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Summary: a thoroughly funny in-depth visit to Australia
Review: Mr. Bryson's wonderful sense of homor is evident on every page of this deeply researched and personal visit to Oz. An extremely erudite writer with a supreme command of the English language, Mr. Bryson practically demands that the reader have a dictionary handy while reading any of his books. His trip to Oz highlights not only the better known cities, but also the small out-of-the-way hard-to-reach hamlets rarely visited. This is a book that has laughs on every page, and causes the reader to read pages to anyone within hearing distance. If you have been to Australia, you will have a greater affinity for Bryson's adventures, but even if you haven't been there, the book is richly entertaining. They say laughter is good for your health-reading this book will cure anything.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Rushed
Review: Once again Bryson has produced a frothy, lightweight, amusing, and eminently readable travelogue-albeit one that feels a bit rushed (perhaps in order to get out in time for the Sydney Olympics?). Having now read four of his books, I find that Bryson is at his best when he's on a fixed agenda, such as in A Walk In the Woods or Neither Here Nor There, rather than grand tours such as this and Notes From A Small Island. Bryson's approach to Australia is to go arrive with a pile of books and combine a route which allows him to hit all the major attractions for a day with a schedule that allows him few digressions. He's a big fan (as am I) of walking around to get a sense of a place, frequenting pubs, museums, and used bookstores. Armed with smidgens of history and awfully interesting biology factoids, his constant sense of wonder at Australia is bound to send oodles of tourists there in the coming years. What's lacking is any sense of the Australian people, other than general impressions, since he rarely interacts with them except in service situations. And while he gives a synopsis of the mistreatment of Aborigines, and concludes that they've been hard done by, they never show up as people in his travels. This is rather like the entire book actually, brief impressions that often exhibit genuine insight (often combined with affection and amusement) despite fleeting contact, but no real depth. Still, there are plenty of great discoveries within its pages (I especially liked the 12-foot long earthworms).
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Summary: I got some really funny looks on the plane...
Review: ... laughing out loud at this book. I bought it at the Sydney airport on my way home and found myself giggling all the way across the Pacific. Bryson really uses some hilarious imagery and anecdotes to get across the wonderful world that is Australia. Although he didn't spend nearly enough time in Queensland (which he calls most accurately "weird") I definitely found this book worth my money and have been making my friends read it. Which says something in itself.
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Summary: The Bryson tradition continues...
Review: As with other Bryson books, this one made me chuckle and howl (sometimes in public, much to my embarassment). You can't help but laugh out loud! Bryson travels all around the continent and packs this volume with hilarious stories and manages to slip a number of interesting facts in along the way. Some of the highlights of the book include a in-depth discussion of the alarming number of things that can kill you Down Under (watch out for the jelly fish!) as well as the story of the time when the author was chased thru a garden by two very large dogs. (I should also point out that the story about the author's first visit to Austr. when he fell asleep in his tour guide's car had me laughing so hard tears were rolling down my face.) All in all, I found it to be a fun, very light read. If you liked this one, you should also check out "Notes from a Small Island" and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself."
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Summary: Up to the usual Bryson Standard
Review: I checked out this book (sold in the UK under the title 'Down Under'), on a trip to the US, and found it to be a good read.
I have read most of Bryson's books and have found them to be interesting and informative. He has the ability to find value in relatively ordinary experiences that many people can relate to.However his comments about the UK and Australia during the war are unfortunate. As well as fighting Japan, the UK was fighting a total war against Germany. To suggest that the UK turned its back on Australia is naive. Even so, the book is enjoyable, and all the reader really needs to know after finishing it is how they can free up a few weeks and the cost of a return ticket to Australia. To summarize, this book like much of his work is amusing and can often inspire the reader.
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Summary: Even funnier if you've been to Australia
Review: Bill Bryson's books usually make me laugh out loud. This one I found particularly funny, because I have spent time "Down Under" and could relate to many of his stories. But even if you haven't visited, this book will bring a smile to your face and laughter to your lips. This is basically a travel narrative on laughing gas. It is accurate and interesting enough to make you want to visit the places Bryson writes about and, as a bonus, is immensely entertaining. Any of Bryson's books are worth their asking price. (One word of warning: if you are easily offended by sharp-witted attacks on hapless bystanders, stay away. I sometimes found his remarks a bit off-putting and mean-spirited, but then realize he uses the same humor to refer to himself and really does demonstrate a love for all humankind.)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is thoroughly enjoyable! It is very different from the "normal" tourist books and provides the reader with a humorous inside look at travels in Australia. It is blunt, honest and straightforward. I laughed out loud at the author's comic observations around him. I learned alot of interesting "historical tidbits" in a very painfree fashion. I would highly recommend this book if you are planning to travel to Australia. If you are not planning on going to Australia, you will want to go after you finish this book.
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Summary: World's Greatest Unknown Treasure
Review: I'm a 54 year old Aussie & I learnt things about my homeland that I never knew (but should). This book has a laugh on every page, couldn't put it down. But a warning my dear American cousins, Bill Bryson does exaggerate the dangers of Australian wildlife. Do you see grizzly bears in Central Park? Methinks he doth protest too much! Apart from that little issue, this book does reflect the world's greatest unknown treasure. Come on down & stay a while, this book is just but a taste.
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Summary: My first Bryson. Definitely not my last Bryson.
Review: Being an Aussie, I was naturally interested to see what an American writer made of our fine country. And boy did I see. How can I describe Bill Bryson's writing? Take an American, who grew up in the Midwest learning all about morality, society and baseball. Stick this man behind the business desk of the London Times for several years, during which he'll have easy access to any of the numerous works of the Monty Python crew, Terry Pratchett novels before TP got famous over your side of the Atlantic, and other such examples of British humour. And then let the man loose writing travelogues. What a brilliant, brilliant book. Having been to several of the places in the book - indeed, living in one of them - I recognised a lot, and the book was even better for the recognition. Even if you never saw the Alpine National Park in your life, or Uluru or Surfers Paradise or Canberra (which is just as tedious as Bill says)... you'll laugh out loud all the way through the book. And take the serious bits seriously, too. Australian history is doled out when Bill gets to the relevant bit of Australia. Stats about the loss of half a million hectares of national park - enough to cover four decent-sized US national parks - are written right alongside humorous conversations about eating bogong moths. And the book is even more all the better. That much more natural. What a brilliant book.
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Summary: I'm emigrating to Australia
Review: Australia is a facinating continent, illustrated by Mr. Bryson's funny, and sometimes poignant stories. Much of Australia is uncharted and unmapped, as told by Mr. Bryson, and confirmed on my own with a discussion with an Australian Army officer this last weekend. I found the story about Mr. Bryson's trip to Ularu upsetting, reading about the "resort" that seems to have sprung up in the middle of nowhere to serve tourism. Mr. Bryson has done an exceptional job melding cultural and natural history into an interesting book.
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