After that, Adelaide, the southernmost of the four great cities of the Boomerang Coast, where citizens seem to go out of their way to tell Bryson that the city, which has lost much of its former commercial success to Sydney, is dying. From Sydney, Bryson visits the rather bucolic Canberra, capital of Australia and a city lost within a park. On his second trip, Bryson takes a driving tour of the Boomerang Coast, the crescent of inhabited area along Australia's southeastern shore that contains the bulk of its people and its four largest cities. Next, he and photographer Trevor Ray Hart hop the famous Indian Pacific railroad for a ride across the bottom half of the continent to Perth. In vain, he attempts to boogie board at a local beach, then finds himself stupefied by the glitz of the local gambling club. Coverage of political news from Australia is scant in western presses, and social news from the continent is almost nonexistent, despite its size and prominence in world affairs, both as a land of immense resources, and as a unique fighting force in the great wars of the twentieth century.īryson's first trip takes him to Sydney, where he walks the town, admiring the famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. Australia, a land of extremes representing almost every climate on Earth and filled with more unique flora and fauna than any other continent, is largely ignored by the rest of the world. Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful book.Īustralia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bill Bryson its perfect guide.Journalist and humorist Bill Bryson takes three trips down under to tell the story of the forgotten continent. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity.ĭespite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path.

In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods.

Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out.

Bryson in a sunburned country