Ian Burnet has presented a detailed and authoritive account of the construction of the Tasman Map and its subsequent history. But he goes a lot further than that. The depth of social and political history contained here is impressive in the way it provides insight into the contemporary conditions and the people involved. I have enjoyed reading it and learnt a great deal. Brian Finlayson, School of Geography, University of Melbourne Most of us will have heard of parts of Burnet's story, whether it is of figures such as Francis Drake, Dirk Hartog or Abel Tasman, or of place names which reflect historical moments in our history, such as the Gulf of Carpentaria, Arnhem Land, Groote Eylandt, Rottnest Island, or Maatsuyker Island. But other parts of his story will be new to many.This is a book to savour and to learn from and which will serve as a reference to many a historical event of relevance to both Indonesia and Australia.- Dr.

Ron Witton, Inside Indonesia Ian Burnet tells the story of how our variously named island continent - Terra Australis Incognita, Java Le Grande, t'Zuyd Landt, Hollandia Nova - took its physical cartographic outline: from early, wildly speculative shapes unrelated to its actual dimensions, to the recognisable form of the Tasman Map in the Library's vestibule floor . Every contributing line of accurate, non-speculative cartography, and the 16 separate voyages on which they were made, were the work of Holland's United East India Company (VOC) navigators in the extraordinary short period of 38 years from 1606 to 1644 . Jeffrey Mellefont, Signals Magazine.