Gotta love a a place where everything wants to kill you.

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	• In a Sunburned Country Bill Bryson Broadway, 2001 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 396 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A More Mature Bryson

This is Bryson's fifth and latest (last?) travel narrative and in it he writes with a bit more confidence and maturity as he navigates from the "frappaccino heaven that is modern Sydney" to the Gold Coast, Ayers Rock, the tropics and beyond. And he does so in the classicly effervescent, witty, and thoughful manner for which he has become famous. This first hand account gets lots of support from historical snippets and overviews, almost all of which are intriquing. This is not as humorous as his other books nor is it as fast. Yes, in some sections it is somewhat slow, but certainly this only mirrors what traveling in a country as vast and relatively empty as Australia must really be like. Largely absent from this book too are Bryson's famous rants. He is enamored by Australia and seldom has a bad encounter or a bad thing to say although when he does, it's typically entertaining. His estimation of the country is that it is largely a blend of American and British influences, primarily the positive influences. If anything, this book should make you want to head Down Under yourself someday.

Troy Parfitt, author

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Everything will kill you

This should be required reading for anybody heading to Australia. He is an astute observer of human behavior, and relates his findings in the most humorous way. His description of the game of cricket is the most accurate and hilarious I've ever read, and his constant reminders of how everything in Australia will kill you provides nice continuity throughout the book.

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Don't be a drongo, enjoy this book

Bill Bryson loves and hates Australia. It's sunny climes and lush hills on the Gold Coast, flat open seemingly endless expanse of desert, and then another wonderful coast all serve to fill him with prose of praise for the place, and remarks on some of the stranger aspects of Ozzie life.

The people's charm is pleasantly placed next to the strangeness of a land where a Prime Minister can walk into the sea and no one hear from him again. Or that they built a city to house all the politicians, filled it with fantastic gardens, and yet have no idea how the government actually works.

The book follow Bryson on his trip around and across the southern-most continent and is chock-a-block full of interesting stories, people, and places. His usual wit and sarcasm does seem to fall off a bit, but (having been there I can say) that has more to do with the place than the writer. It's almost impossible to find nasty things to say about Oz.

If you've even been to Aussie-land you'll love this book for the memories it evokes, and if you have never been consider this book as a fantastic rainy-day travel guide and let your imagination sore (then get down to your travel agent and book a flight ;) ).

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Gotta love a a place where everything wants to kill you.

It's obvious in reading this book that Bryson fell head over heels for the land down under. What makes him such a great travel writer is that, in love or not, he never resorts to gushing. He maintains the dry wit and eye for oddities that are his trademarks. I particularly liked the recurring bits about sharks and other potential agents of death. Bryson shows us a country full of interesting, likable and hardworking people; a harsh country not without problems, but a gosh-darned interesting place. You'll laugh a lot reading this, but without laughing at anyone. That's a difficult thing to pull off, and Bryson does it. His affection for the place is palpable. This is a great armchair travel book.

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a great read

This is a great book, in my opinion. Bryson makes this tale both informative and funny. I had at least a few laugh-out-loud moments with this book. After I finished, I felt almost as if I had just taken a trip to Australia (never been there yet)- def the sign of a good writer. If you've never read Bill Bryson before, take a chance on this one - you won't regret it.

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

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