In a Sunburned CountryEvery time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out. This time in Australia. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. 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. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity. Despite 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. 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. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bill Bryson its perfect guide. |
From inside the book
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... way to the pale blush of evening, we drove out through the glittering sprawl of Sydney's western suburbs almost to the edge of the Blue Mountains to a place called Penrith. Our destination was an enormous sleek building,
... way to the pale blush of evening, we drove out through the glittering sprawl of Sydney's western suburbs almost to the edge of the Blue Mountains to a place called Penrith. Our destination was an enormous sleek building,
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Bill Bryson. place called Penrith. Our destination was an enormous sleek building, surrounded by an even more enormous, very full, parking lot. An illuminated sign announced this as the Penrith Panthers World of Entertainment. The ...
Bill Bryson. place called Penrith. Our destination was an enormous sleek building, surrounded by an even more enormous, very full, parking lot. An illuminated sign announced this as the Penrith Panthers World of Entertainment. The ...
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... build a thirteen-screen movie theater and a nursery big enough to hold four hundred infants and toddlers. “Wow,” I said. “So is this the biggest club in Sydney?” “Biggest in the Southern Hemisphere,” Mr. Hutton said proudly. We wandered ...
... build a thirteen-screen movie theater and a nursery big enough to hold four hundred infants and toddlers. “Wow,” I said. “So is this the biggest club in Sydney?” “Biggest in the Southern Hemisphere,” Mr. Hutton said proudly. We wandered ...
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... build reservoirs on the sheep stations,” Leon said, as if anticipating my question, “and never expected to stay, but somehow the place gets to you. I'd find these sunsets hard to give up, for one thing.” I nodded as he got up to answer ...
... build reservoirs on the sheep stations,” Leon said, as if anticipating my question, “and never expected to stay, but somehow the place gets to you. I'd find these sunsets hard to give up, for one thing.” I nodded as he got up to answer ...
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... buildings in a modestly exuberant Victorian style. Seeking refreshment, Trevor and I ventured into one of the many imposing hotels—and I should just note that in an Australian context “hotel” can signify many things: a hotel, a pub, a ...
... buildings in a modestly exuberant Victorian style. Seeking refreshment, Trevor and I ventured into one of the many imposing hotels—and I should just note that in an Australian context “hotel” can signify many things: a hotel, a pub, a ...
Contents
Part Two Civilized Australia the Boomerang | |
Chapter 10 | |
Chapter 11 | |
Chapter 12 | |
Chapter 13 | |
Chapter 15 | |
Chapter 16 | |
Chapter 17 | |
Chapter 18 | |
Chapter 19 | |
Dedication | |
Bibliography | |
Part Three Around the Edges | |
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Common terms and phrases
Aborigines actually Adelaide Alice Springs Allan American asked aviation beach beer Bill Bryson box jellyfish Broken Hill Bryson building Canberra Carmel coast couldn’t couple course crocodile Daly Waters Darwin desert didn’t distance driving earth empty feet flight Games half highway hills hundred miles Indian Pacific kangaroos kilometers Kingsford Smith land landscape living look Melbourne million minutes morning museum named nation nearly never nodded Nungesser Olympics once outback Park passed Perth place called plane Queensland realized reef road rock seemed seen smile South Wales sport stand stood story street stroll stromatolites Sturt Highway Surfers Paradise swimming Sydney television tell There’s things thought thousand took town trees turned Uluru Victoria visitors walked watched Western Australia What’s wonder young