In a Sunburned Country in a Sunburned Country in a Sunburned Country
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In a Sunburned Country in a Sunburned Country in a Sunburned Country
by
3.97 of 5 stars
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,... read full description

reviews

Sep 12, 2008
Collette rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Ok! First of all I'm here to tell you that non-fiction is normally not my bag. I think I got this book because I forgot to send in the "do not send" notice in a book club. That said..... I'm soooo happy that I didn't and I "made" myself read this. OMG!!! I lost track of how many times I laughed until there were tears running down my cheeks and how many smiles and chuckles it rang out of me!
This is a book about Bryson's trips (I believe he combines a few trips to " More...
8 comments like (15 people liked it)
May 26, 2008
Martine rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I developed a taste for Bill Bryson last year when I read his Short History of Nearly Everything, an ambitious attempt to trace the history of life, the universe and everything in just 574 pages. While many of the scientific discoveries outlined in the book were a little beyond me, I thoroughly enjoyed Bryson's descriptions of the larger-than-life personalities behind the discoveries, which really brought the science described to life. So when I found out that he had also written a travelogue of More...
4 comments like (12 people liked it)
May 09, 2011
Choupette rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This was funny. It was really funny. I remember reading it in a public place and snorting - like, actually snorting like a pig - from trying to contain my laughter, and then looking around surreptitiously to see if anyone had noticed. This is unusual because I very rarely laugh out loud when reading a book. It has to reach whole new levels of hilarity to make me snort. In fact, this may well be the only snort-worthy book I've ever read. This guy really knows how to find the funny in a situation. More...
1 comment like (3 people liked it)
Mar 03, 2010
Hannah rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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 More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
Feb 11, 2008
Robert rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country (Broadway, 2000)

I originally encountered the writing of Bill Bryson in a small article he wrote for National Geographic on the Orkney Islands a year or so ago. By the time I had finished the article, I was (and still am, to an extent) seriously considering relocating to the Orkney Islands. Well, I've now finished In a Sunburned Country, Bryson's travelogue of Australia-- and I never, ever want to go there.

Bryson gives us the world's forgott More...
3 comments like (4 people liked it)
Jul 09, 2010
Tatiana rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I almost forgot how much fun it is to read books about foreign countries and cultures. As soon as opened In a Sunburned Country, memories of reading travelogues about U.S. rushed back to me. Oh, how amazed I was those years ago to learn that apparently many Americans put their T-shirts on to swim in the pool and wear extra underwear underneath their swimming trucks (I am originally from one of those speedo countries) or that to go to a school dance you just have to have a boy-friend who is oblig More...
18 comments like (6 people liked it)
May 09, 2011
Tara rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Some parts of this book are admittedly less interesting than others, but I will always love it for the fact that it records the true horror of our native species ;)
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Jan 03, 2009
April rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This book is so funny, so well-written, and so interesting I couldn't stop reading it, even when I had to use a caver's headlamp and stuff my pillow into my mouth to keep from waking my family with my laughter. Bryson is a master writer, and hilarious. His tour of Australia is interesting, and he does not gloss over the "problem" of the relationship between European Australians and the Aborigines. Though I was occasionally put off by seemingly random sexist comments, I still enjoyed th More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Sep 28, 2011
Fred rated it: 4 of 5 stars
In A Sunburned Country is another great piece of travel non-fiction by Bill Bryson. I'd previously read "A Walk in the Woods" which I think is one of the greatest travel/adventure books I've read. I've also read "Notes From A Small Island" which was a bit disappointing in comparison to the greatness of "Woods" Sunburned Country is all about Australia. It's a fantastic book full of wit and wisdom. One of the things which Bryson does quite well is insert odd facts and More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jul 21, 2011
Jeanette rated it: 5 of 5 stars
How do I love this book? Let me count the ways...Better yet, read it for yourself and you'll discover your own reasons to love it. I honestly cannot think of one person to whom I would not recommend this book. It's fascinating, funny, and fact-filled. I'd bet even native Aussies could learn a thing or five they didn't know about their country.

Australia is an even more interesting place than I thought. Let Bill Bryson give you an entertaining and educational tour. He researched More...
2 comments like (2 people liked it)
Aug 18, 2008
Bob rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Happy Bryson—book review
August 16, 2008 · No Comments

Finally finished Bill Bryson’s huge book on Australia—”In a Sunburned Country.” I started it months ago and read only a paragraph or so a day. Bryson is a happy writer and a jovial soul. I wonder that he’s not more rotund but then I haven’t seen a recent photo of him. He put the book together about ten years ago out of a number of trips he had taken to Australia.

The Chapter on Ayer’s Rock is remarkably good. G More...
2 comments like (2 people liked it)
Jul 31, 2008
Tiffany rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Like most Americans, I have never really given much thought to Australia. It's an island where the seasons are backwards, there's a famous opera house, my ex husband's ex girlfriend is expating it up there, and there are loads of gorgeous men running around shirtless, drinking Fosters and saying "No worries, mate" in a delicious Crocodile Dundee sort of accent. Nothing too exciting, right?

Wrong! Australia is fascinating, and Bill Bryson has done an excellent job of tell More...
0 comments like (4 people liked it)
Mar 14, 2008
Lauren rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I re-read this one in preparation for my move to Australia, and, for the first time, realized that there was a good possibility that I could be eaten by a crocodile while working in the rivers here! The book also alerted me to the many other dangerous creatures and long-distance driving that have now become a normal part of my life. Oh, and he was dead on with his description of Canberra. Most boring city ever (though, surprisingly, there are good Ethiopian restaurants there. Yum!). Thanks, Bill More...
3 comments like (2 people liked it)
May 24, 2007
Solomon rated it: 2 of 5 stars
This was a bit disappointing considering it being a rendition of a travelogue -- my favorite genre -- of my most favorite continent ever. Bryson, generally extremely adept at mixing humorous personal narrative with informative and insightful commentary on the subject of his travels, just didn't seem to appreciate Australia enough. Or perhaps Bryson's white, overweight, middle-aged stature was just not up for the job. More damaging was his superficial treatment of race relations concerning Aust More...
1 comment like (2 people liked it)
Oct 17, 2011
Stacy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Like most avid readers, I have a large TBR pile. Most of this pile is pertinent to what I do in some way (writing and art), and much of it is training and study material I should complete yesterday. Quite by accident I strayed across Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country (a rather morbid story I’ll not relate here), his book about his travels across Australia. It’s a book that’s had me almost completely sidetracked.

This is one of those books that’s best read when it falls into your lap More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Sep 19, 2011
Melissa rated it: 2 of 5 stars
I wasn't as fond of this travel book by Bill Bryson. Granted I've only read one of his others, but at least it was more about the place he was traveling rather than reading like a fact book on the place.

This time Bryson is in Australia traveling across and up and down and around the great island continent. He visits such places as Ayer's Rock (Uluru), the Great Barrier Reef, and other famous locales. He also stays at some small towns and travels through the wide desert expanse by ca More...
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Sep 04, 2011
Linda rated it: 5 of 5 stars
The first time a read this book I enjoyed it. The second time I read it, a couple of years later after learning a great deal more about Australia from other sources, I loved it. Bill Bryson does not take you to the typical tourist stops. Rather he takes you to many places best avoided, but he explains why in the process. His focus is on odd happenings in history, and quirky people he meets along the way. He is always researching museums and reading local papers to ferret out more little know fa More...
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Aug 27, 2011
Susan rated it: 3 of 5 stars
My husband adores this book, has read it numerous times laughing hysterically throughout. Having recently finished Bryson's A Walk in the Woods which I enjoyed a great deal (loving his friend, Katz, especially), I was game. Like it I did but love it? No. While it has his usual easygoing wit - and a bit about dogs and a park left me laughing out loud, and of course his great gift for observation, I still felt a bit gypped considering the length of the book. It is a thorough book as far as tre More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Aug 06, 2011
Justin rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Granted i have read Bill Bryson novels before...actually, to be precise...one, but i enjoyed this one as well. My only qualm about this is unlike A Walk in the Woods the author who happens to be the main character was without his friend/cohort Stephen Katz. I personally enjoyed the conversations that were held in the previous novel i read. it gave me a sense like i was with both bill & stephen as they ventured out into the world and through the vast trail that makes up the Appalachian trail. I p More...
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Jul 22, 2011
Rebecca rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I read this book like a millions years ago when I was just branching out into travel lit and read everything by Bryson. I must have sold my copy as I don't have it anymore, so since coming back from Australia, I have wanted to reread it. I don't remember it being very memorable and it was totally that. One thing that I sort of didn't like was Bryson wrote way too much about everything that can kill you in Australia and it's so not as bad as he writes. Yeah, Australia probably has like 8 out of t More...
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Jun 25, 2011
TBuck rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book was recommended to me by my book club. I loved it especially the part where he poked fun of himself of being a terrible sleeper and his boogie boarding experience. I laughed so hard, it's so entertaining. Through out the book I felt like I was taking the trip with him because his descriptions of the places and environments where he had been and people he met, he described it so vividly. The highlight of the book for me is not only that it made me laugh, but it's a nice surprise to know More...
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Jun 22, 2011
Charmayne rated it: 4 of 5 stars
The problem with reading a travelogue while already living in an exotic country, is that it makes you a bit of an adventure junkie - always looking for the next "big fix" and thinking you've stumbled upon it as you turn each page. This was the case with Bill Bryson's _In a Sunburned Country_, though I'll happily admit that I don't see a problem with this addiction.
Bryson is on a mission to explore Australia, and he certainly does this by taking in multiple tourist sites during p More...
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May 29, 2011
Marleen rated it: 4 of 5 stars
My second book by Bill Bryson this month. I read them because my book club will be discussing various titles by Bryson this Tuesday but I have to say it was no hardship reading these two books.
Bill Bryson has an original and funny way of looking at his surroundings and the people in it. A quality that is more apparent in this book then it was in "A Walk in the Woods". It is also clear that Bryson has a weak spot for Australia. His love for this country/continent that we in the res More...
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May 25, 2011
Neil rated it: 4 of 5 stars
If one were to arm Dave Berry with anecdotes of deadly "just-about everything," of unimaginably immense and baked-barren vistas of the outback, outlandish animal and plant life (like the simple lichen, which was discovered only 20 years ago, living unchanged for the last, oh let's see, 3.5 billion years), and encounters with those denizens down under, you've got a good sense of Bill Bryson's skillfully and hilariously crafted gem. Like the time Byrson attended a sold out rugby game (" More...
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Mar 11, 2011
Jimyanni rated it: 5 of 5 stars
As usual, Bill Bryson is a marvellous writer with a droll sense of humor and a dry wit, who tells a delightful story of his experiences travelling. Also as usual, he conveys the sense of the place he's visiting quite enchantingly while providing a rather large dollop of outside information about the place from his reading; he is quite thorough in his research. This time, his choice of location is Australia, a place that I knew was fascinating even before I began to read his book. Now, I'm aware More...
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May 25, 2010
Elizabeth rated it: 4 of 5 stars
My first review is of a book that I read ages ago and it's about Australia, my current home! I am writing this review specifically for one of my two Good Reads friends, Mary. This is the book where I learned that the lake in the middle of Canberra was designed by an American, Burley-Griffin (I can't remember his first name). He is from Illinois and separated from Frank Lloyd Wright by only one degree (I'll explain that when I review my second book Loving Frank). Anyway, he was an American archit More...
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Feb 17, 2010
Scott rated it: 5 of 5 stars
For my money, about as good as travel writing gets. Bryson is like Dave Barry with actual facts. Here's how he describes riding in a car while severely jet lagged, soon after his arrival in Sydney: "I am not, I regret to say, a discreet and fetching sleeper. Most people when they nod off look as if they could do with a blanket; I look as if I could do with medical attention. I sleep as if injected with a powerful experimental muscle relaxant. My legs fall open in a grotesque come-hithe More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Maria rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I recommend this book to anyone traveling to Australia. I don't think it's worthwhile otherwise, unless you enjoy travel writing. But if that's the case, any of Bill Bryson's books might be good for you because he is a great travel writer.

I personally was not motivated to read all the way through this until I actually traveled to Australia and wanted to learn more about the continent. The cool thing about this book (and about Australia) is that there are a lot of unique interesting More...
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Oct 09, 2009
Men D. rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Constance and I both read this book on our trip to Australia; she didn’t finish hers in time so I had to spring for a new copy for myself. On the other hand, Bill Bryson is easily excited and on many pages sentences such as "Kingsford Smith was quite possibly the greatest aviator ever to lived," and "The funeral for the pilots of the Kookabura was quite possibly the greatest that Sydney had ever seen" and "This spot was quite possibly the remotest and hottest and driest More...
2 comments like
Jul 27, 2009
Laura rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Everyone likes to learn about Australia! Okay, maybe not everyone, but as I am planning a visit there soon, I was truly excited to get my hands on this book (I “read” the audio version, a highly coveted, long hold queue item at my public library). I have read some Bryson before and enjoy the way that he makes travel narratives fun and educational, including just the right amounts of humorous anecdote with thought-provoking fact. One thing that is clear from In a Sunburned Country is that Brys More...
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