The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander was discussed on Book TV as you can see/listen to by clicking the preceding link. [It provides a good summary of the book, and its point of view.] This plus coming upon it when I stopped my local library led me to read this recent account of the familiar story. I cannot fully interpret the accuracy of the somewhat arrogant subtitle ("the true"), but the title has an ironic nature to it. It is ironic because "the story" that developed from the time to the present (furthered by fictional accounts, such as movies) was not a completely accurate account.

In fact, half of the book takes place after the mutiny [the book starts with a rather amazing in itself account of the attempt to bring back the mutineers, only partly successful, and rather perilous], largely discussing how "the story" developed. And, those who told the story were largely no friends of Lieutenant Bligh [the ship, and this is key, was too small for him to be given the title of "captain"], including mutineers on trial for their lives, the leader's brother and his anti-slavery leaning committee of inquiry (the whole point of the voyage was to collect breadfruit, food for West Indes slaves), the master of the ship who is portrayed as an ill tempered character, and the ever changing story of the sole surviving mutineer who was never captured. Thus, though Bligh is not without his faults, the author is one of the few people truly on his side.

The book as a whole is a good read. It has a great look to it, including the colorful cover and opening pages, useful maps and crew list, and lovely b&w and color photos. It has a smooth writing story and discusses the events in a pleasant and informative way. A few problems: too much emphasis on a key mutineer that was court mortality, especially as related to his flighty, poetry spewing sister; the central court martial is somewhat dully portrayed, and the actual mutiny is quickly told with contrasting details only coming later as various individuals tell their accounts. This is somewhat confusing. The result is that the middle portion is a bit tedious, but once the court martial is over, things are smoother. Finally, the book perhaps provide too little of a psychological analysis of some of the players, including Bligh. On the whole, the story is fascinating, and the book provides an above average account of it.

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Chinese Food: Various things give my city its individual color, and one clearly important aspect of it can be said to be its numerous fast food chinese restaurants. For instance, aside from the numerous pizzerias (it being an Italian neighborhood), a mile or so main strip nearby has four of them. A somewhat wider radius provides me with the four that I happen to use regularly, each with slightly different food and tastes. Others downtown or near a relative I periodically visit are often used by me as well. The typical meal delivered with tip is about $10 for dinner, providing a quite filling meal. Lunch can be half that. It is quite a good deal and well compared to what similar amounts would get you at a fast food restaurant.