This volume deals with the European voyages of discovery in the Pacific ocean. The first chapters deal with the Spanish explorers discovery of the Santa Cruz islands as well as islands in the coral sea. The next chapters deal with the Dutch explorations, not for discovery, but for possible business ventures and trade. These chapters also explain how the Dutch were the first Europeans to sight Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, which was a surprise to me. Through out the book, the text also describes how Europeans kept looking for the "Great Southern Continent" as theorized by the ancient Greeks, but did not exist as described. The last two chapters discuss the small French voyages to the south pacific, but mainly deal with the Captain Cook's voyages throughout the south and north pacific and his death in Hawaii.