BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTICES THE EUROPEAN DISCOVERY OF AMERICA: THE SOUTHERN VOYAGES, A.D. 1492-1616 By Samuel Eliot Morison. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Pp. xvii, 758; preface, biblios., illus., maps, index. $17.50.) The publication of a book written by Samuel Eliot Morison is always an event in American historiography. With the appearance of this volume on "The Southern Voyages" the author has completed his projected replacement of the two-volume classic Discovery of America by John Fiske that first came into print in 1893. Once again, as in his The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages, A.D. 500-1600, published in 1971 (reviewed in the Quarterly, October 1971, by Alexander O. Vietor), we find the same vigorous prose detailing the voyages of hardy seamen, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, and Dutch—the latter, the discoverers of Cape Horn. In addition to research among printed and manuscript sources there is also the absorbing account of Admiral Morison's own travels along the routes of the early navigators. The career and adventures of Christopher Columbus, as might be expected from the author of the distinguished biography of this explorer, are written with his customary scholarship and verve, but the account of Ferdinand Magellan and, particularly, the journey through the straits that bear his name, is an even more fascinating story. With proper respect for Columbus it seems clear that the author is greatly intrigued by Magellan and his extraordinary voyage. In essence, this is history written with due respect to facts and with equal regard to narrative interest. It is rare today that we encounter history in the great tradition, combining elegance of style and careful research, but it is clearly evident in this volume. All readers, not only those interested in American history but also those stimulated by the challenge and response manifested in the adventures of the doughty explorers who made America known to Europe, will enjoy this book. The men who sailed with Columbus, Magellan, and Drake were usually interested in adventure and money or, as the quotation of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, writing of the conquest of Mexico, so aptly phrased it "we came here to serve God and also to get rich!' Sometimes they did both, often they did neither but, taken all in all, they were a brave and determined group and especially so when one remembers that frequently most of these voyagers had only the vaguest notion of where they were. This is a splendid piece of writing with history not in the least diluted by the obvious admiration Admiral Morison has for the characters who inhabit [271]