The Discovery of Islands consists of a series of linked essays in British history, written by one of the world's leading historians of ideas and published at intervals over the past generation. The purpose of the essays is to present British history as the history of several nations interacting with - and sometimes seceding from - association with an imperial state. The American colonies seceded in the eighteenth century; most of Ireland seceded in the twentieth century; in the later part of that century Britain herself seceded from the association of nations it had built up across the globe. John Pocock presents this history as that of an archipelago, situated in oceans and expanding across them to the Antipodes. Both New Zealand history and ways of seeing history formed in New Zealand enter into the overall vision, and the aim is to present British history as oceanic and global, complementing (and occasionally criticising) the presentation of that history as European. Professor Pocock's interpretation of British history has been hugely influential in recent years, making The Discovery of Islands a resource of immense value for historians of Britain, the British Empire, and indeed of the world. The title is derived from the poetry of Allen Curnow (1911-2001). The cover illustration, based on the work of a Christchurch artist, presents the globe from its southern pole and as the planet Water rather than Earth.

Book jacket.