Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country

Bill Bryson

Mar 2010 · Bryson Book 6 · Random House

About this ebook

It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life – a large portion of it quite deadly. In fact, Australia has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else.

Ignoring such dangers – and yet curiously obsessed by them – Bill Bryson journeyed to Australia and promptly fell in love with the country. And who can blame him? The people are cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted and unfailingly obliging: their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water; the food is excellent; the beer is cold and the sun nearly always shines. Life doesn’t get much better than this...

Ratings and reviews

As an aus sie I liked some or a lot of your reflections on Australia. I am aware you couldn't see everything, but you did miss lots as you passed through. An example is on the Pacific HWY in NSW, lots of small coastal communities. The shops and accommodation is infinitely better now, as are the pubs. I am going to WA this year for 7 weeks in a van, I think the roads are better.

A wonderfull book to read if you want to know more about Australia. Mixed with great stories and humor it is a book you'll read in no time. I'm just starting to read more since a couple of months and finished this book in just over a week.

This is one book I keep coming back to read. And for the guy that said it is a bit dated well of course it is it came out a few years ago. Come back bill and fill in the bits you missed.

About the author

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and was the biggest selling non-fiction book of its decade in the UK. His new book The Body: A Guide for Occupants is an extraordinary exploration of the human body which will have you marvelling at the form you occupy.
Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005–2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.