Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country

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His bestselling travel books include The Lost Continent, Notes From a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods and Down Under. We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from.

You almost don't feel like you don't need to go and see the Sydney Opera House or journey through the Outback, because Bryson has told you all you need to know. Not so James Urquhart in the Financial Times: "Down Under exhibits a smoother and more mature humour than previous works. Accessoirement je vous dirais bien de lire ce roman de Cordwainer Smith : " NORSTRILIA " qui traite de l'Australie .

I felt, when reading this book that here we have an author who's churning out one book after another, thinking he's found a winning formula when really it all gets a bit same-o. Bill Bryson describes his travels by railway and car throughout Australia, his conversations with people in all walks of life about the history, geography, unusual plants and animals of the country, and his wry impressions of the life, culture and amenities (or lack thereof) in each locality. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.

What I enjoy most is the feeling he gives the reader of moving in close to a subject, examining its quirkiest or most singular aspect, then panning out again to take a more distant or panoramic view. You will get a sense of the enormity of the country, the central undeveloped land that larger than most countries and how lifeless it seems, but at the same time you discover life that has adapted to the extreme heat (140 degrees, F. How much more infrastructure has gone in since writing I have no idea, but I’m sure it’s still a wilderness out there!

Bryson goes to Australia for a couple of months, produces a hack work that sells massively and even wins over a perceptive reviewer who has immediately seen through its slackness and superficiality. Ignoring such dangers - and yet curiously obsessed by them - Bill Bryson journeyed to Australia and promptly fell in love with the country. The people are cheerful, extroverted, quick-witted and unfailingly obliging: their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water; the food is excellent; the beer is cold and the sun nearly always shines. By beginning on the far Eastern area, to the Southeast,and then walking us through towns that vary in climate, style of living , and people themselves, this is a journey well worth taking.