Setting off from Sydney Harbour in 1862, the ‘Fawn’ voyages to the Islands of the Western Pacific stopping at New Zealand first. From their first contact with the natives of Niue to the hospitality encountered from the Pitcairn Islanders, the Author, T H Hood, gives us an engaging narrative of the trip which includes many fine illustrations. He also includes numerous anecdotes gathered en-route such as the scarcely credible adventures of the whaling Captain Grant, whose feats included killing a ninety foot Sperm Whale whilst swimming beside it after it had crushed his boat, and surviving being dragged under with his foot in a whales mouth! Hood’s appealing style provides a fascinating picture of the lives and history of the disparate peoples of this region whether or not you have a particular interest in the Western pacific.