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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780316955102
ISBN number: 0316955108
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 560
Printing Date: April 15, 1992
Publishing house: Back Bay Books
Sale Popularity Level: 21509
Studio: Back Bay Books
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Upon its original publication in 1951, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was immediately embraced as one of the very first serious works of fiction to help readers grapple with the human consequences of World War II. In the intervening half-century, Herman Wouk's boldly dramatic, brilliantly entertaining story of life-and mutiny-on a Navy warship in the Pacific theater has achieved the status of a modern classic.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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This is a very cynical novel. It also lacks credibility.
Captain Queeg is not a believable character. Ten or fourteen years out of the Naval Academy (depending on which passage in the book) and old for a Lt. Commander, his superiors would know that he cannot accept responsibility for his own actions. And yet for this and his many other shortcomings, including incompetence and cowardice under fire, he is portrayed as a typical Regular Navy officer.
The trial is an travesty of the Military Rules of Evidence. And yet the novel is compelling. I felt emotionally drained when I finished. I give it four stars.
Rated by buyers 
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For me this was a well-written page turner with memorable characters and plenty of thematic depth. Presents both sides of a complex issue; there are no real villians here, only the gray area that comes with war. One of the best accounts of character change I've ever encountered, and among the best overall books I've read in the last two years. Highly recommended to just about anyone.
Rated by buyers -
Having loved the movie with Humphrey Bogart, I always wanted to read the The Caine Mutiny--and I wasn't disappointed. The book provides many of the same highlights as the film...and more. For example,
1. As I had hoped, given the greater depth and insight that a novel can provide as compared to a movie, I found Captain Queeg and his slow descent into paranoia to be more interesting to read than they were to watch on screen. The book seems to make the points (a) that Queeg's psychological problems were the result of a perfect storm of a paranoid personality, an unsupportive crew and a highly stressful environment, and (b) that rather than attempting to tear him down, the men on the ship should have supported Queeg, a volunteer naval officer, for his willingness to fight and support his country. I appreciated this more nuanced approach to Queeg's character than the more superficial treatment given the movie.
2. Never having been in the military, I was fascinated to read the description of the system by which the Navy was designed and operates. As one character described it, "The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots." Initially, right along with the characters, we rebel against the apparently senseless details and rigid structures. Eventually, like the characters, we learn the value and strength of that system--particularly in a time of war, where the ships were populated with a mixture of regular navy and enlisted men.
3. We see the maturation of the narrator, and nominal main character, Willie Keith, from a careless mama's boy to a brave, thoughtful and respectful man.
4. In the movie, I enjoyed the courtroom scenes and Jose Ferrer's excellent examinations. I thought that Herman Wouk did even a better job with those--other than his cross examination of the psychiatrists, which sounded really dated. Again, the literary form lends itself to a much deeper presentation of the courtoom scenes.
The one area I felt the book really fell down was the hot and cold relationship between Willie Keith and May Wynn. Read in 2008, its laughably dated, adds very little to the story, and frankly, is not very well done.
All in all, though, even with its shortcomings, I highly recommend this book. The plot moves along swiftly and interestingly (a real page turner), the author's writing style is good (if not great), the character descriptions are fascinating, the courtroom scenes riverting, and the descriptions of the ship and naval procedures opened my eyes to a new world. The moral and ethical implications of a mutiny in a structure which is based almost entirely on blind loyalty to a superior is what takes this novel from being merely a good read, to a classic.
Rated by buyers -
Part exciting WWII story, part romance, part gripping courtroom drama. "The Caine Mutiny" is a classic novel that hardly dates a bit despite being published in 1951. Wouk brilliantly explores the tension between the professional navy men and the part-timers during WWII. He appears to stick up for the sometimes strange and arbitrary ways of the long-time navy men but it's not an entirely convincing argument - the reader needs to make up their own mind. Wouk expertly explores the psychology of the main characters, especially the odious Captain Queeg and the cowardly Keefer. The actual "mutiny" scene still packs a punch.
The book was made into an excellent film starring Humphery Bogart and Van Johnson in 1954 - and it is interesting to compare them. The film captures the essence of the book perfectly despite omitting or changing quite a few key scenes, and the ironic twist surrounding De Vriess puts the film one up on the book.
Rated by buyers -
After reading this book, I may have to go back and redefine the ratings categories, or bump some things down I had rated five stars.
True classic literature: the characters leap alive off the page and the story justs burns straight ahead with no wasted action, description, or dialogue.
Read it close. Queeg may not turn out to be the bad guy you thought.
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