The typhoon that precipitates the actual mutiny is hisotrical, and the Navy did lose ships in it. Meanwhile, the Caine's operational record builds a case for the captain's incompetence and unfitness to command. (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. They receive and decode Navy message traffic, written in realistic Navy telegraphese. The coffee is hot and strong, the food entirely unremarkable. The citizen-sailors of the wardroom exhibit commendable conscience and care for the crew as they develop into seasoned watchstanders. 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 Pulitzer-winning novel of 1952 is nothing less than the best fiction ever about the U.S. In print, The Caine Mutiny is the story of the coming of age of Willie Keith, who barely figures in the movie at all. Forget about the movie, except that as far as it goes, the characterizations, casting and motivations of players are fairly faithful to the story.
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