In these memoirs, posthumously published in 1818, a captain and his botanist recount their doomed African expedition of 1816.

This work consists of his journal, which he kept until shortly before his death, supplemented by observations by other members of the expedition. An appendix offers a basic vocabulary of two African languages, Malemba and Embomma.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.