Down Under - Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson turns his roving eye to Australia, the only island that is also a continent and the only continent that is also a country. It is the driest, flattest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents. It has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way that anywhere else. Yet when Bill Bryson travelled to Australia he promptly fell in love with the country. And who can blame him? The people are cheerful, the cities safe and clean, the food is excellent, the beer is cold and the sun nearly always shines. He tries to find out why Aussies are so cool, digging up a past that reveals convicts, explorers, gold diggers and outlaws.


Why Read - I have read other works by Bryson and enjoyed them, and have got into travel writing books of late so thought i would add this to my collection.

What I loved most about this book is that Bryson is a fantastic travel writer. He has a way of writing which is informative about the country that you get a feel for the place as he moves quickly from area to area. He also includes enough anecdotes and stories about the place, the past, the dangerous creatures, peoples woes to give you a sense of belonging to the book. Plus he has this lovely form of wit to keep you amused and chuckling at parts of the novel.

Overall i really enjoyed this book, and can't say much about it except if you like travel writing, then read it, if you don't, it may be a good book to read if you want to know more about the world around you.  Its not my favourite Bryson book, but it is defiantly in my top three of books i have read of his so far.