LIFE AND DEATH IN EDEN. Pitcairn Island and the Bounty Mutineers

by Trevor Lummis

About the people of Pitcairn Island...

Genres: History

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se “Gli Ammutinati del Bounty” dello scrittore James Norman Hall [1887-1951] e la mia recente lettura “Il ragazzo del Bounty” di John Boyne hanno saputo raccontare efficacemente, seppur in maniera romanzata e secondo diversi punti di vista il viaggio del Bounty salpato dall’Inghilterra a fine 1787 e giunto a Tahiti nel 1789 e le dinamiche umane che portarono all’ammutinamento di una parte dell’equipaggio contro il comandante, tenente di vascello William Bligh, che con diciotto uomini rimastigli fedeli fu imbarcato su una scialuppa sperando in un miracoloso viaggio di sopravvivenza verso la civiltà distante migliaia di miglia, viene spontaneo chiedersi che fine fecero gli ammutinati capitanati dall’ufficiale Flechter Christian (il Marlon Brando del film), il capo della rivolta: questo saggio storico “L’ultimo uomo del Bounty” pubblicato nel 1997 risponde a questa intrigante domanda e con dovizia di particolari desunti da testimonianze per lo più orali degli attori del dramma e di altri testimoni secondari messe per iscritto ma anche da documenti ufficiali della Reale Marina Inglese fa luce su questo mistero umano e del mare. Ho trovato questa lettura spedita e affascinante che ha finalmente colmato la mia ignoranza sull’argomento grazie anche alla scelta dello scrittore Trevor Lummis [1930-2013], storico e scrittore inglese con un passato nella marina britannica, di rispettare la verità e non lasciarsi “prendere” dal desiderio di colmare gli inevitabili vuoti con ipotesi fantasiose, possibili ma non reali.

[Arjen Meijgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi verhaal over het eilandje Pitairn waar een nu nog steeds ongeveer 40 mensen wonen, afstammelingen van de muiters die in 1789 het schip The Bounty overnamen en de kapitein over boord zetten. Met vele ups en downs heeft de bevolking zich sindsdien weten te handhaven op deze paar km2, duizenden kilometers verwijderd van het vaste land.

[Chiefdonkey Bradey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stolen fruits from Eden

[Faye Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it but after the main story finishes the content gets a bit dry, I skipped the last chapter.

[Hilde Helseth]

'A book set in the Southern Hemisphere'

[Georgia Eves]

Crazy stuff

[Phylwil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll bet that not many people know what happened to the Bounty mutineers. The movie would have you believe they picked up their lovers from Tahiti then formed an enchanted society on an unknown tropical island, living a joyous life ever after. NOPE!!!!

The book relies on testimony that is probably distorted, and never pretends to have any more certainty than that, but discusses the likelihood of how events played out given the attitudes and customs if the day.

Engrossing, enlightening, intelligent.

[Marsali Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting account of the aftermath of the munity on the Bounty, concentrated on what happened to the surviving mutineers once they reached Pitcairn Island. It begins with a precis of the expedition and the mutiny, then focuses on Fletcher Christian's party, how they found Pitcairn Island, destroyed the Bounty, and began a new life. Within a few years, all but one of the men was dead - and this author pieces together how that happened from several different accounts. The colony was 'discovered' by the Navy in the early nineteenth century, and a new era began for the Pitcairners - again, the author looks at the conflicting evidence for how they showed themselves to visiting ships as opposed to how they actually lived. Fascinating stuff.

[Paul Winthrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read after Bligh Master Mariner

[David Snashall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a particularly exciting read, but very good if you want tio understand the fate of the Bounty mutineers who settled on Pitcairn

[Mike Pinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completes the history of the Bounty mutiny very interestingly.