Wikipedia tells us that there have been three “Mutiny on the Bounty” movies, the first in 1935, starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton; the second in 1962, starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard; and finally, the one in 1984, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.

I have no idea which movie Donald Trump was referring to when he came up with his ridiculous “Mutiny on the Bounty” twit that compared the actions of responsible state governors to mutineers. But before any of the movies came “The Bounty Trilogy,” three novels written from 1932 to 1934 by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, and I’ll bet my last stimulus dollar that Trump never read a word. Since he never reads anything, including reports of a coming pandemic, I think my money is safe.

The trilogy comprises three books: “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “Men Against the Sea” and “Pitcairn’s Island.” I read…