This biography investigates the life and motivations of Edward John Eyre, examining his role as an explorer and his controversial tenure as a colonial administrator. Geoffrey Dutton utilizes primary source documents, including Eyre's own journals and official correspondence, to construct a detailed account of his expeditions across the Australian continent and his subsequent political career. The text argues that Eyre's legacy is defined by a complex duality between his physical endurance as an explorer and the severe administrative decisions he made during the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica.

Historians recognize this work as a comprehensive biographical study that balances the romanticized view of the explorer with the critical reality of the colonial official. Readers frequently note the academic rigor of the research and the author's objective approach to evaluating Eyre's polarizing historical reputation.