In a Sunburned Country |  | Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Random House Audio
List Price: $49.95
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Seller: allnewbooks
Rating:  454 reviews
Sales Rank: 78183
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 10
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 4.9 x 2
ISBN: 055350259X
Dewey Decimal Number: 919.40465
EAN: 9780553502596
ASIN: 055350259X
Publication Date: June 6, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Bill Bryson follows his Appalachian amble, A Walk in the Woods, with the story of his exploits in Australia, where A-bombs go off unnoticed, prime ministers disappear into the surf, and cheery citizens coexist with the world's deadliest creatures: toxic caterpillars, aggressive seashells, crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and the deadliest of them all, the dreaded box jellyfish. And that's just the beginning, as Bryson treks through sunbaked deserts and up endless coastlines, crisscrossing the "under-discovered" Down Under in search of all things interesting. Bryson, who could make a pile of dirt compelling--and yes, Australia is mostly dirt--finds no shortage of curiosities. When he isn't dodging Portuguese man-of-wars or considering the virtues of the remarkable platypus, he visits southwest Gippsland, home of the world's largest earthworms (up to 12 feet in length). He discovers that Australia, which began nationhood as a prison, contains the longest straight stretch of railroad track in the world (297 miles), as well as the world's largest monolith (the majestic Uluru) and largest living thing (the Great Barrier Reef). He finds ridiculous place names: "Mullumbimby Ewylamartup, Jiggalong, and the supremely satisfying Tittybong," and manages to catch a cricket game on the radio, which is like listening to two men sitting in a rowboat on a large, placid lake on a day when the fish aren't biting; it's like having a nap without losing consciousness. It actually helps not to know quite what's going on. In such a rarefied world of contentment and inactivity, comprehension would become a distraction. "You see," Bryson observes, "Australia is an interesting place. It truly is. And that really is all I'm saying." Of course, Bryson--who is as much a travel writer here as a humorist, naturalist, and historian--says much more, and does so with generous amounts of wit and hilarity. Australia may be "mostly empty and a long way away," but it's a little closer now. --Rob McDonald
Product Description
Read by the author
Nine CDs, 10 hours
Just in time for the 2000 Olympics-the bestselling quthor of A Walk in the Woods takes listeners on a truly outrageous tour Down Under.
Compared to his Australian excursions, Bill Bryson had it easy on the Appalachian Trail. Nonetheless, Bryson has on several occasions embarked on seemingly endless flights bound for a land where Little Debbies are scarce but insects are abundant (up to 220,000 species of them), not to mention crocodiles.
Taking listeners on a rollicking ride far beyond packaged-tour routes, IN A SUNBURNED COUNTRY introduces a place where interesting things happen all the time. Leaving no Vegemite unsavored, listeners will accompany Bryson as he dodges jellyfish while learning to surf at Bondi Beach, discovers a fish that can climb trees, dehydrates in deserts where temperatures leap to 140 degrees F, and tells the true story of the rejected Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 454
 Bill Bryson's books March 19, 2010
Jean M. Davis (Milwaukee, WI USA)
BILL BRYSON'S BOOKS
I ordered this book (In a Sunburned Country) for a friend who is contemplating a trip to Australia. I had read this book several years ago and had read several other of his books. Bill Bryson is smart, funny, and keenly observant. I would read any of his books and am sorry that his most recent book is the only one available on Kindle. I am so spoiled with my Kindle that I don't want to read a paperback or hard cover
I HAVE TO SAY THAT I ENJOYED EVER WORD OF THIS ONE March 3, 2010
D. Blankenship (The Ozarks)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is one thing about Bill Bryson; you either like him or you don't. Just reading the reviews here on Amazon and several other sites prove that. It is not just this work in question though; it is all of his work. 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. And this is book after book....same reviewers, different books. 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. Not so with this author...go figure. This small group seems to hound his every work. Anyway, I personally like his books. I grant you I like some better than others, but that is only natural to my way of thinking. 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. First, it is not an anthropological study of the Aborigine tribes of Australia. 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. Secondly, this is not an all encompassing travel guide to all of the thousands of places to visit in this wonderful country. That would be an impossible task in a volume of this size. 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. His travels, tribulations, adventures and encounters with various individuals are told in his normal understated and humorous style. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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 personally eagerly await each and every book the man works on.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Fantastic - that's all I'm saying... March 2, 2010
HannahR (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A fun re-read from one of my favorite authors, Bill Bryson. Any book that Bryson pens is sure to lead to uncontrollable laughter, snorts, chortles or gaffaws, so plan your reading time accordingly. Not recommended reading material for mime class, funerals, or anywhere quiet, confined and where you will be surrounded by strangers - trust me on this. 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.
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.
Australia is a big country, filled with stranger and larger then life flora and fauna then one can possibly imagine. In Bryson's deft and sarcastic way, he manages to poke fun of and fulsomely praise this place at the same time. 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...
Bryson brings this land, its history, its people and its magnificence to vivid life. 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. Count me as both!
Great before Studying Abroad January 14, 2010
Rivers
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 Brysons Sunburnt Country December 26, 2009
Len Canavan (Lake Wales,FL.USA)
Bill Bryson gave an enlightening history and geography lesson on Australia. 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. His presentation on Australian history taught us things we didn't know and certainly were not taught in school. 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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 454
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