon Presser, has done an impressive and masterful job researching gaps in all three stories. He managed to access documents and court testimony available from the time and even visited the remote Pitcairn Island in 2018. This was at the time the home of 48 descendants of the Bounty mutiny. The island could be reached only 4 times a year by cargo supply freighter. It is a very tiny, rocky island with tall cliffs preventing an easy landing. He interviewed the people and saw documents previously uncovered. A year later he spent time on Norfolk Island where some of the Pitcairn Islanders were later settled by the British because Pitcairn was too small to sustain their growing numbers.
The author's time on Pitcairn does not seem entirely pleasant. They put on a friendly or distant face to the visitor, but he felt they were holding back on revealing dark episodes in their history. He divided his time living in the homes of two families and sensed jealousy, rivalry, and greed. They had been converted to the strict rules of the Seven Day Adventist religion but there was an undercurrent of immorality and entitlement from the past. There was little privacy, as their homes lacked doors, and he was beset by biting insects. There was very little communication with the outside world, and electricity was turned off every night at 10 pm.
Presser's book is aimed at filling in blanks in the island's dark, brutal past and adding new facts from his vast and impeccable research. It adds to the history of the people and events during the mutiny and life on the island that was unmapped and unknown at the time. His accounts of the mutiny and its aftermath are interspersed with accounts of his stay on Pitcairn while awaiting the next cargo ship for his return. He has added some very helpful maps, lists of the people on the Bounty, those major players in the mutiny, and those who settled on Pitcairn after they fled to hide from British justice. Also included are the names of Polynesians who accompanied them to Pitcairn. He includes pages of notes on his research and an extensive bibliography.
A brief summary; The mutiny occurred in 1790-91 when Fletcher Christian and a group of his followers seized the ship bound to transport breadfruit to Jamaica. The Captain, William Bligh, and eighteen followers were forced overboard into a 23-foot open boat. Their 3,600-mile journey to the Dutch East Indies is one of the greatest feats of endurance and courage in maritime history.
In the meantime, the mutineers had previously found brides in Tahiti. They returned to Tahiti and another Polynesian island and picked up more women and men in their search for an uninhabited island and hide from British justice. Some of the young women were duped into believing they would return home after a sea voyage, but in fact, a few were kidnapped. After many months at sea, they found the small island of Pitcairn where they decided to remain. At the time of arrival, there were 9 British men, 6 Polynesian men, and 12 women. No one knew what became of the Bounty until 1808 when a British ship encountered the inhabitants of Pitcairn. They found only one remaining British man, no Polynesian men, four women, and 24 children. What had happened to the 27 people who had made Pitcairn their home? An unbelievable story was uncovered, one of treachery, lust, greed and vicious savagery.
In the year 2000, there were accusations of rape and sexual abuse, and underage sex laid against 13 men, seven still living on Pitcairn and the rest now residing on Norfolk Island. The mayor of Pitcairn was among the accused. he also worked as the dentist and held several other positions. The British held trials and most went to jail. It showed that under the strict religious rules adhered to by the islanders, a sense of depravity remained, perhaps from the free sexual norms their ancestors encountered on visits to Tahiti.
This book should be of interest to historians, people fascinated with remote places and culture, and readers of The Mutiny on the Bounty and other sea adventures.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Perseus Books/Public Affairs for this informative, thrilling, and well-researched ARC.
Renowned travel writer, Brandon Presser, has done an impressive and masterful job researching gaps in all three stories. He managed to access documents and court testimony available from the time and even visited the remote Pitcairn Island in 2018. This was at the time the home of 48 descendants of the Bounty mutiny. The island could be reached only 4 times a year by cargo supply freighter. It is a very tiny, rocky island with tall cliffs preventing an easy landing. He interviewed the people and saw documents previously uncovered. A year later he spent time on Norfolk Island where some of the Pitcairn Islanders were later settled by the British because Pitcairn was too small to sustain their growing numbers.
The author's time on Pitcairn does not seem entirely pleasant. They put on a friendly or distant face to the visitor, but he felt they were holding back on revealing dark episodes in their history. He divided his time living in the homes of two families and sensed jealousy, rivalry, and greed. They had been converted to the strict rules of the Seven Day Adventist religion but there was an undercurrent of immorality and entitlement from the past. There was little privacy, as their homes lacked doors, and he was beset by biting insects. There was very little communication with the outside world, and electricity was turned off every night at 10 pm.
Presser's book is aimed at filling in blanks in the island's dark, brutal past and adding new facts from his vast and impeccable research. It adds to the history of the people and events during the mutiny and life on the island that was unmapped and unknown at the time. His accounts of the mutiny and its aftermath are interspersed with accounts of his stay on Pitcairn while awaiting the next cargo ship for his return. He has added some very helpful maps, lists of the people on the Bounty, those major players in the mutiny, and those who settled on Pitcairn after they fled to hide from British justice. Also included are the names of Polynesians who accompanied them to Pitcairn. He includes pages of notes on his research and an extensive bibliography.
A brief summary; The mutiny occurred in 1790-91 when Fletcher Christian and a group of his followers seized the ship bound to transport breadfruit to Jamaica. The Captain, William Bligh, and eighteen followers were forced overboard into a 23-foot open boat. Their 3,600-mile journey to the Dutch East Indies is one of the greatest feats of endurance and courage in maritime history.
In the meantime, the mutineers had previously found brides in Tahiti. They returned to Tahiti and another Polynesian island and picked up more women and men in their search for an uninhabited island and hide from British justice. Some of the young women were duped into believing they would return home after a sea voyage, but in fact, a few were kidnapped. After many months at sea, they found the small island of Pitcairn where they decided to remain. At the time of arrival, there were 9 British men, 6 Polynesian men, and 12 women. No one knew what became of the Bounty until 1808 when a British ship encountered the inhabitants of Pitcairn. They found only one remaining British man, no Polynesian men, four women, and 24 children. What had happened to the 27 people who had made Pitcairn their home? An unbelievable story was uncovered, one of treachery, lust, greed and vicious savagery.
In the year 2000, there were accusations of rape and sexual abuse, and underage sex laid against 13 men, seven still living on Pitcairn and the rest now residing on Norfolk Island. The mayor of Pitcairn was among the accused. he also worked as the dentist and held several other positions. The British held trials and most went to jail. It showed that under the strict religious rules adhered to by the islanders, a sense of depravity remained, perhaps from the free sexual norms their ancestors encountered on visits to Tahiti.
This book should be of interest to historians, people fascinated with remote places and culture, and readers of The Mutiny on the Bounty and other sea adventures.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Perseus Books/Public Affairs for this informative, thrilling, and well-researched ARC.
April 17, 2022
2.5 rounded up to 3 in recognition of the fact that the author actually made it to Pitcairn and back. But I feel like Presser squandered his opportunity. I came to this book after visiting French Polynesia and then reading "The Bounty" by Caroline Alexander, which I adored. I hoped "The Far Land" would provide more detail about the history of the island after its initial founding and about the progeny of the mutineers. But no -- instead what I got was (1) a not very exciting or illuminating travel memoir and (2) a revisiting of the whole history of the Bounty mutiny, etc. (all material already masterfully and fascinatingly covered by Alexander), but this time in the form of rather cheesy and sensationalist historical fiction. (Presser is no Hilary Mantel!)
Tom Hanks is quoted on the cover as saying, "You can't make this stuff up!" But in fact, Presser DID make much of this stuff up -- i.e., the "historical" sections. As both Alexander and Presser make clear, there are no first-hand, contemporaneous accounts of the settlement of Pitcairn, and the accounts subsequently told by Smith/Adams varied from day to day and depending on who he was talking to. Jenny's account sounds credible, but was already well covered in Alexander's book. (You can find the Jenny interview on the Pitcairn Island website: https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/pitc... note, however, that Jenny gave this interview more than 30 years after the events occurred). So Presser's "authentic recounting" (as he calls it) is really just his own imaginative elaboration on/speculation about previously published historical material, with sex/romance elements that seem to owe more to the paintings of Gauguin (themselves of questionable taste) than they do to any of the "oral history" Presser claims the narrative is based on.
Of Presser's 3 months on Pitcairn, we learn very little. I assumed he would ask the current residents for their own takes on their past history, or that he might have uncovered new historical material. But it seems that no one was willing to speak to him. He attributes this reticence to "xenophobia" -- e.g., when commenting on the unfriendliness of Pitcairn's mayor. However, I'd think the reticence might have even more to do with the fact that several prominent men on the island (including both the mayor and Presser's first host) had been relatively recently convicted of rape, molestation, etc. of teenage girls on the island. Meanwhile, Presser's attempts to dig for new facts were apparently limited to "light snooping" around his hosts' houses.
Sigh. I can only hope this book will inspire more serious historians to dig more into the history of Pitcairn from 1830 to present. Among other things, the degree of intermarriage on the island must have been extreme. What effect did that have on the island's history?
Finally, Presser seems to lean toward the anti-Bligh, pro-Christian view of the Bounty mutiny. However, if the personalities of Fletcher Christian's progeny (Steve and Shawn) and the other Pitcairners resemble those of Fletcher and the mutineers (and the apples couldn't have fallen far from the trees given the amount of inbreeding on the island), I can only conclude that the mutineers were an extremely unpleasant bunch of people.
Tom Hanks is quoted on the cover as saying, "You can't make this stuff up!" But in fact, Presser DID make much of this stuff up -- i.e., the "historical" sections. As both Alexander and Presser make clear, there are no first-hand, contemporaneous accounts of the settlement of Pitcairn, and the accounts subsequently told by Smith/Adams varied from day to day and depending on who he was talking to. Jenny's account sounds credible, but was already well covered in Alexander's book. (You can find the Jenny interview on the Pitcairn Island website: https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/pitc... note, however, that Jenny gave this interview more than 30 years after the events occurred). So Presser's "authentic recounting" (as he calls it) is really just his own imaginative elaboration on/speculation about previously published historical material, with sex/romance elements that seem to owe more to the paintings of Gauguin (themselves of questionable taste) than they do to any of the "oral history" Presser claims the narrative is based on.
Of Presser's 3 months on Pitcairn, we learn very little. I assumed he would ask the current residents for their own takes on their past history, or that he might have uncovered new historical material. But it seems that no one was willing to speak to him. He attributes this reticence to "xenophobia" -- e.g., when commenting on the unfriendliness of Pitcairn's mayor. However, I'd think the reticence might have even more to do with the fact that several prominent men on the island (including both the mayor and Presser's first host) had been relatively recently convicted of rape, molestation, etc. of teenage girls on the island. Meanwhile, Presser's attempts to dig for new facts were apparently limited to "light snooping" around his hosts' houses.
Sigh. I can only hope this book will inspire more serious historians to dig more into the history of Pitcairn from 1830 to present. Among other things, the degree of intermarriage on the island must have been extreme. What effect did that have on the island's history?
Finally, Presser seems to lean toward the anti-Bligh, pro-Christian view of the Bounty mutiny. However, if the personalities of Fletcher Christian's progeny (Steve and Shawn) and the other Pitcairners resemble those of Fletcher and the mutineers (and the apples couldn't have fallen far from the trees given the amount of inbreeding on the island), I can only conclude that the mutineers were an extremely unpleasant bunch of people.
June 5, 2022
I got as far as page 29 before the idiotic invented dialogue and behavior led me to stop wasting my time. There very likely may be a useful story here, but the author, in spite of "three year's research," knows exactly zip about the Royal Navy of the late 1700s. One example will suffice: Presser has a midshipman address Bligh as "Lieutenant Bligh," which Bligh corrects "Captain Bligh," followed by a snarky "He wasn't," from Presser. News to Presser: the midshipman would have addressed Bligh as "sir," and any commanding officer aboard his ship, regardless of his rank, is addressed as "captain."
And he got paid to do this. Remarkable.
And he got paid to do this. Remarkable.
November 19, 2022
An almost laughably terrible book; both author and publisher should be ashamed of themselves. Purporting to trace the history of the Bounty mutineers and their descendants, the author fills in dialogues and thought processes that cannot have been in the surviving documents and we are never quite sure where known fact ends and his rather crude imagination begins. The style is execrable: malapropisms, usage errors, failed metaphors, needless obliquities abound. Presser seems to feel that a book will not be taken seriously if it is not written in high-flown "literary" phrases. Scenes depicting sex are particularly florid and provide ample demonstration that a euphemism can often be more obscene than the words it's replacing.
Worse than the stylistic sludge, however, is Presser's attitude toward his hosts on Pitcairn Island. Lodging in the homes of two Pitcairn families, he freely admits, and without an apparent blush, that he snooped in their possessions at night when the rest of the household slept, opening closed doors and rooting around in the contents of unused bedrooms. He also speaks quite slightingly of both his hosts and others on the island. Did he think they would not read the book, or did he simply not care what they thought? The Pitcairners speak of "hypocriting" visitors -- playing up to them to sell merchandise and promote Pitcairn as a tourist destination -- but Presser's "hypocriting" of his hosts seems far sleazier.
All in all, I'd say this book is only worth reading if you're a "Mutiny on the Bounty" fan and just want to immerse yourself in a retelling of that rather mysterious episode. But I suspect there are better and more reliable accounts elsewhere.
Worse than the stylistic sludge, however, is Presser's attitude toward his hosts on Pitcairn Island. Lodging in the homes of two Pitcairn families, he freely admits, and without an apparent blush, that he snooped in their possessions at night when the rest of the household slept, opening closed doors and rooting around in the contents of unused bedrooms. He also speaks quite slightingly of both his hosts and others on the island. Did he think they would not read the book, or did he simply not care what they thought? The Pitcairners speak of "hypocriting" visitors -- playing up to them to sell merchandise and promote Pitcairn as a tourist destination -- but Presser's "hypocriting" of his hosts seems far sleazier.
All in all, I'd say this book is only worth reading if you're a "Mutiny on the Bounty" fan and just want to immerse yourself in a retelling of that rather mysterious episode. But I suspect there are better and more reliable accounts elsewhere.
July 17, 2022
Brandon Presser is a travel writer who took on the challenge of Pitcairn Island where there are no hotels, restaurants or package tours to review. The result is a 3 genre book: a travel log, a research project and something like historical fiction. Chapters covering the past and those covering the present are placed to introduce and/or expand upon each other.
The story of the Bounty begins in England with the plan to bring breadfruit plants to Jamaica by describing of its outfitting and the selection of staff. The involvement Joseph Banks was new to me; also new to me was that Captain Bligh sailed with Captain Cook and witnessed his murder in Hawaii.
Presser takes the reader through the time at sea, life in Tahiti, the mutiny, the first attempted settlement on Tubuai and then in 1790 the settling of Pitcairn Island. You see a stratified society evolve to where mutineers live entitled lives from the work of the Tahitians and their possession of the Tahitian women. In a (presumably alcoholic) rage one of the mutineers burns the Bounty (which had been stripped of useful furnishings and materials for building) so there would be no escape for anyone wanting to leave.
Presser shows how, over time, by different means and feuds, the men murdered each other until only one remained. In 1808 when an American ship finds these settlers, this only adult male said his name was John Adams, but he had changed it to Smith when he joined the Bounty's voyage. (There is no Adams on the Bounty's manifest nor in any primary source. Was he Fletcher Christian? Descendants have intermarried such that DNA testing cannot answer this question.)
There is information on Captain Bligh and his incredible return to England and his future as a mariner. You learn of the mutineers who had stayed or returned to Tahiti and were found and taken back to England.
The author shows his forte as a travel writer in the contemporary parts describing what there is to see and do on Pitcairn. Through a home stay program he spends his 3 month visit with the two different families, one, descendants of Fletcher Christian. You get a feel for the homes and life styles for the 48 residents who are 7th generation descendants of the mutineers. He also spent a week on Norfolk Island where In 1856, 194 Pitcairns were relocated after the islanders had petitioned Queen Victoria for help when the island could no longer support the growing population. In both places it would have been good to get the descendants to open up with more in depth conversations. For instance: what they think of their history? Why do they stay on these islands? What do they see for the future of the their children? their islands? the Bounty legend?
To get more information I turned to the internet. You Tube had some fascinating lectures, one about whether Fletcher Christian returned to England and another was on the character of Christian and Bligh.
Those who are knowledgeable about the mutiny story will either enjoy or be critical of the novel style format of Presser's presentation of it, but will appreciate the travel log parts. Those who know only the Bounty novels or movies will benefit from this presentation that does not create heroes or villains.
The story of the Bounty begins in England with the plan to bring breadfruit plants to Jamaica by describing of its outfitting and the selection of staff. The involvement Joseph Banks was new to me; also new to me was that Captain Bligh sailed with Captain Cook and witnessed his murder in Hawaii.
Presser takes the reader through the time at sea, life in Tahiti, the mutiny, the first attempted settlement on Tubuai and then in 1790 the settling of Pitcairn Island. You see a stratified society evolve to where mutineers live entitled lives from the work of the Tahitians and their possession of the Tahitian women. In a (presumably alcoholic) rage one of the mutineers burns the Bounty (which had been stripped of useful furnishings and materials for building) so there would be no escape for anyone wanting to leave.
Presser shows how, over time, by different means and feuds, the men murdered each other until only one remained. In 1808 when an American ship finds these settlers, this only adult male said his name was John Adams, but he had changed it to Smith when he joined the Bounty's voyage. (There is no Adams on the Bounty's manifest nor in any primary source. Was he Fletcher Christian? Descendants have intermarried such that DNA testing cannot answer this question.)
There is information on Captain Bligh and his incredible return to England and his future as a mariner. You learn of the mutineers who had stayed or returned to Tahiti and were found and taken back to England.
The author shows his forte as a travel writer in the contemporary parts describing what there is to see and do on Pitcairn. Through a home stay program he spends his 3 month visit with the two different families, one, descendants of Fletcher Christian. You get a feel for the homes and life styles for the 48 residents who are 7th generation descendants of the mutineers. He also spent a week on Norfolk Island where In 1856, 194 Pitcairns were relocated after the islanders had petitioned Queen Victoria for help when the island could no longer support the growing population. In both places it would have been good to get the descendants to open up with more in depth conversations. For instance: what they think of their history? Why do they stay on these islands? What do they see for the future of the their children? their islands? the Bounty legend?
To get more information I turned to the internet. You Tube had some fascinating lectures, one about whether Fletcher Christian returned to England and another was on the character of Christian and Bligh.
Those who are knowledgeable about the mutiny story will either enjoy or be critical of the novel style format of Presser's presentation of it, but will appreciate the travel log parts. Those who know only the Bounty novels or movies will benefit from this presentation that does not create heroes or villains.
Read
April 4, 2022This book was amazing. However, I can't decide on a star rating, as the author attempts to prove that Christianity (and Christianity alone) causes a lust for power and control. Huh? Has the author ever picked up an ancient history book...ever? No, really... EVER?Egyptian Pharoahs never craved power? Assyria? Babylon? Judah? Persia? Greece? Rome (BC)? Chinese dynasties? Indian dynasties? Ottoman Turks? Mongols? The Celts? None of these societies craved power and control? Are we to forget that Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar were known to sob uncontrollably at the thought that they may never rule the entire world? None of these people were Christians. It's a suggestion so asanine and ignorant that I had to stifle laughter at the author's foolishness.
Ancient history is basically just a list of one regime toppling another. It's human nature. It's ALWAYS been human nature. It's obvious that the author is prejudiced against Christians, and that is his right. Makes no difference to me. But don't pretend that thousands of years of recorded history don't exist to justify your prejudice. Cringe.
Ancient history is basically just a list of one regime toppling another. It's human nature. It's ALWAYS been human nature. It's obvious that the author is prejudiced against Christians, and that is his right. Makes no difference to me. But don't pretend that thousands of years of recorded history don't exist to justify your prejudice. Cringe.
November 8, 2023
Brandon Presser is a Travel Journalist for The NYT. He was offered a trip to Pitcairn Island, where the Bounty landed over 200 years ago. The trip entailed his staying on "paradise" for 3 months, as only 1 cargo ships visits there with supplies just 4 times a year, and that was how he would come and go to the island. What Presser uncovered while there researching the ugly truth about some things came out.
Personally, I was amazed the descendants of the mutineers still called this home. Basically it is just a rock on the edge of the Pacific. Many modern conveniences just not available, a little world all of its own.
The story fluctuates back and forth between Brandon's time there and the actually events of the mutiny. Writing the book this way gives one a better insight into the frame of mind of those current living on the Island. I would love to tell you more, but I never spoil books for anyone. Just know that anything you know about the Bounty may be true, but there is so much that has been uncovered that I promise will have you shaking your head and perhaps being a bit shocked.
Presser spent 3 years researching and writing. The effort shows and I would recommend this to all history fans or Bounty fanatics. An great read!
Personally, I was amazed the descendants of the mutineers still called this home. Basically it is just a rock on the edge of the Pacific. Many modern conveniences just not available, a little world all of its own.
The story fluctuates back and forth between Brandon's time there and the actually events of the mutiny. Writing the book this way gives one a better insight into the frame of mind of those current living on the Island. I would love to tell you more, but I never spoil books for anyone. Just know that anything you know about the Bounty may be true, but there is so much that has been uncovered that I promise will have you shaking your head and perhaps being a bit shocked.
Presser spent 3 years researching and writing. The effort shows and I would recommend this to all history fans or Bounty fanatics. An great read!
February 25, 2022
The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific by Brandon Presser is a very highly recommended reexamination of the story of the HMS Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.
In 1790 the mutineers of the HMS Bounty settled on the South Pacific island of Pitcairn. In 1808, an American merchant ship came upon the uncharted island in the South Pacific. "Seven generations later, the island’s diabolical past still looms over its 48 residents; descendants of the original mutineers, marooned like modern castaways. Only a rusty cargo ship connects Pitcairn with the rest of the world, just four times a year." In 2018, travel writer and author Brandon Presser took the freighter Pitcairn to live among the present day two clans on the island who are bound by circumstance and secrets. While on the island, he collected the details of Pitcairn’s full story.
The story of mutiny of the Bounty has been told through books and films numerous times. Presser makes it clear that the mutiny was only the prologue to the actual dramatic events that occurred on the island. The Far Land adds to the collection with both chapters focusing on the historical events and chapters told through a contemporary personal narrative. He recounts in detail the original mutiny and settling of Pitcairn and his 2018 visit to meet the islands 48 inhabitants. Most of the current residents are descendants of the mutineers.
Presser has visited over 130 countries and is an experienced travel writer who can look beyond the novelty of an experience and dig deeper into the real story behind the facade. He uncovers a tale of power, tribalism, obsession, paranoia, and betrayal. Presser does an excellent job presenting the exhaustive research he undertook. References and a select bibliography are included. This is a well-written, great choice for anyone interested in Pitcairn's history and its current inhabitants.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of PublicAffairs Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/0...
In 1790 the mutineers of the HMS Bounty settled on the South Pacific island of Pitcairn. In 1808, an American merchant ship came upon the uncharted island in the South Pacific. "Seven generations later, the island’s diabolical past still looms over its 48 residents; descendants of the original mutineers, marooned like modern castaways. Only a rusty cargo ship connects Pitcairn with the rest of the world, just four times a year." In 2018, travel writer and author Brandon Presser took the freighter Pitcairn to live among the present day two clans on the island who are bound by circumstance and secrets. While on the island, he collected the details of Pitcairn’s full story.
The story of mutiny of the Bounty has been told through books and films numerous times. Presser makes it clear that the mutiny was only the prologue to the actual dramatic events that occurred on the island. The Far Land adds to the collection with both chapters focusing on the historical events and chapters told through a contemporary personal narrative. He recounts in detail the original mutiny and settling of Pitcairn and his 2018 visit to meet the islands 48 inhabitants. Most of the current residents are descendants of the mutineers.
Presser has visited over 130 countries and is an experienced travel writer who can look beyond the novelty of an experience and dig deeper into the real story behind the facade. He uncovers a tale of power, tribalism, obsession, paranoia, and betrayal. Presser does an excellent job presenting the exhaustive research he undertook. References and a select bibliography are included. This is a well-written, great choice for anyone interested in Pitcairn's history and its current inhabitants.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of PublicAffairs Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/0...
December 6, 2021
I enjoyed this book. It does a lot of things well. The story is interesting and well-paced. The cast of characters at the beginning is very helpful as the story spans 200 years. Also useful are the maps, as the story encompasses a vast area. The author’s journey is interesting and I usually enjoy these insights. The only aspect I did not enjoy was the at-times literary style, as opposed to the more conversational tone I prefer. This book is well-worth reading for history buffs. Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books, PublicAffairs for the advance reader copy.
February 28, 2023
Fan fiction mixed with an Instagram influencer.
July 21, 2024
Several centuries after the mutineers from the HMS Bounty settled Pitcairn Island, author Brandon Presser goes to visit this isolated place, where he tries to understand how the bloody and conflicted past has shaped the present day lives of the descendants.
Considering how much I enjoy true crime and strange stories, it's probably odd that I never really dug into the famous story of the mutiny on the Bounty until now. There's plenty of movies and books covering the topic, after all, and I have even attempted to tackle a few of them. But I always had the sense that the story was only half told. The tellings often focus primarily on the mutineers, but the Tahitians surely were as integral to understanding the story as them, and yet they are often overlooked.
Presser makes an effort to remedy this, and this alone would make for a satisfying read. Presser alternates between the past and present, writing the puzzled out events that led to the settlement on Pitcairn as narrative nonfiction, as well as his own recounting of his time living on Pitcairn, where he got to know the residents and the fascinating way in which they are both trapped and sustained by the Bounty story. Though some elements of the narrative nonfiction sections were probably a stretch, Presser explained his sources and reasons for conjecture in sufficient detail that it didn't bother me.
However, I was rather disappointed how briefly Presser addresses the rampant child sexual abuse that was happening on Pitcairn in at least the last few decades of the 1900s, especially considering he lives with and meets some of the men who were convicted in the case. That this chapter is at the very end of the book, after he and the reader have cohabited with these people for most of the book, made me feel almost like the author was trying to gloss over it. Perhaps it would have been beyond the scope of the story, but to barely acknowledge it made me feel that we were missing an essential part of the reckoning.
Considering how much I enjoy true crime and strange stories, it's probably odd that I never really dug into the famous story of the mutiny on the Bounty until now. There's plenty of movies and books covering the topic, after all, and I have even attempted to tackle a few of them. But I always had the sense that the story was only half told. The tellings often focus primarily on the mutineers, but the Tahitians surely were as integral to understanding the story as them, and yet they are often overlooked.
Presser makes an effort to remedy this, and this alone would make for a satisfying read. Presser alternates between the past and present, writing the puzzled out events that led to the settlement on Pitcairn as narrative nonfiction, as well as his own recounting of his time living on Pitcairn, where he got to know the residents and the fascinating way in which they are both trapped and sustained by the Bounty story. Though some elements of the narrative nonfiction sections were probably a stretch, Presser explained his sources and reasons for conjecture in sufficient detail that it didn't bother me.
However, I was rather disappointed how briefly Presser addresses the rampant child sexual abuse that was happening on Pitcairn in at least the last few decades of the 1900s, especially considering he lives with and meets some of the men who were convicted in the case. That this chapter is at the very end of the book, after he and the reader have cohabited with these people for most of the book, made me feel almost like the author was trying to gloss over it. Perhaps it would have been beyond the scope of the story, but to barely acknowledge it made me feel that we were missing an essential part of the reckoning.
June 14, 2022
This was an excellent introduction to the stranger-than-fiction story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, especially for someone completely unfamiliar with the topic. I loved how the author alternated between accounts of his time on Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands (in the present day) and historical accounts of life on Pitcairn in the 1790s. This book has definitely piqued my interest in all things Bounty related!
I do wonder if any of the descendants of the Mutineers that are living on Pitcairn have read his accounts of them.
I do wonder if any of the descendants of the Mutineers that are living on Pitcairn have read his accounts of them.
April 13, 2022
Fun, wild, educational, fast-paced... the best book I'll read all year and a joy for travelers (actual and armchair alike). I agree with every word Tom Hanks says in his jacket blurb. Take it from the Castaway himself.
The Far Land is Pitcairn Island, a tiny place on the edge of civilization. It's where the Mutiny on the Bounty rebels hid out and where their descendants still choose to live in extreme isolation. I fully recommend the book even if you're not into history. It's part historical and part modern travelogue of Pitcairn, perhaps the weirdest place on earth and the hardest community to reach. The author, Brandon Presser, is one of the few people who have visited in recent times.
Presser is an exceptional writer. His prose sparkles and his structure is sophisticated. He had me from the title of the first chapter - "Turn on the Quiet," such an evocative expression. He braided together two remarkable stories and developed themes well beyond the surface. So reluctant was I to shut the book after the final page, I lingered over the appendix (loaded with his research notes) and bibliography. I even considered reading the index. But I decided just to start the book over again.
The Far Land is Pitcairn Island, a tiny place on the edge of civilization. It's where the Mutiny on the Bounty rebels hid out and where their descendants still choose to live in extreme isolation. I fully recommend the book even if you're not into history. It's part historical and part modern travelogue of Pitcairn, perhaps the weirdest place on earth and the hardest community to reach. The author, Brandon Presser, is one of the few people who have visited in recent times.
Presser is an exceptional writer. His prose sparkles and his structure is sophisticated. He had me from the title of the first chapter - "Turn on the Quiet," such an evocative expression. He braided together two remarkable stories and developed themes well beyond the surface. So reluctant was I to shut the book after the final page, I lingered over the appendix (loaded with his research notes) and bibliography. I even considered reading the index. But I decided just to start the book over again.
May 15, 2022
It's a shame.
The subject matter is so interesting and the author is so passionate about the story BUT...
I guess there are two major problems with this book.
1) The author loses the thread by drifting off into mundane details. An entire chapter was dedicated to him finding a good travel agent and the food he was served en route to Pitcairn Island.
2) Every single character blends together. Which one was Jenny? Was that Susannah? Especially with unfamiliar characters, the author really should have given each of them a defining characteristic. It was hard to get emotionally invested.
The author should go back and reread the original Bounty trilogy by Charles Bernard Nordhoff and Hall. These legends know how to tell a page-turning story AND how to provide distinguishing details (oh yeah, Quintal is the muscular, hairy alcoholic).
On the plus side, there were some really interesting facts/stories and I learned a lot!
The subject matter is so interesting and the author is so passionate about the story BUT...
I guess there are two major problems with this book.
1) The author loses the thread by drifting off into mundane details. An entire chapter was dedicated to him finding a good travel agent and the food he was served en route to Pitcairn Island.
2) Every single character blends together. Which one was Jenny? Was that Susannah? Especially with unfamiliar characters, the author really should have given each of them a defining characteristic. It was hard to get emotionally invested.
The author should go back and reread the original Bounty trilogy by Charles Bernard Nordhoff and Hall. These legends know how to tell a page-turning story AND how to provide distinguishing details (oh yeah, Quintal is the muscular, hairy alcoholic).
On the plus side, there were some really interesting facts/stories and I learned a lot!
June 5, 2025
The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific by Brandon Presser was both a history of Pitcairn Island as well as a travel diary of the author’s three months on the island. Presser told each story in alternating chapters, so it felt like reading two books at the same time. I didn’t mind switching from the distant past to more recent past. What I did mind was the author’s declaration, twice within the first 39 pages, that Pitcairn was “the most remotely inhabited island in the entire world” or “the most remotely inhabited place on the entire planet”. That distinction belongs to Tristan da Cunha, where I have visited, twice, and can assert that it takes a far longer time to travel there (from Cape Town) than it does to travel to Pitcairn from Mangareva.
Presser used resources that are often ignored in the telling of Pitcairn’s history, such as testimonials from the Tahitian women who were among those who first settled the island. All too often the history of the island relied on the diaries, shipping logs and testimonials of the men who mutinied. I liked how the author integrated the women’s details into stories which cemented their place in history. He used their Tahitian names and interviewed Polynesian historical experts to ensure that what he wrote wasn’t an incorrect white man’s interpretation.
I see that Presser made reference to both Lost Paradise and Serpent in Paradise, both books about Pitcairn that I have read. His research also took him to Norfolk Island, where many Pitcairn descendants live.
When Presser first arrived on Pitcairn, he remarked that no one walked anywhere. The local population drove everywhere on quad bikes. Therefore the ground looked like “untied shoelaces, a network of rutty roads”. One observation that he makes, that I also noted in Dea Birkett’s Serpent in Paradise, was how deceptively friendly the locals could be. At first I thought that the only reason Birkett was on the receiving end of such faux amicability was because her personality towards the locals was a bit abrasive. They likely shunned her because she wasn’t being too friendly herself. Yet Presser encountered the same thing. It was as if they resented him being there the second his foot touched the Pitkern red soil. Presser felt isolated and completely ignored by the islanders, even by those whose house he was sharing. He noted:
“I had begun to dread dinnertime at the Warrens. While everyone on the island would occasionally break into Pitkernese, a pidgin amalgam of English and Tahitian spoken with piratical inflections, Carol and Jay would frequently have long conversations in the local language at the kitchen table fully knowing that I couldn’t parse out a single word from their jargon. Linguists classify Pitkernese as a cant–a dialect purposefully constructed to be arcane so as to exclude outsiders from grasping it. ‘Hello,’ for example, was ‘watawieh.'”
and:
“The houses on Pitcairn didn’t have front doors, but it had been made clear to me that I was most definitely not welcome inside any of them.”
Was what Birkett had written true? Did the Pitkern population really despise visitors, only putting on a show of pressed-on-smiles and faux hospitality for the press and cameras? Presser’s experience on the island makes it seem so. I can imagine that the negative publicity that cloaked the island after its sexual abuse trials in 2004 didn’t help matters much, which would make any islander suspicious of foreign writers or journalists. Presser didn’t stand a chance of making any friends there once the locals learned that he was a travel writer, which they would have found out when his company put in his application for transport a year in advance of his trip.
Presser analyzed the mutiny on the Bounty and the crew who joined Fletcher Christian as they sailed around the Pacific looking for a place to hide away. He separated the truth from the fiction, and had some interesting stories to tell about Marlon Brando and Kate Hall, the granddaughter of Pitcairn novelist James Norman Hall. I enjoyed the detective work Presser did to remove Hollywood myth from the true mutiny story.
July 15, 2025
Super rapey. No substance.
May 12, 2023
I came across this book during one of our visits to a new-to-us library, and considering I’m fascinated by all things “sad boat” (and I believe the mutiny on the Bounty definitely qualifies), I figured this would be an interesting addition to my reading.
To be honest, I did really enjoy this book. I just finished The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd, which I chastised for speculation and conjecture. Yet this book does the same thing, and for some reason I don’t mind it. Perhaps because it’s so much better written than The Pirate’s Wife is. Yes, this book is full of conjecture and speculation, and quite a bit of it is fictionalized, considering that it is impossible to know who said what and when throughout most of the time period of this book. But there is so much truth woven in with the fiction that it reads as a much more cohesive whole, and brings to life what the mutineers and the folks they brought from Tahiti were thinking and feeling.
I appreciated reading in the author’s note at the beginning of the book that most of the history of the mutiny and the subsequent settling of Pitcairn was written through the lens of colonialism and that of the white male gaze. Presser attempted to bring to life what the women of Tahiti were thinking and feeling when presented with these white men who kidnapped them and attempted to upend everything they knew by teaching them their cultural norms were somehow untrue, and by converting them to Christianity. Because this is the first book I’ve read on the Bounty, I appreciated all of the history regarding these events, even knowing that some of it is fictionalized.
It’s also fascinating that Presser managed to get himself to Pitcairn to spend some time there with the descendants of the mutineers. It’s strange, however, that he felt it was acceptable to snoop past closed doors in both the Christian and the Warren homes. He also criticizes the residents for not being super welcoming to outsiders, but considering how difficult it is to reach Pitcairn, and how isolationist they had been for their entire history, I didn’t find it surprising. Their energy is much better spent just trying to maintain friendly relationships with the 48 people they’re stuck with on the island, compared to someone there only a few weeks.
While I’m not going to say this is a definitive history of the mutiny on the Bounty and subsequent events, it is still a very interesting book and a valuable addition to the narrative, opening our eyes to the very real notion that this particular history is told through colonialism and the white male gaze. It’s also a fascinating read.
To be honest, I did really enjoy this book. I just finished The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd, which I chastised for speculation and conjecture. Yet this book does the same thing, and for some reason I don’t mind it. Perhaps because it’s so much better written than The Pirate’s Wife is. Yes, this book is full of conjecture and speculation, and quite a bit of it is fictionalized, considering that it is impossible to know who said what and when throughout most of the time period of this book. But there is so much truth woven in with the fiction that it reads as a much more cohesive whole, and brings to life what the mutineers and the folks they brought from Tahiti were thinking and feeling.
I appreciated reading in the author’s note at the beginning of the book that most of the history of the mutiny and the subsequent settling of Pitcairn was written through the lens of colonialism and that of the white male gaze. Presser attempted to bring to life what the women of Tahiti were thinking and feeling when presented with these white men who kidnapped them and attempted to upend everything they knew by teaching them their cultural norms were somehow untrue, and by converting them to Christianity. Because this is the first book I’ve read on the Bounty, I appreciated all of the history regarding these events, even knowing that some of it is fictionalized.
It’s also fascinating that Presser managed to get himself to Pitcairn to spend some time there with the descendants of the mutineers. It’s strange, however, that he felt it was acceptable to snoop past closed doors in both the Christian and the Warren homes. He also criticizes the residents for not being super welcoming to outsiders, but considering how difficult it is to reach Pitcairn, and how isolationist they had been for their entire history, I didn’t find it surprising. Their energy is much better spent just trying to maintain friendly relationships with the 48 people they’re stuck with on the island, compared to someone there only a few weeks.
While I’m not going to say this is a definitive history of the mutiny on the Bounty and subsequent events, it is still a very interesting book and a valuable addition to the narrative, opening our eyes to the very real notion that this particular history is told through colonialism and the white male gaze. It’s also a fascinating read.
May 5, 2024
Fletcher Christian had a mutiny and went to Tahiti island and tricked some locals to go with him. They settled in Pitcairn island. Each of them had one local wives at first but when one of the wives of the British died, a local’s wife was given to the British. Then things deteriorated from there. Eventually only one British man was left.
In modern times, sexual exploitation of the young girls was rampant. Some islanders were convicted . Even now the locals don’t like outsiders.
A fascinating Lord of the Flies story. Except this book is not fiction.
In modern times, sexual exploitation of the young girls was rampant. Some islanders were convicted . Even now the locals don’t like outsiders.
A fascinating Lord of the Flies story. Except this book is not fiction.
July 9, 2023
This was really interesting, especially when I read the afterword, which cites the sources for what was written about in every chapter.
I'd love to go to Pitcairn, but I think I'll have to be contented with Norfolk Island instead.
I'd love to go to Pitcairn, but I think I'll have to be contented with Norfolk Island instead.
Read
July 13, 2022This was fun
May 18, 2024
DNF. It just didn't hold my interested, but that very well could have been because of the narrator (I listened to the audiobook)
February 18, 2022
In
The Far Land
travel writer Brandon Presser turns to the story of the HMS Bounty and it’s mutineers, who escaped to and settled the remote Pitcairn Island - the Far Land. The book is a dual telling of the mutineers' story, along with the author’s own present day travel tale of Pitcairn Island.
The chapters devoted to Presser’s 2018 trip to Pitcairn are the most readable. Pitcairn is one of the remotest inhabited places in the world. Located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Australia and Cape Horn, it’s only scheduled transport is a freighter that carries supplies and passengers four times a year to the island.
The island has only 48 full time inhabitants, all descendents of the Bounty mutineers. Pitcairn is less than 2 square miles, so Presser is able to see most of it while there. There are no stores or hotels, given it’s remoteness, so he is a guest in a “family stay” arrangement. He splits his stay between the two family groupings (they call themselves “piles”), the Christians and the Warrens.
While staying with the Warrens he learns that a sizable number of Bounty descendents live on Norfolk Island, almost 4000 miles away, where they were relocated by the British government in the 1850s. Later in the book he ventures to Norfolk to visit the Bounty descendents there.
Interspersed through his travel narrative are chapters covering the Bounty mutiny, the settling of Pitcairn, and the murder and mania that followed. I didn’t enjoy these chapters as much. Done as narrative nonfiction, I found them uneven, and the writing wasn’t as inspired or engaging as in the travel chapters. Even so, any set of stories that includes “Massacre Day” as a plot point will hold your attention.
The Bounty set out to deliver breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the Caribbean as food for slaves on British sugar plantations. The ship and it’s crew spent several months in Tahiti, and many of the men fell in love with the island and its women, and were not looking forward to the long return voyage.
The Bounty’s captain, William Bligh, was not an easy man to get along with or serve under. While the immediate cause has been lost to history, something set off his first mate Fletcher Christian on the 1789 return trip. He and a group of his fellows forced Bligh and those loyal to him into a life boat and set them adrift.
Now on the run in the Bounty, Christian and his men returned to Tahiti where some opted to stay. The rest, along with the Tahitian women they had fallen for (and a few Tahitian men) left in the Bounty. They decided to settle on Pitcairn, as it’s remoteness made it the least likely place the British Navy would find them. Unfortunately it did not turn out to be the paradise they imagined.
The story of the Bounty sailors and the Tahitians who settled Pitcairn, and then mostly lost themselves to alcohol, animosities and murder, has long fascinated outsiders. It’s been the basis of several books and at least three movies.
In this book, Presser has done his research to separate fact from Hollywood fiction. It’s a worthwhile, but uneven read. I give The Far Land Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
NOTE: I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and PublicAffairs. I am voluntarily providing this review. The book will be publicly available on March 8, 2022.
The chapters devoted to Presser’s 2018 trip to Pitcairn are the most readable. Pitcairn is one of the remotest inhabited places in the world. Located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Australia and Cape Horn, it’s only scheduled transport is a freighter that carries supplies and passengers four times a year to the island.
The island has only 48 full time inhabitants, all descendents of the Bounty mutineers. Pitcairn is less than 2 square miles, so Presser is able to see most of it while there. There are no stores or hotels, given it’s remoteness, so he is a guest in a “family stay” arrangement. He splits his stay between the two family groupings (they call themselves “piles”), the Christians and the Warrens.
While staying with the Warrens he learns that a sizable number of Bounty descendents live on Norfolk Island, almost 4000 miles away, where they were relocated by the British government in the 1850s. Later in the book he ventures to Norfolk to visit the Bounty descendents there.
Interspersed through his travel narrative are chapters covering the Bounty mutiny, the settling of Pitcairn, and the murder and mania that followed. I didn’t enjoy these chapters as much. Done as narrative nonfiction, I found them uneven, and the writing wasn’t as inspired or engaging as in the travel chapters. Even so, any set of stories that includes “Massacre Day” as a plot point will hold your attention.
The Bounty set out to deliver breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the Caribbean as food for slaves on British sugar plantations. The ship and it’s crew spent several months in Tahiti, and many of the men fell in love with the island and its women, and were not looking forward to the long return voyage.
The Bounty’s captain, William Bligh, was not an easy man to get along with or serve under. While the immediate cause has been lost to history, something set off his first mate Fletcher Christian on the 1789 return trip. He and a group of his fellows forced Bligh and those loyal to him into a life boat and set them adrift.
Now on the run in the Bounty, Christian and his men returned to Tahiti where some opted to stay. The rest, along with the Tahitian women they had fallen for (and a few Tahitian men) left in the Bounty. They decided to settle on Pitcairn, as it’s remoteness made it the least likely place the British Navy would find them. Unfortunately it did not turn out to be the paradise they imagined.
The story of the Bounty sailors and the Tahitians who settled Pitcairn, and then mostly lost themselves to alcohol, animosities and murder, has long fascinated outsiders. It’s been the basis of several books and at least three movies.
In this book, Presser has done his research to separate fact from Hollywood fiction. It’s a worthwhile, but uneven read. I give The Far Land Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
NOTE: I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and PublicAffairs. I am voluntarily providing this review. The book will be publicly available on March 8, 2022.
February 20, 2023
Any time you say you've "fleshed out" a story, it should no longer be considered non-fiction. I'm not even going to put this on my non-fiction shelf. And while I understand the sentiment in saying you've tried to remove the lens of sexism found in the original documents when portraying the women, that's still changing the original narrative by laying on your own lens of what you think these women would have been like. And telling me you talked to psychologists to understand human emotions doesn't mean that you can apply that to this story and claim it stays true to what really happened. What you have here is what MIGHT have happened. Which might as well be fiction. Presser even says he simplifies the cast of characters to help clarify the narrative. Which makes this, once again, fictionalized.
This book is laughably not what it tries to be. Here we find a lot of internal thoughts, actions, private conversations, strung together and sold to you as truth. I don't think I've ever seen such an egregious stretching of the truth in a "non-fiction" book before. I don't trust a word of this book to be true, and it fails at being a historical record.
But due to it trying to be non-fiction, it's also much to dry to work as an interesting story if you want to approach it like a novel.
Also, in the half of this book that focuses on modern day, Presser shows himself to be an arrogant jerk. He visits the island, and unashamedly rifles through the private belongings of his host that he knows are supposed to be private. He complains the mayor didn't make a point to come see him, then wonders what traumatic event happened in the mayor's life that made him so unwelcoming (Maybe you just weren't important to him, my dude. Don't publish a book projecting a story on this poor man who might have had better things to do).
Not only do I never recommend this book, Presser became an instant no-read for me. I wish Goodreads would let me flag him as such for personal reference.
This book is laughably not what it tries to be. Here we find a lot of internal thoughts, actions, private conversations, strung together and sold to you as truth. I don't think I've ever seen such an egregious stretching of the truth in a "non-fiction" book before. I don't trust a word of this book to be true, and it fails at being a historical record.
But due to it trying to be non-fiction, it's also much to dry to work as an interesting story if you want to approach it like a novel.
Also, in the half of this book that focuses on modern day, Presser shows himself to be an arrogant jerk. He visits the island, and unashamedly rifles through the private belongings of his host that he knows are supposed to be private. He complains the mayor didn't make a point to come see him, then wonders what traumatic event happened in the mayor's life that made him so unwelcoming (Maybe you just weren't important to him, my dude. Don't publish a book projecting a story on this poor man who might have had better things to do).
Not only do I never recommend this book, Presser became an instant no-read for me. I wish Goodreads would let me flag him as such for personal reference.
July 16, 2022
This was super interesting, and I really enjoyed it and very much was to give it 5 stars, but the author fictionalized some aspects of the story to suit his narrative, and that's not his job. Which sucks and is disappointing. Much of the dialogue is later stated to be conjecture and an amalgamation of ideas and traditions of the mutiners and Tahitians vs actual occurrences.
Also the author creating narratives to explain the deaths of a few people when no one knows how they actually died. The author states reasons for this, but, to me, this is blatant fiction and doesn't belong in a book classified as nonfiction.
I also wish the author touched more on Bly's return to England. It's mentioned briefly, but not in much detail.
About half way through the book, a bunch of dogs are killed so if you're sensitive about that, skip it (which I did)
Also the author creating narratives to explain the deaths of a few people when no one knows how they actually died. The author states reasons for this, but, to me, this is blatant fiction and doesn't belong in a book classified as nonfiction.
I also wish the author touched more on Bly's return to England. It's mentioned briefly, but not in much detail.
About half way through the book, a bunch of dogs are killed so if you're sensitive about that, skip it (which I did)
March 3, 2022
🌊📖Great subject but not my favorite Bounty account🌴
3-3.5🌟 stars
The subject of Presser's story is a historical mystery that has fascinated me for many years. Maybe I would have enjoyed this book better had I not read some previous, classic accounts of the Bounty mutiny and its aftermath. Having read Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall's trilogy and Bengt Danielsson's What Really Happened on the Bounty?, I did not learn much I had not already gleaned from the other accounts.
The eighteenth/nineteenth century portion of the story is written in a flowery, antiquated style and seemed pretty slow paced until the latter part of the book when things on Pitcairn started to fall apart. The portions about the mutineers and their Polynesian partners' thoughts, particularly regarding religion, seemed pure speculation. Presser's efforts to give the sailors and their Polynesian companions life and personality did, however, succeed for the most part.
This is a story that's been cloaked in mystery from the moment Fletcher Christian decided to hide away from the world and found the mischarted, isolated Pitcairn. We will probably never truly know what transpired in the missing years between the mutineers' departure from Tahiti and their decimated community's discovery on Pitcairn decades later. This book contains a pretty good account of the events that can be verified by multiple sources and, for someone interested in the mutiny and its aftermath, I think this would be a good overview. It's just not fast-paced or always written in a style I enjoy.
The modern content, on the other hand, being a non-fiction account of the author's stay on Pitcairn in 2018, his dealings with the mutineers' descendants and his contact with Hall's descendants in Tahiti, I really did enjoy.
Thanks to Public Affairs and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.
3-3.5🌟 stars
The subject of Presser's story is a historical mystery that has fascinated me for many years. Maybe I would have enjoyed this book better had I not read some previous, classic accounts of the Bounty mutiny and its aftermath. Having read Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall's trilogy and Bengt Danielsson's What Really Happened on the Bounty?, I did not learn much I had not already gleaned from the other accounts.
The eighteenth/nineteenth century portion of the story is written in a flowery, antiquated style and seemed pretty slow paced until the latter part of the book when things on Pitcairn started to fall apart. The portions about the mutineers and their Polynesian partners' thoughts, particularly regarding religion, seemed pure speculation. Presser's efforts to give the sailors and their Polynesian companions life and personality did, however, succeed for the most part.
This is a story that's been cloaked in mystery from the moment Fletcher Christian decided to hide away from the world and found the mischarted, isolated Pitcairn. We will probably never truly know what transpired in the missing years between the mutineers' departure from Tahiti and their decimated community's discovery on Pitcairn decades later. This book contains a pretty good account of the events that can be verified by multiple sources and, for someone interested in the mutiny and its aftermath, I think this would be a good overview. It's just not fast-paced or always written in a style I enjoy.
The modern content, on the other hand, being a non-fiction account of the author's stay on Pitcairn in 2018, his dealings with the mutineers' descendants and his contact with Hall's descendants in Tahiti, I really did enjoy.
Thanks to Public Affairs and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.
April 13, 2022
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free advance copy of The Far Land in exchange for an honest review.
The Far Land is told in alternating timelines between the original voyage of the Bounty and the current time. Rather than create a contrast between life on the island 200+ years ago and the present, this literary device instead serves to draw out the similarities between life on a very small island with no escape and no outside resources in both time periods. Before reading this book I had no idea that there was anywhere on earth as remote as Pitcairn Island! It has only been in the last 20 years that a resupply ship began to visit the island every 3-4 months.
The residents of the island for the last 200+ years serve as a ready made science experiment in the psychology of a small group of people dealing with social isolation. The intra-island relationships discussed in this book made a dramatic impression on me of how prehistorical societies that were isolated from any other human group would have formed a social hierarchy. The book documents the horrifically violent history of conflict resolution between the residents, the xenophobia endemic to the residents today, the racial prejudice on the island in the first generation to settle there, the gender prejudice and assault throughout the island's human history, and the surprisingly twisted and varied role of religious beliefs.
This is not a fast-paced tale. Nor is it a feel-good tale. I had nightmares after some of the scenes. It is, however, a well and deeply researched look into a fascinating historical event and the events that unfolded after that event. Brandon Presser did a fantastic job of bringing Pitcairn into the world's view.
The Far Land is told in alternating timelines between the original voyage of the Bounty and the current time. Rather than create a contrast between life on the island 200+ years ago and the present, this literary device instead serves to draw out the similarities between life on a very small island with no escape and no outside resources in both time periods. Before reading this book I had no idea that there was anywhere on earth as remote as Pitcairn Island! It has only been in the last 20 years that a resupply ship began to visit the island every 3-4 months.
The residents of the island for the last 200+ years serve as a ready made science experiment in the psychology of a small group of people dealing with social isolation. The intra-island relationships discussed in this book made a dramatic impression on me of how prehistorical societies that were isolated from any other human group would have formed a social hierarchy. The book documents the horrifically violent history of conflict resolution between the residents, the xenophobia endemic to the residents today, the racial prejudice on the island in the first generation to settle there, the gender prejudice and assault throughout the island's human history, and the surprisingly twisted and varied role of religious beliefs.
This is not a fast-paced tale. Nor is it a feel-good tale. I had nightmares after some of the scenes. It is, however, a well and deeply researched look into a fascinating historical event and the events that unfolded after that event. Brandon Presser did a fantastic job of bringing Pitcairn into the world's view.
March 10, 2022
I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. Before I read this book, all I knew about the mutiny on the Bounty was gleaned from a Hollywood movie starring Charles Laughton as Captain Bly and Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian. While it was a good film, I have come to know that there is way more to the story. Author Brandon Presser and his well-written book about, not just what happened on board the Bounty, but also the events that occurred on the isolated island of Pitcairn where the mutineers settled. Of course, they could not go back to England because they would be hung for their crimes, but life on Pitcairn was not a happy one. There was lots of bloodshed, numerous affairs, and some madness to go along with it. While researching his story, Presser visited the island where he found 48 descendants of the mutineers still living in their own little world with a generator that provides power to the entire island only during the day. At night, the men take turns shutting it down. A ship delivers goods four times a year and that is pretty much how Presser got on and off Pitcairn. While his current narrative was quite interesting, I found the toggling between past and present a bit jarring. I can assure you, however, that what happened after the mutiny was much more interesting than the mutiny itself. Murder and mayhem doesn't begin to describe it. For those of you (and I include myself here) who dream about running away to a tropical island, you should read this book. You may rethink your plan!
January 2, 2025
The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania and Mutiny in the South Pacific by Brandon Presser is a book about the mutiny on the HMS Bounty that occurred April 28, 1789, when Fletcher Christian seized control of the ship and from their captain, William Bligh, and sent him and eighteen others out to sea. Christian's traitorous group would flee to an uninhabited island, Pitcairn, where they would remain undetected for eighteen years. They would go through their owl trials, including mass murder brought on by in-fighting and paranoia, and today their descendants still live on Pitcairn.
I did not like how Brandon Presser tried to fictionalize the events of the mutiny… this was supposed to be a history book, a non-fiction telling, and his prose completely took me out of the book and made it hard to take it seriously. It was so confusing and out-of-place!
I did enjoy his 2018 three-month stay on Pitcairn, where he was sent as a journalist, but I was surprised he didn't get more into what he did for the entire time, observations he made, the people he talked to… I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it was JUST his 2018 trip to Pitcairn. Brandon then barely touched on the reason why many of the islanders are weary of the press… six to eight of the men were guilty of rape and sexual abuse… out of forty-eight total inhabitants. That is disgusting. Maybe expose that more? It seems like the reason the Pitcairners are so backwards and avoidant.
I did not like how Brandon Presser tried to fictionalize the events of the mutiny… this was supposed to be a history book, a non-fiction telling, and his prose completely took me out of the book and made it hard to take it seriously. It was so confusing and out-of-place!
I did enjoy his 2018 three-month stay on Pitcairn, where he was sent as a journalist, but I was surprised he didn't get more into what he did for the entire time, observations he made, the people he talked to… I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it was JUST his 2018 trip to Pitcairn. Brandon then barely touched on the reason why many of the islanders are weary of the press… six to eight of the men were guilty of rape and sexual abuse… out of forty-eight total inhabitants. That is disgusting. Maybe expose that more? It seems like the reason the Pitcairners are so backwards and avoidant.
March 9, 2022
The Far Land is a one-of-a-kind literary experience. Part travelogue, part historical thriller, it will grab you from the first page and keep you spellbound until its bloody end. The story is about Pitcairn, the most remote island in the world, and in reading it you feel yourself marooned at the end of the world with the author. Presser goes back and forth between present day Pitcairn (population 48) and the history of its settlement by the sailors from the Mutiny on the Bounty and their Tahitian brides. I found myself constantly wanting to talk to my husband about the bizarre and sinister events surrounding the establishment of the island, but not knowing where to even begin. The drama begins with Captain William Bligh and Fletcher Christian and continues up to the modern day islanders, who have encountered their fair share of scandal. You can’t decide who to root for. You can’t decide if you want to visit Pitcairn or if it inspires terror. Honestly, I’ve never read a book like this one. I can’t recommend The Far Land highly enough for fans of history or adventure, or for anyone who just needs a good escape.
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