The Caine Mutiny
by Herman Wouk
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Signed
- Condition
- Fine/No Jacket
- Seller
-
Shelbyville, Indiana, United States
Item Price
SGD 103.28SGD 82.62
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About This Item
Franklin Center, Pa.: The Franklin Library, 1977. Book. Illus. by George H. Jones. Fine. Full-Leather. Signed by Author(s). Limited Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Rust/orange colored Full Leather with elaborate gilt designs, front, back and spine. Gilt lettering to spine. All page edges gilt.Ribbon bookmark.Illustrated by George H. Jones. SIGNED by Herman Wouk. Tissue guard laid in. This copy is FINE. No noticeable blemishes other than light offsetting to EP edges and minimal foxing to gilt page edges. Unmarked, tight, and crisp. Looks and feels unread. Lovely.
Synopsis
For the Broadway play, see The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. The Caine Mutiny is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard a destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific in World War II and deals with, among other things, the moral and ethical decisions made at sea by the captains of ships. The mutiny of the title is legalistic, not violent, and takes place during a historic typhoon in December 1944.
Reviews
On Oct 5 2010, Pby5dumbo said:
Forget about the movie, except that as far as it goes, the characterizations, casting and motivations of players are fairly faithful to the story. In print, The Caine Mutiny is the story of the coming of age of Willie Keith, who barely figures in the movie at all. The Pulitzer-winning novel of 1952 is nothing less than the best fiction ever about the U.S. Navy and the best novel of World War II. By any reckoning, it's Herman Wouk's best work.Life aboard the Caine is mostly tedious and uncomfortable, as the little destroyer-minesweeper escorts convoys through hot expanses of ocean to featureless, desolate destinations. The citizen-sailors of the wardroom exhibit commendable conscience and care for the crew as they develop into seasoned watchstanders. The coffee is hot and strong, the food entirely unremarkable. They receive and decode Navy message traffic, written in realistic Navy telegraphese. (I had to look up the word cognizant when I first read this book, in the eighth grade.) Willie Keith's abiding memory of this time is being awakened routinely in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, the Caine's operational record builds a case for the captain's incompetence and unfitness to command. The typhoon that precipitates the actual mutiny is hisotrical, and the Navy did lose ships in it. The reader will come out the far end of the episode with no doubt that Steve Maryk saved the ship and the captain was not in control of himself, much less the ship, at the peak of the storm.Maryk, a C student from a state college and career fisherman, grapples with the arcane concepts of psychology without the professional tools to evaluate them, egged on by the novelist Tom Keefer, who turns out to be the real villain of this story. Be sure to take note of Keefer's performance as commander of the Caine. Meanwhile, Willie's scorching romance with Mae Wynn, whom any reader can see is intended to be his mate for life, works its way through stormy waters, mostly of Willie's making. It's been adequate to hold the attention of women readers for three generations, in the otherwise entirely masculine contexts of this novel.Wouk's portrayal of the Navy and the Caine are dead on target. His characters are fully developed; it would be impossible for a reader not to care for them. The narrative workmanship in characterization, setting and action is economic, precise, and well paced. This is not just a Navy story, it is a great contribution to the entire body of American literature. I re-read it often.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Bailey Bonzo Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 002869
- Title
- The Caine Mutiny
- Author
- Herman Wouk
- Illustrator
- George H. Jones
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- Limited Edition
- Publisher
- The Franklin Library
- Place of Publication
- Franklin Center, Pa.
- Date Published
- 1977
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9&f
Terms of Sale
Bailey Bonzo Books
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About the Seller
Bailey Bonzo Books
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Shelbyville, Indiana
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About Bailey Bonzo Books
Bailey Bonzo Books....Specializing in collectble First Editions, SIGNED copies, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and RARE copies of all kinds.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...