The Caine Mutiny

The Caine Mutiny
First edition cover
AuthorHerman Wouk
Cover artistJohn Hull[1]
LanguageEnglish
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
March 19, 1951[2]
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)

The Caine Mutiny is a 1952 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the moral and ethical decisions made at sea by ship captains and other officers. The mutiny of the title is legalistic, not violent, and takes place during Typhoon Cobra, in December 1944. The court-martial that results provides the dramatic climax to the plot.

The novel was later adapted into a 1954 movie of the same name, as well as a similarly named play in 1953, an American TV film in 1955 and an Australian TV film in 1959 both based on the play, and a similarly named 2023 film reboot.

  1. ^ Modern first editions – a set on Flickr
  2. ^ "Books Published Today". The New York Times: 24. March 19, 1951.