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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780316738880
ISBN number: 0316738883
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 272
Printing Date: July 14, 2003
Publishing house: Back Bay Books
Sale Popularity Level: 666669
Studio: Back Bay Books
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Product Description:
MEN AGAINST THE SEA is the epic story of the 19 loyal men who, with Captain Bligh at the helm, were set adrift in a 23-foot open launch. Their 3,600-mile voyage remains one of the greatest feats of courage and adventure in the annals of the sea.
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Rated by buyers 
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This picks up the story of Captain Bleigh when he is cast off the
HMS Bounty in a long boat by Fletcher Christian. Bleigh rows half way
accross the Pacific under very great difficulty avoiding easier alternatives just to reach a British port. He put his small crew in
great danger, lack of food and water, and even faces dangerous natives
on some of the islands he comes accross in his journey. I very first read this
book in Junior High in the 1950's, when reading was a boar to me. I
couldn't put it down and really established my love for reading.I gave
an oral book report and got an A when I described that as times got
tougher for Captian Bleigh, he grew stronger as his men got weaker,
with his determination to return to Britian to see that the mutineers
were brought to justice.
Rated by buyers -
Really a fantastic read -- you'll get to see another side of William Bligh than of that of the very first novel, Mutiny on the Bounty. This one, too, is a real page turner!
Rated by buyers 
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I imagine the original publishers of this book had a look of incredulity on their faces when very first pitched the idea for this book - put 19 men in a boat so small that they cannot move around in it, and have them sail the south Pacific for 43 days. That it was a true story no doubt helped, and that it was a companion story to the obviously interesting plot of The Mutiny on the Bounty would also have contributed to getting the go-ahead. The result is much like Tom Hanks's film Castaway - the very nature of the problem coupled with the delivery of the story makes this a riveting story. At ~200 pages, it doesn't wear out its welcome, and tells its story with the simplicity and narrative force such a tale requires.
There is really little else to say about this book, except to point out that, while it is the middle story of a trilogy, it probably can be read stand-alone or out of order of the other two. In terms of timing, it splits off from the story in "Mutiny on the Bounty," and ends sooner, so there are no real "spoilers" in the second book. I think it is, overall, a better-written story than the first. It is not as rich and detailed in presenting British sea life at the end of the 18th century, but it does bring forth the sheer magnitude of the achievement of these sailors against all odds, travelling such a great distance in an open vessel with scant supplies.
Rated by buyers -
I actually picked up Men Against the Sea expecting a mundane but entertaining sea story. It started off innocently enough until the unlucky crew was sentenced to their watery fate. Then the book suddenly plunged into turbo mode. Now, for an authour to write such a long book about the adventures of 18 men on one small boat and not skip a beat is remarkable.
Captain Bligh establishes his presence on the vessel with an iron grip. His leadership skills and confidence are quite extrodinary as he takes control of boat. One cannot help but feel for the crew as they struggle against all odds. Men Against the Sea is one of those stories that swipes the reader right of their comfy couch and throws them head-first into the raging ocean. The writers describe the hunger and thirst of the men so convicingly that I actually had to grab a bite myself or starve with them! The storms and squalls are believably violent and the Island natives frightfully savage.
It is really a great adventure story. The book manages to surpass its predecessor, Mutiny on the Bounty, by leaps and bounds. From rationing food barely sufficient for one man amongst 18 hungry seamen, too eating raw fish, the crew, lead by their relentless captain, are determined to survive. You will no doubt find yourself cheering at their victories and subsequently mourning their defeats.
What makes the read even more enjoyable is the realization that it is basically a true story. Man against Nature! Trully a book not easily forgotten. It has been 4 years since I read the book and it is still imprinted in by mind.
Read it for yourself. Such books makes being an avid reader so much fun!
Rated by buyers -
Men Against the Sea is the fictionalized second book in the Bounty Trilogy. Mutiny on the Bounty recounts the tale of the voyage of the H.M.S. Bounty from England to Tahiti and a little way back, the mutiny, and the subsequent events that affect those of the Bounty's crew who remain on Tahiti. When last seen in that book, Captain William Bligh is cast adrift far from land in a small vessel overladen with 18 other loyal men and about 7 to 8 inches of freeboard above a flat sea. Practically speaking, their chances are slim.
Men Against the Sea begins with the mutiny and describes what happens to Captain Bligh and those he commands as they make their way eventually to the Dutch settlement of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. Along the way, Captain Bligh and his men traverse around 3,600 miles in their fragile vessel while suffering many horrors including attacks from the native people, lack of sleep, storms, bailing for their lives, cold, thirst, too much sun, and hunger. The authors make a good decision in choosing to have the ship's surgeon serve as the narrator of this saga. This perspective made it possible for the book to include his physical descriptions of the deprivations of the Bounty's abandoned crew to help make the story more compelling. In the true spirit of a story about English tars, there is a considerable discusion of how the starvation the men experienced affected their intestinal tracts.
Captain Bligh comes across very poorly in Mutiny on the Bounty. The opposite occurs in Men Against the Sea. His leadership is one of the great accomplishments of seamanship of all time. Throughout the troubled voyage to the very first landing at the Dutch settlement on Timor, Captain Bligh only lost one man. Captain Bligh also comes across as a brave, worthy, and dedicated sailour who is more than willing to share the deprivations of his men. In one stretch, he mans the tiller for 36 straight hours despite being exhausted. At the same time, even the most querulous of the crew usually keep their silence.
But the men are only human after all. Someone steals two pounds of pork. Another shipmate sent to capture birds is overcome by the need to eat them, and spoils the hunting for everyone. In their weakened state, they miss many wonderful chances for food. When they reach civilization and begin to recover from their privations, complaining quickly returns.
My test of how well written such an adventure tale is that I often felt like I was in the boat struggling with them. The main weakness of the book is that it skips many days on end, when the circumstances were at their most dire such as during unending days of storms. By doing this, the reader is denied the chance to have the full horror of the crossing bear down more strongly.
Most of the weaknesses of Mutiny on the Bounty are overcome in Men Against the Sea. So if you found that work unappealing, give this one a chance. It has many of the qualities of great survival and adventure books.
After you finish this remarkable tale, I suggest you think about the ways that adversity brings out the best in you. How can you do as well when times and circumstance are not adverse?
Squarely face the challenge, with confidence that sucess will follow!
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