as a result of the publication of philip l. barbour's biography of captain john smith, his first book on the colonial experience, barbour moved into the “forefront of the biographers of the early colonial period” in the opinion of many experts, not least being professor david beers quinn, one of late 20th century's leading experts on the voyages of discovery and colonization of america. barbour's book was described as being “close to…the definitive work on the remarkable career of a controversial man”, notable for its meticulous scholarship and abundance of detail, and the “best modern biography of john smith.