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Amazon.co.uk Review
As his many British fans already know, bearded Yankee butterball Bill Bryson specialises in going to countries we think we know well, only to return with travelogues that are surprisingly cynical and yet shockingly affectionate. It's a unique style, possibly best suited to the world's weirder destinations. It's helpful here: Bryson's latest subject is that oddest of continents, Australia.

For a start, there's the oddly nasty fauna and flora. Barely a page of Down Under is without its lovingly detailed list of lethal antipodean critters: sociopathic jellyfish, homicidal crocs, toilet-dwelling death-spiders, murderous shrubs (yes, shrubs). Bryson's absorbing and informative portrait is of a terrain so intractably vast, a land so climatically extreme, it seems expressly designed to daunt and torment humankind.

This very user-unfriendliness throws up another Aussie paradox. If the country is so hostile how come the natives are so laid back, so relaxed? As Bryson shuffles from state to state, he seeks the key to the uniquely cool Australian character and finds it in Australia's tragicomic past, her genetic seeding of convicts, explorers, gold diggers, outlaws. This is a country of lads and mates, of boozy gamblers--nowadays mellowed by sunshine and sporting success.

Down Under is a fine book. So it may not be quite as deliciously malicious as Bryson's The Lost Continent, nor as laugh-out-loud funny as Neither Here Nor There. But so what? A Bill Bryson on cruise control is better than most travel writers on turbodrive. --Sean Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Bill Bryson at large down under!

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Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson  (70)  £6.94

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson  (129)  £6.99

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson  (48)  £6.99

Notes from a Big Country by Bill Bryson  (83)  £6.99

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson  (65)  £6.99

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120 Reviews 5 star:  (54) 4 star:  (24) 3 star:  (21) 2 star:  (15) 1 star:  (6)           Average Customer Review (120 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   12 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Bill Bryson and Australia make perfect partners, 2 Dec 2001 By  diggashly@aol.com (England) - See all my reviews I enjoy Bill Bryson's book's generally but this was my favourite book of his. Bryson and Australia make a great team.Bryson loves stories of human struggle and endeavour and the history of Australia is stuffed full of tales of heroic failure. I learnt a lot whilst being consistently amused by his dry wit. His sharp eye's and ear's pick up some wonderfully amusing asides during the course of his travels. If I had to level a criticism then I felt he skipped over some parts of Oz and missed out some completely. Of course it is hard to sum up a whole Country in a single book. The review of Western Australia was , I felt a little rushed. I wouldn't,however, want to try and dissuade anyone from this book - quite the reverse. It made me laugh out loud many times. I always enjoy being able to recommend a book to a friend that I know they will enjoy and this is a hard book to not enjoy. Bill Bryson has taken travel writing not to a new but to his own unique level. If you enjoy being amused(a lot) educated & informed (a little) then you will really enjoy this book. If you haven't been to Australia before you read this book you will want to go by the end. If you have been you will want to go back (I did).  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: Brilliant!, 4 Feb 2004 By  "ell_pem" - See all my reviews I'm planning on travelling down to Australia in the near future and a few weeks ago I suddenly had the urge to read up on the country; its culture, wildlife and history. This book caught my eye not just because it's about Australia but because it is written by an author who is so passionate in his 'story' telling it feels like you're right there with him. It is not only about his adventures across the continent, he also delves into the past of his continuously changing surroundings. You find out who discovered Australia and when, who designed the Sydney Opera House and what was there before it's time, how the Country prosperously grew to form a nation from what the land was initially used for - a place to send 'Prisoners of Mother England', and many more interesting and sometimes ironic facts. It is such an easy book to read as he brings everything to life with his effortless humour- at some points you will find it hard to contain your laughter (and I'm not exaggerating!) Here's a quote from 'Down Under' which left me laughing at two in the morning - 'As we followed David through the two coach carriages, 124 pairs of sunken eyes sullenly followed our every move. These were people who had no dining carriage, no lounge bar, no cosy berths to crawl into at night. They had been riding upright for two days since leaving Sydney, and still had twenty-four hours to go to Perth. I am almost certain that if we had not had the train manager as an escort they would have eaten us.' Bill Bryson is a profound writer and I recommend this book to anyone remotly interested in Australia and I can safetly say I will be buying more books under his name.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: more than hysterically funny, more than shockingly sobering, 18 Jul 2001 By A Customer This review is from: Down Under (Hardcover) I am coming to the last few pages of the book now. I havent ever read anything that affected me this much before and I have probably read a quarter of a million books. It isnt just that it is funny, (and believe me, it is, the pages on the hotel staff in Darwin will live with me forever) but it also makes you feel small and nasty, to be part of a white people that could behave so unremittingly badly to other human beings - the Aborigines I havent ever been to Australia, although always rather liked the idea, now I am determined that one day I shall. Bill Bryson should be encouraged to visit every country on earth and write such a book, so that you can have a glimpse that strips away all the sugared and sweetened perceptions and leaves you with something that you can truly believe in. A masterpiece  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)