From the cloisters of Normandy and the pillaged libraries of Italy to the Sea of Galilee and the frozen passes of the Alps, this history chronicles the overlap of science, survival, and writing in the life of Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière, an 18th-century traveler and naturalist. Most famous for his international bestseller Relation, which helped usher the southern continent into the European imagination, Labillardière also authored flora manuals such as Novae Hollandiae. This comprehensive study offers archival notes, personal correspondence, and observations about Labillardière's impact on modern society.