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Bligh: William Bligh in the South Seas by Anne Salmond

We all know the story of Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the bounty, but how much do we really know about the man himself? What was he really like? Was the Bounty his first command? How did he interact with the Polynesians he encountered?

In this book, award-winning anthropologist Anne Salmond tells the story of Bligh in a new light. This is not just a European history, but also explores the part played by Pacific Islanders.

This book begins with Bligh's arrival in Tahiti in 1777. Bligh was only 22 at the time and was accompanying Captain Cook. She then charts Bligh's three Pacific voyages, telling how they transformed the lives of islanders and those onboard Bligh's ships. She sheds new insight on the mutiny and Bligh's subsequent remarkable voyage across the pacific in a small boat.

She has been able to show a different side to the man and his accomplishments through use of the raw, unguarded letters between Bligh and his wife. Through this story, Anne reveals Bligh as an important ethnographer, which adds to the paradoxical legacy of this seaman. It also captures the excitement, drama and terror of the events in Bligh's life.

This book will be particularly of interest to anyone interested in maritime or pacific history, but also provides a thrilling and informative read.

RRP $65.00
Published and distributed by Penguin Group under the Viking title
 

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