Rating: 
Summary: Read the first part; skip the ending
Review: This book's premise had a lot of potential and the parts describing what it was like to grow up on a sheep ranch in Australia are great However, it goes downhill at the end as the author seems to start simply cataloguing facts. Near the end the author seems more and more self-absorbed and generally arrogant (as if the intellectuals of the world- those who think rather than do--are somehow superior to the those who actually both think and do). It's such a switch: from a little girl who was a hands-on, practical doer to a grown woman obsessed with obscure intellectual pursuits. One question: Why did her brothers seem so useless compared to her as children?
Rating: 
Summary: Travel to Australia
Review: This book was a pleasure to read. It did have a style that seemed old-fashioned, with long descriptions of places and little dialogue, but I don't think that's surprising from an author who was an academic who specialized in history. As a Californian, I wasn't taught anything about Australia - I have to find the information myself, and this book was a beautiful beginning, taking me from the Outback to the city. The author does include a great deal about her mother (her mother's deterioration) and her own reaction to it. She eventually leaves for the U.S. for good (largely) because of her. Why should it be unusual for her to include this? This is not just a story about Australia, but about a daughter's relationship with her mother. She spoke her truth; more power to her. I'm also female - I have a complex relationship with my own difficult mother, and I saw myself in this story, even though it's from another place and a different generation. You can't write a memoir without discussing your family; they help shape who you are. Much of the time, our greatest courage comes from reacting to the expectations of our parents. Jill Ker Conway's reaction is a pleasure, a truly enlightening read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Life of a Bitter Egotist
Review: The main problem with this book is that the author is not unique, but thinks she is. I noticed as she was griping about her school she made the same point several times. She was having trouble understanding the lesson plans because she was not used to them, being a poor alienated bush girl. What she fails to realize is that EVERYONE has problems with schooling at a young age. Everyone wonders why they have to take speed tests in multiplication, when the problem could be solved with a little time.
....Ps: That first chapter, you know, it's supposed to GRAB you. Rambling on about the topography of a gritty barren nowhere-land for thirteen pages...well, it's not exactly fascinating. ...
Rating:
Summary: My mother's dead so I can trash the old broad!
Review: If the poor woman isn't dead yet, then reading this ditty of a book will surely kill her. The first part describing the outback was great. As the book progresses it gets boring. I haven't skipped through so many pages in a book since I had to read about the Phoenicians in high school! This is a fine example of academic reading, ie has no direct practical application.
Rating:
Summary: My mother's dead so I can trash the old broad!
Review: ... The first part describing the outback was great. As the book progresses it gets boring. I haven't skipped through so many pages in a book since I had to read about the Phoenicians in high school! This is a fine example of academic reading, ie has no direct practical application.
Rating:
Summary: Part I Interesting. Part II Boring
Review: Jill Conway's childhood in Outback Australia is interesting and unique - what other autobiography can you remember with this topic? However when her family relocates back into civilization her story is conventional and frequently tedius.
Rating: 
Summary: Seeking Coorain
Review: Prior to reading this book, I had no interest in travelling to Australia. By the time I had finished the first chapter, my interest was a burning desire. Conway's prose style is descriptive to the point of painting vivid pictures while not being verbose or tiring. My husband and I sought to experience the "outback" west of Coorain. What a memorable stay - on a sheep station where the sheep shearer's cottages were used as guest houses. We've given copies of the book to at least 20 friends over the years as house guest gifts, Christmas and birthday presents. Local book clubs have feasted on its powerful story of what it was like for a woman to grow up in Australia in the middle of the last century.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and Interesting
Review: 'The Road from Coorain' was a very interesting book and I thought it was well written. I found Jill Ker Conway's account of Australia's outback, cities, schooling and history very interesting and informative. I learned much from this book. It was intriguing to see how British history and the influence of the British formed the dynamics of Australia. There are areas in this book that are on the dry side and I did skim a few parts, but overall this book is very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Autobiography
Review: Jill Ker-Conway's childhood in rural Australia and mid-20th century Sydney was one of the best autobiographies I have read. As an Australian, it was wonderful for me to see so clearly how our historic ties with Britain shaped our nation and our psyches, both positively and negatively. But this is not just a book for Australians. Many of my American friends have thoroughly enjoyed this book too. Ker-Conway's writing is fluid and poetic and is a sheer pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: BORING!!!
Review: Reading this book is like pulling teeth. In total there were 5 tolerable pages. Definatly let this one pass
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