This is a very readable professional biography of the voyages of Captain James Cook. Its lucid, flowing style should make reading this work a pleasure rather than a chore. However, Ms Gaines is ambivalent about who her intended audience is. While the text is written on a level for the young, sophisticated terms are sometimes used without explanation-the British pound symbol is explained but the quotation device "sic" is used without explanation, and is sure to confuse children. The paucity of maps is unsatisfactory when dealing with so many exotic place-names-the geographically literate reviewer was constantly consulting an atlas. If she intended to write for an American or European audience, she shouldn't have put the word discover in quotation marks; these places were known to the aboriginal peoples, and they were discovered by the Europeans. In her analysis at the end of the book she deplores the eclipse of Polynesian culture, while failing to note that the Polynesians were as responsible for this loss as were the Europeans. The Polynesians wanted what the Europeans had to offer (e.g., iron tools) as much as the Europeans wanted what Polynesia had. This book is laid out in chapters; is nicely illustrated; and has a timeline, chapter notes, further reading and internet addresses, and an index.