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.

As a sentient life, Autralien seems to be running after evolution! Sydney is the only place in the world (apart from muslim country) where one cannot buy a bottle of wine after 10 PM! And don't dream of seing a black African man in the city. So please Mr Bryson... come back an give us another good laugh!

Love everything Bryson writes and this did not disappoint me. He always manages to impart lots of facts and figures combined with entertaining anecdotes and great descriptions of the sights, sounds and people he meets on his trips. I have learnt so much more about Australia and thanks to this book I know the places I would prioritise on a trip there.

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.