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This small group seems to hound his every work. His travels, tribulations, adventures and encounters with various individuals are told in his normal understated and humorous style. Secondly, this is not an all encompassing travel guide to all of the thousands of places to visit in this wonderful country. You would think that after a few reads, and that if you found you did not like a particular author, then you would simply ignore his work. It is not just this work in question though; it is all of his work.
And this is book after book.same reviewers, different books. Yes, I know that some find his including these bits and pieces of his research into his work annoying and less than honest, but for me this is one of his strengths in presenting a very readable and interesting subject. Just reading the reviews here on Amazon and several other sites prove that. Anyway, I personally like his books.
That would be an impossible task in a volume of this size. The author has the ability to articulate, in a very funny and amusing way, what many of us are actually thinking when we encounter rude hotel staff member, encounter bad meals and or are bored to distraction with a place or area.The author has filled his work with wonderful bits of trivial and not so trivial history, pieces of information we normally would not be exposed to without a great amount of research, and I must say I picked up a wealth of knowledge of geography, plants, animals, history, fish, snakes, insects, plants, minerals and people through reading this work. Not so with this author.go figure. I grant you I like some better than others, but that is only natural to my way of thinking. For a light read that is bound to entertain you, unless you are in the "I hate Bryson" camp, I cannot think of a better way to spend several evenings.
There is one thing about Bill Bryson; you either like him or you don't. Thirdly, this is not a rough and tumble survivor type of trip (or series of trips, as the case is here) made by an intrepid survival type guy roughing it in the Outback.hey folks, this is Bryson. A cold beer, swimming pool and a good meal are relished by this guy.What this work is, is a rather amusing and at times downright funny account of the author's trip, or to be precise, "trips" through various parts of the largest island country in the world. I think one of the strong points of Bryson's writing is the ability to make fun of himself and to recognize his own short comings as a traveler, and indeed, a human being.Unlike his work `A Walk in the Woods,' the author has kept his caustic remarks about the people he encounters to a minimum and only dealt out his understated sarcasms when they were richly deserved. First, it is not an anthropological study of the Aborigine tribes of Australia. On the other hand, if you have found a number of his books to not be up to your standards, then I suggest you skip this one. I note that drifting from site to site that he, Bryson, has a small cadre of "haters," and all of their reviews sound sort of the same.
I personally eagerly await each and every book the man works on. This work being reviewed here is one of his books that I particularly enjoyed.To begin with we need to look at what this book is not. Yes, he does address them and their historical and tragic plight, but this is hardly the purpose of the book and no, he does not interview any of them. Of all his works, this one included, I have yet to find an inaccuracy in his reporting, and I can assure you that I have made plenty of spot checks. Don BlankenshipThe Ozarks
In Bryson's deft and sarcastic way, he manages to poke fun of and fulsomely praise this place at the same time. A fun re-read from one of my favorite authors, Bill Bryson. Not recommended reading material for mime class, funerals, or anywhere quiet, confined and where you will be surrounded by strangers - trust me on this. Australia is a big country, filled with stranger and larger then life flora and fauna then one can possibly imagine. Count me as both. Even your own family members (*ehem* teenage daughters) might have a tendency to think you finally, irrevocably lost it and look warily at you as if you have become possessed by demons or body odor.
Bryson brings this land, its history, its people and its magnificence to vivid life. Any book that Bryson pens is sure to lead to uncontrollable laughter, snorts, chortles or gaffaws, so plan your reading time accordingly. This is a land where prime ministers go missing forever and no one else in the world knows it, where deadly critters line up on land and in the sea awaiting the unsuspecting human to stumble upon them, where some Australian cities are often closer to other countries then they are to each other and where you can travel 1,500 miles along a rugged, scenic coast highway and pass only 2 other cars. But I digress. Anyway, Bryson makes the land Down Under come alive to armchair travellers everywhere, and if you're not aching to call your travel agent by the time you finish this book, then I don't think you have an adventurous bone in your body. You'll laugh, you'll gape in wonder, and you'll sigh that you either weren't born there or don't have the money to get there to see for yourself.
I spent last semester studying in Australia. This book gave me a great overview of where I wanted and didn't want to visit in Australia without having to read through a dry tour book.
Bill Bryson gave an enlightening history and geography lesson on Australia. His presentation on Australian history taught us things we didn't know and certainly were not taught in school. My family and I who were born in Australia have seen many of the locations Bill has spoken of. His sense of humor captures the real Australian attitude on life. Despite the in depth description of the people, the attitudes, the dangers, the vastness, and the challenges written in his book, the audio version is even funnier and interesting with his feelings demonstrated with humor in his voice. Intoxicated or sober Bill was true to how Australia is and lives.well done.
Mr Bryson has the unique ability to leave the reader with a desire to experience those places he has been to. His often humorous observationsmake for an entertaining read. Sprinkled with history and some of the personalities that make up that history, he covers an amazing amount ofgeography on this wonderful and somewhat remote continent. I don't believe anyone would be disappointed with this book and I feel that it isamong those that should be read before a trip to Oz.
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