In a Sunburned Country (2000)

Bryson brings the reader on a tour of Australia, peppered with his usual interesting facts about the vastness of Australia, the venomousness of its creatures, the hostility of environment, etc. A little out of date now, but very entertaining. Bryson narrates the audiobook version himself, which gives a flavor of authenticity but makes you really notice how often he says things like “Here’s the thing.” ( )

Bill Bryson is Fabulous. ( )

In Down Under Bill Bryson takes on Australia as well as all those many and varied creatures that might just have it in for him and cause either a fast or slow, but either way painful death. Over the course of two separate trips to Australia Bryson falls in love with this vast and harsh country and the people which inhabit it.

I enjoyed Down Under more than Neither Here, Nor There, perhaps because Down Under only deals with one country. The more homogenous culture allowed Bryson to write in more depth and offer more insight. Bryson’s fantastic ability to discover through his research the most curious and oddball facts is always on show, and adds a lot of interest while educating his readers with obscure facts. He also has a great perspective that emphasises inane habits or the complete wrongness of a particular situation or event.

Travelling by train, plane, car, and 4WD, and down highways, back roads and outback tracks, Bryson manages to convey a sense of just how vast a continent this is.

Bryson also touches on the both the historical and modern plight of the Aboriginal people, and their seeming invisibility in their own land. The chapter which dealt with The Stolen Generation was quite emotional, and although not detailed, we do get a good insight into what is a seriously complex issue.

Before reading the first page I had a look at the maps at the front of the book. Almost immediately I was fascinated by a place called The Bungle Bungles. What an awesome name for a place, and what on earth is the story behind it?! This was my one disappointment with Down Under - The Bungle Bungles wasn’t mentioned until page 419 of 422, and only then in passing, with no explanation of the name or history given.

This is a fun, fast read with lots of Bryson’s trademark wit. ( )

I love Bill Byron's books even more so when he reads to me! Given some of the facts I now know about Australia I am not sure it will remain on my list of places to visit. ( )

I love Bill Bryson. He manages to effortlessly shift from entertaining and funny to serious and informative all without boring or meandering off into unnecessary tangents. He always makes me want to see what he's describing or research more about the people and events he's recounting. Lovely. He's also a great narrator. I want to get all his audiobooks where he does the narrating. Wonderful. ( )

This is my first Bill Bryson book, and I'm sure it won't be my last. For a travel book, this has it all; a quirky sense of humor, deep descriptions, an astonishing sense of place, history, interesting factoids, relevance, perspective -- and Bryson's writing style, which falls somewhere between Charles Kuralt and Monty Python.

Next up; his walk along the Appalachian Trail. ( )

Just found this for $1. today. Hardcover.

This is a charming travelogue about Bryson's adventures through Australia. He takes us through major cities, as well as, various locations in the Outback. He not only writes about his experiences, but also about interesting tidbits about history and animals. He does this in a very amusing way, especially when encountering rude hotel personnel or car rental mishaps. In the end, one gets a colorful overview along with some of Australia's historical problems.
( )

I didn't get all the way through this - it was another audio book rental to keep me entertained. Just as fun as the rest of Bryson's travel memoirs. ( )

Bryson's enjoyable peregrinations in Australia, which were not only enjoyable to read while there, but also gave me something to chat about with the Australians with whom I shared a table while on tour in the South Pacific. It's true--mention funnel webs or croc attacks and you won't have to say another word for the whole meal as Aussies regale you with anecdotes about their poisonous and/or toothy creatures for hours. Bryson, like Twain and Theroux, brings in a lot of history and natural history, which I appreciate in a travelogue. ( )

I've always liked Bill Bryson's writing, and "Bill Bryson Down Under" didn't disappoint. My grandma was Australian, but I didn't know anything about Australia apart from what I've learned by watching Home and Away. This book was full of interesting information and plenty of descriptions about the different areas. Bryson's sense of humor is great. There were several places in the book where I had to find my husband and share the witty remarks and funny stories; not something normally done. ( )

I loved this book. Bill takes us on a tour of Australia, sharing with us details of the world's most deadly creatures, tales of bravery and also some of stupidity.

His love of Australia and her people shines throughout and, as ever, any mockery is done with affection. But for my fear of the deadly creatures, I'd be delighted to take up many of the suggestions for museums and sights made in this book.

Interestingly, he also touches on the Aborigines and how they remain mostly invisible in Australian life, even to this day. ( )

Interesting memoir of the author's self-tour of Australia. Bryson had visited the country before for business purposes, but those visits had been limited to Sydney and Melbourne. He'd learned enough about the country and its history, culture, and people to want to explore further, so he returned for a visit which took him to numerous points throughout its vast expanse.
Had anyone else written this, I'd rate it as extremely good. Unfortunately, Bryson has set a high bar for himself, and he really doesn't come up to the level of other of his books that I've read.
Still, well worth reading. ( )

With his typical, and entertaining, mix of memoir, microhistory, and humour, Bill Bryson delves into the vast continent of Australia. Bryson's journeys cover several trips, and he covers the land mass via rental car and airplane. His travels give a sense of the epic scale of the landscape, the geniality of the people, and the uniqueness of the environment. ( )

Bill Bryson has an excellent way with words, especially with his descriptive writing. For a travel writer, I suppose this is a must. He's also a humorist, and I laughed out loud on at least a half a dozen occasions while enjoying his adventures down under. Particularly amusing were his descriptions of a Cricket match, of a particularly bad hotel in Darwin and and of a drunken night in the Outback. He also gives a fine overall view of Austrailia, of which he covered much, but alas not nearly as much as he wanted. Though some might gripe that he spends too much time ruminating over the poisonous wildlife and looking for a cold beer, overall this is an exceptionally fun book to read. He includes many historical facts about Australia and even devotes some space to the unfortunate condition of the Aborigines. But not too much to spoil the fun. Bryson's travel writings remind me of an apolitical P.J. O'Rourke, and for that he's worth a read. ( )

Although I love to travel, I often find travel writing a bit dry. Well, not this one! I found myself laughing and eagerly anticipating my own upcoming trip to Australia. I think Bryson does a great job of capturing the "Australian Spirit" but also includes and honest account of the country's history. This book is very entertaining and an excellent read for anyone about to embark on their own journey Down Under. ( )

This travelogue of an American in Australia was hilarious. I had no choice; I had to give this five stars. I have this rule you see: if a book makes me think, cry, or laugh out loud, I give it top marks. I was smiling madly by the middle of the first page--at page 17 I was giggling. I haven't laughed so often or so hard since Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens. Bryson gets a lot of mileage out of Australia being a "wondrously venomous and toothy country." Here's a snippet:

"You probably won't see any redbacks out there," Sonja reassured us. "Snakes are much more of a problem."

This intelligence was received with four raised eyebrows and expressions that said, "Go on."

She nodded. "Common brown, western taipan, western puff pastry, yellow-backed lockjaw, eastern groin groper, dodge viper..." I don't remember what she said exactly, but it was a long list. "But don't worry," she continued. "Most snakes don't want to hurt you. If you're out in the bush and a snake comes along, just stop dead and let it slide over your shoes."

This, I decided, was the least-likely-to-be-followed advice I have ever been given.

Yet he keeps repeating that "it's a wonderful country." And he means it--his affection for Australia and Australians shines through. He gives us plenty of reasons why through the book--the wide spaces, the unique natural wonders, the friendly and optimistic people he meets. He doesn't gloss over that Australia has its dark side. The Aborigines are the "oldest continuously maintained culture on Earth," but are also Australia's "great social failing." The Australians don't want to talk about them and Bryson describes people looking right through them and describes a history every bit as heartbreaking as that of Native Americans. But mostly this is a very sunny book--in just about every way you can imagine. ( )

Bloody cgood read and very searching of the Australian psyche. Great tales and taught me a bit about the old Country. He has often hit the nail on the head with his distinct searching investigations - especially the indigenous issues. loved the comedy - have a laugh at yourself australia.

I’ve been having a one-sided love affair with Australia for as long as I can remember. After years of planning and saving I still haven’t made it to the great Down Under. But until I can plan a trip there, I can console myself with Bryson’s wonderful book.

The hilarious travel writer has been a favorite author of mine for a long time now. Between his stories of growing up in Iowa (The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid), his time living in England (Notes from a Small Island) and even his books on the English language (Mother Tongue), I’ve grown to appreciate his work. A few of his have been misses for me, but I usually love his dry sense of humor and cynical view of travel. This one definitely makes it into the top three favorites list of his books for me.

He writes about everything in Australia from the Great Barrier Reef to the tiny towns in the far west. He covers the history of the Aborigines and the exile of convicts to the continent from England. I love the way he weaves all of this together, adds a big dollop of local beer drinking and meandering through small museums to create an entertaining book. He pairs good information with rye comments on the state of local hotels and supposed “attractions.”

One of my favorite bits was his description of his narrow escape from wild dogs. He told the whole thing from the point of view of the woman whose back yard he stumbles into. I couldn’t stop laughing for about 10 minutes.

Yet despite his teasing, he never looses his ability to gush about the natural beauty of an incredible place. Even when he’s joking about the names of the towns or crazy political systems his love of the place is still obvious. It’s like he’s talking about a relative, he can criticize them a bit, but you know he would defend them to someone else in a heartbeat.

BOTTOM LINE: Do you love travel memoirs or Australia? If yes, then this one is a must. I think it’s also a great introduction to Bryson’s work if you’re curious about him and want to try one of his books. A Walk in the Woods is another great one to start with.

**The audiobook is read by the author and it’s just fantastic! ( )

I share Bill Bryson's fascination with Australia's vastness, fauna and flora and I enjoy his dry humour, so this book was a real treat. ( )

I absolutely LOVED this book. It took me longer to read it than recent books, simply because I've been busy. But, whenever I picked up this book I would be engaged and eager to travel to Australia. Bryson's writing style is entertaining and his dead-pan humor had me frequently laughing out loud. The only thing that I disliked was how abruptly the book ended. I'm still scratching my head over that... ( )

This book follows two trips to Australia, well three if you have the version with a Sydney Olympics appendix, and once again the hilarious events that happen to him along the way. From Sydney to the South coast to Queensland in the wet season to Alice Springs, Pert, Western Australia's coastline, and back again - he tells the story of life and culture in Australia now and how it got to be that way. Even with his descriptions of all of the deadly animals Australia harbors, I only want to go more after having read this book. ( )

In a Sunburned country is one of the funniest things ive ever read. Bill Bryson tells a wonderfull story about the wierd and wacky side of australia (which is all of it). I Was laughing out load the whole time, from him talking about how you lose a day by flying to australia to the countrys roots as a prison and everything in between. I especialy loved it when he was talking about the history of this crazy country, it was a mix of the wonderfully humorus writing and Australia is so strange it just works fantasticly to make something so funny! I would recomened this book to anyone with a sense of humer and an intrest in history.

Not nearly as fun as "A Walk In the Woods". Probably could have been half as long.

Classic Bryson. Hilarious and engaging, yet very informative and poignant at times. ( )