Rating: 
Summary: Stereotype-free...fair dinkum
Review: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Bill. As a proud Australian, it has been a never-ending source of irritation that Australia is forever portrayed as a land of beer-swilling "yobbos" who say "cobber" and "fair dinkum" rather a lot. For instance, 'The Simpsons' - usually such a witty, clever and insightful show - completely missed the point in their Australian episode. Finally, someone has managed to capture a bit of the character of this great country. He releases it from the shackles of the Paul Hogan stereotype.This is a terrific read. Bryson has, mercifully, gone well and truly off the beaten track to explore many different parts of Australia - the cities, the outback, the tropics, and everything else in between. But as ever with a Bill Bryson book, more than the destination itself, the pleasure is in getting there. Laugh-out-loud moments abound, though perhaps more in the restrained way of "A Walk in the Woods", as opposed to the guffaw-fest that is "Neither Here Nor There". You don't have to be at all familiar with Australia to appreciate and enjoy this book. I am, sadly, one of those Australians to which Bryson refers that has never seen Ayers Rock / Uluru myself. In fact, I have never been to the majority of places Bryson visits. It was a revelation for me, too. Bryson once again recounts numerous historical and trivial anecdotes which, together with his unique view of the world, elevate this book well above the mere travel genre. This is insightful, this is informative, this is FUNNY. Perversely, my only criticism is perhaps that he likes Australia a little too much. God knows, I'm so pleased that he does. However, he is, I believe, at his best when distressed. Dull and drab places, and stupid, mindless people bring out the devil in Bill Bryson, and have always proven to be useful comic fair. There are elements of that here - his body boarding experience, his views on Canberra, and his trials and tribulations with hotel receptionists in Darwin - but at the end of the day, opportunities to vent his sarcastic wit are somewhat limited. Being an enthusiastic and devoted fan of the great Stephen Katz, I would also have loved to have seen him deal with the hardships of outback Australia. He would have absolutely LOATHED it. Read this book. It is a treat.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious account of travel down under
Review: Bill Bryson's "Sunburned Country" is an incredibly funny and informative account of Australia. "The Great Barrier Reef contains at least 1500 species of fish, 400 types of coral and 4000 varieties of molluscs, but those are essentially just guesses" says Mr Bryson. He then goes on to say that no one has ever attempted a comprehensive survey because the Great Barrier Reef is just "too big a job". Like all his other accounts of travel around the world, the narrator's sarcasm is very evident and this leaves the reader in stitches. "Sunburned Country"is an extremely enjoyable and fascinating read. I also recommend Mr Bryson's other books such as "Notes from a Small Island" and "The Lost Continent".
Rating: 
Summary: Australia Discovered At Last!
Review: Bill Bryson travels Australia - by train, plane and car, investigates cities and the lonely vast outback, goes boogie boarding in the surf (always mindful of sharks, rips, seasnakes and jellyfish) and generally has a great time. Bill has done his homework - I can vouch for many of his tales - a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Bryson's walk in "the bush."
Review: Soonafter documenting his ambitious attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail in A WALK IN THE WOODS, bestselling author Bill Bryson (NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND, A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING) packed his bags and set off for the Australian outback and its three million square miles of baking emptiness (p. 8). "Let me just say," he writes, "I love Australia--adore it immeasurably--and am smitten anew each time I see it" (p. 10). Along the way, Bryson discovers that the people are "immensely likable--cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted, and unfailingly obliging." Their cities are safe and clean. The food is excellent, the beer is cold, there is coffee on every corner, and the sun nearly always shines. "Life doesn't get much better than this," he observes (p. 10). While reveling his way through "the bush" into "the outback," Bryson also discovers that the land down under is also the most dangerous place on earth, inhabited by some of the world's deadliest critters: toxic caterpillars, funnel web spiders, aggressive seashells, chomping sharks and crocodiles, poisonous snakes, and the deadly box jellyfish, just to name a few (p. 6). Nevertheless enchanted by it all, for Bryson, "this is wonderful. This is exhilarating. This is why I love to come to Australia" (p. 10). In A SUNBURNED COUNTRY, Bryson once again proves to be an entertaining travel guide. Full of his characteristic wit, humor, amusing trivia and wacky anecdotes, the point of this book is that Australia is a truly interesting place (p. 304), a land where prime ministers disappear into the surf and bombs explode in the desert unnoticed, a land "packed with stuff. Interesting stuff, ancient stuff, stuff not readily explained. Stuff yet to be found." "Trust me," Bryson observes, "this is an interesting place" (p. 9). G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: One of Bryson's best books
Review: Bryson's best book is "Notes From a Small Island," about traveling in Great Britain. It's one of the funniest books I've read. The British are funny, and Bryson knows them well after living in Britain for 20+ years. His book about Australia, "In a Sunburned Country," is also entertaining. He studied Australian history, met many interesting locals, etc. After reading it, I feel like an expert on Australia and its people. His book about Europe, "Neither Here Nor There," isn't so good. The problem is that he speaks no languages other than English. He didn't talk to anyone on this trip. Wwithout any characters (other than Bryson) the book isn't engaging. The book has only one joke, which he repeats: "The waiter/hotel clerk/taxi driver didn't speak English so I tried to make him understand that I needed..." Some of these moments are quite funny, but they don't constitute a book. Bryson didn't study the places he visits. Unlike the Australian book, you learn almost nothing about the countries he visited. Bryson's book about America, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself," failed to make me laugh. It reads like a series of Erma Bombeck columns. Bryson comments about various aspects of his life in a small town in New England. Not other people's lives, which might have been interesting, but only about his domestic life. I got only a few chapters into his book about the Appalachian Trail, "A Walk in the Woods." I wasn't amused that two people with no backpacking experience would attempt a six-month hike. After several chapters of Bryson repeating one joke -- "I know nothing about any of this!" -- I stopped reading. This suggests that the old advice "write about what you know" is worth following. It also made me realize that traveling is only enjoyable if you do two things: meet interesting people, preferably by speaking their language; and studying the area you're visiting. Review by Thomas David Kehoe, author of "Hearts and Minds: How Our Brains Are Hardwired for Relationships"
Rating:
Summary: Great travelogue just in time for the Olympics!
Review: If you are planning a trip to Australia, this book is a must! The author describes his travels to almost every corner of the continent, and mixes a delightful balance of physical geography, cultural "nice-to-know" facts, and some of the history of Australia. The geographical descriptions of his travels around and across Australia are a genuine pleasure to read. If you don't think you will ever get the chance to travel "down under," then this is definitely the book to read. Bryson's vivid imagery and pleasant narrative, as well as his eye for the subtler things that many travelers take for granted make this book the perfect "vicarious" vacation getaway. The ways in which Bryson describes the culture of Australia are fun in an anecdotal sort of way, but if this book does have any weak point, I would have to say that he never really does nail down the essence of Australian culture as well as I might have hoped. Once again, he does give a lot of very nice anecdotes regarding his visits with fellow travelers and native Australians, but he doesn't really tell us about the people behind the faces of the rough-and-tumble man at the bar, the clueless girl at the cashier window, or the urbane Melbourne stock broker. What makes Australians tick? Finally, Bryson has definitely done his homework with regard to the surprisingly rich history of Australia. He offers historical overviews of not only the "white man's" Australia, but also the geological and biological history of the continent, as well as some insights into the history and present plight of the first Australians, the Aborigines. This is a great book, that once again, is a great pleasure to read. Take a mental trip down under without ever leaving your chair, or prepare yourself much better for your upcoming trip by reading this book!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but Bryson is mellowing a little
Review: Bryson made his name with "The Lost Continent", possibly the funniest grouchy travel book ever written. All his books since then have been worth reading, though they vary in quality: "A Walk in the Woods" was unusually thoughtful (and very good), but by and large he became famous as the champion of the cutting remark and the unkind anecdote. "In a Sunburned Country" shows him mellowing a little. He still has a penchant for visiting odd things and places, and bumping into strange people -- giant earthworms, a town called Tittybong, and the proprietor of the Lambing Flat museum all come to mind -- but he's nice about them. It's an odd thing to say if you're used to reading Bryson, but this book is a traditional travelogue. It's still entertaining. Bryson is a good writer, and there is so much in Australia to write about -- aborigines, myxomatosis, Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef, and a huge array of lethal wildlife, some of which he comes a little too close to for comfort. He does a good job of summing up history and adding a dollop of what's going on today, and he conveys a good sense of place. Occasionally the old caustic note comes through again, when he recounts the story of a self-important early Australian administrator, or has a hard time finding decent food in Canberra, but it's no longer the dominant note in the book. I can still recommend this as a fine travel book. Classic Bryson it isn't, though; so if you're a Bryson fan you may be a little disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice read, but a little lacking...
Review: I see this book on display everywhere from the local Barnes and Noble store to my supermarket. I guess it's because Bryson's other book "A Walk in the Woods" was so popular and the fact that the Olympics have peaked an interest in all things Australian. However, this being the 3rd book on travelling around Australia that I've read this year, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. I kept waiting for this book to really capture my interest, and it was a pleasant read, but the entire book seemed to just touch on the surface of things and not really expose the heart of Australia. The perfect example of this is that a large part of his travels throughout Australia was done from the comfort of a 1st class seat on a train--not really ideal for meeting the people of Australia, experiencing the terrain first-hand, or seeing Australia's diverse wildlife (besides kangaroos). Bryson, at his best, does a decent job of offering some interesting history, but never delves too deeply. He also has a nice sense of humor, but it is very subdued. If you are looking for a more 'hands-on' travel experience that is much more funny (hilarious, in fact), check out Sean Condon's "Sean and Dave's Long Drive" from the Lonely Planet Journals series--it's great, although more geared towards a gen-x audience.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant....
Review: I approached this book with a fair bit of skepticism because, lets face it, how interesting can a 350 page book about a scarcely known land be? To be perfectly fair though, I must say that I was surprisingly bowled over. Bill Bryson is a brilliant author who was able to inject much life and wit into, what could have quite easily been a phenomenally boring and dry piece. In addition, I would highly suggest the CD versions of Bryson's books to absorb the full effect of his comedic prowess. In short, I couldn't have been happier with this book and that's all I've got to say about that. Read the book and you'll soon understand that last sentence!
Rating:
Summary: America's finest travel writer scores again
Review: In this, yet another jewel in Bryson's considerable literary crown, the author takes his readership into the exotic, eccentric and dangerous world of Australia. Using his unique blend of travellouge, history and personal memoir Bryson paints a fascinating portrait of a nation rich in culture and vast in space but unfortunately overlooked by much of the rest of the world.
Using his unique brand of scatalogical humor and personal insight (his description of not only how he sleeps but how he reacts to fear inspires peals of raging laughter)Bryson journeys throughout Australia's varied continent absorbing many of her treasures and traps. IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY, Bryson debunks many misconceptions about the former British Penal Colony as well as holds up the special personalities that make her citizens stand proud. He goes beyond the "Steve Irwin and Crocodile Dundee" stereotypes and paints a picture of a nation filled with world class intellectuals and athletes.
He also refuses to pull any punches as he frequently tempers the humor with many sobering truths (the treatment of the Aboriginies to mention just one example). That he can be so balanced is a testament to his talent as a writer.
According to Bryson, Australia is a country filled with the most hostile ecosystem on earth and yet thrives with perhaps the most diverse biological assortment known to man. It is a special place. I may not be able to afford a trip yet. But Bryson's book is almost as good as being there.
Almost.
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