Global search is about finding the best overall region. of the fitness landscape. In the geographic analogy of finding the highest mountain, it is like getting to the Himalayas rather than the Serengeti, that is an overall area wherein an optimal or at least very good solution is expected to be found. To do this global search has to ignore or smooth out fine details of parameter choice. Global search is in contrast to local search, which is about finding the best point within a region. Simulated annealing is an example of an algorithm that starts off with a global search phase (when it has a high temperature) and then gradually moves towards local search.
Used in Chap. 9: pages 122, 123, 124