" Biologists, botanists, geologists, mapmakers, six ships, all under the rule of a martinet captain, and all bent on discovering a new continent (Antarctica) and surveying previously undiscovered Pacific islands, then the Columbia River - collecting specimens (which became the foundation of the Smithsonian) and confirming Darwin's theory of the formation of coral atolls. Philbrick (a National Book Award winner,) writes of these exploits, dangerous encounters with tribes native to the islands they visited, and takes the reader inside the minds of these brave and (sometimes) brilliant scientists. "
— ej, 1/25/2014