It covers a lot of the history of Colonization and interaction between locals and Dutch, Dutch East India Company and Pepper trade, Wallace Line, Plate Tectonics and, of course Volcanology. It is the best book I have read in about 19 years. Yockey's Imperium was the last great one before that. Winchesters A Crack in the Edge of the World about the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 is also a fascinating read.