In a Sunburned Country

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Bill Bryson

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door memorable travel literature threatens to break out. This time in Australia. His previous excursion up, down, and over the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime best seller A Walk in the Woods.

Now he has traveled around the world and all the way Down Under to Australia, the only island that is also a continent and the only continent that is also a country. Australia exists on a vast scale, a shockingly under-discovered country with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on this planet, and more things that can kill you in extremely malicious ways than anywhere else: sharks, crocodiles, the 10 most deadly poisonous snakes on the planet, fluffy yet toxic caterpillars, seashells that actually attack you, and the unbelievable box jellyfish.

In a Sunburned Country is a delectably funny, fact-filled and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiosity. Wherever Bryson goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging. They are the beaming products of a land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bryson its perfect guide.

©2000 Bill Bryson (P)2000 Random House, Inc., Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"Bryson's cheery Australian tale should entertain even the most listless driver. His strength lies in his ability to incorporate astounding facts about the country with nutty personal anecdotes." (Publishers Weekly)

Charming, just charming.

Makes me want to go and see this wonderful place, with its beautiful people. Listen.

Simply the best

This is the first Audible product I purchased 2 1/2 years ago, and it's still the most enjoyable.

I have listened to the complete work three times now. Whenever I'm bored or dissatisfied with the selection I have made for the month, I pull excerpts of this book off the shelf and listen to it instead. What more can you say?

I have since collected all of Bryson's works offered by Audible and thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. But this one is still the king.

This book is the perfect example of what can happen when you combine an endlessly fascinating subject with humorous, intelligent writing and narration.

This is the best example of what Audible has to offer.

Fantastic book about Australia....amazing stories

As an Australian I learnt so much about my home that I literally knew nothing about...amazing. Worth every minute of listening

Bill Bryson fan? Read this book.

Any additional comments?

This is my forth Bill Bryson book and it is as good as any of the others I have read. So if you like his books, you are sure to like this one.

If you have never read one of his books, this is as good a place to start as any.

Why read his books? He has a way of making just about anything, interesting. In the case of this book, he has the whole of Australia to entertain us. Easy pickings if you ask me.

If I have any complaint, it is only that the book could have been longer. There is so much more that he could had told us about. Dam his schedule, apparently he couldn't spend as much time in Australia as I would have liked. Ha Ha.

The author narrates his book and does a very good job. His books always have a good dose of humor and this more than the usual. Because he is the author and the narrater, the humor shines. I have rated this book a solid 4 stars but if there were a category for humor it would get 5 stars.

great book

A really great story. I can't imagine it narrated by anyone but Bill Bryson. Highly recommend!

Great Travelogue of Austrailian Eccentricities

I listen to Audible books while on my longish 45 minute commute. This was a perfect commuter book. Brisk, mostly cheerful, literate story telling, with interesting educational discussions about places I've never been and in some caess never knew existed. I will seek out others by this author.

Travel writing at its best

If you have never read Bryson, you're missing out. Plus, he narrates many of his books on audible. Nonfiction in the author's own voice is exactly how it should be.

Another Delicious Gift From Bill Bryson.

It is everything you expect from Mr Bryson, and, owing to the subject, quite a bit more. This cup runneth over. Perhaps due to the unique and often odd experiences granted by Australia, there is an abundance of the author's signature amusing ruminations and humor. Delightful! This book is read by the author, as I wish all of his works were, and that just makes this listen wonderfully and heavily laden with dark chocolate frosting.

Keep Listening

It requires some patience to get into the groove of the reader/author. Keep going. I say this, of course, from my point of view. I very much like dry humor and Bill Bryson delivers. I also really like it when an author is passionate about what he/she is writing. On several occasions, I paused the book and began to look up different areas of Australia that he talked about, favorited places on Google maps and texted my family that we should start thinking about a trip to Australia! The inspiration was really sweet.

Good for anyone who has been there.

I am a Bryson fan, and I've been to Australia, so this was a good match. He picks up the quirks very well, and brought back fond memories.

Unfortunately, I spent most of my time in Brisbane, which is the only major city not in the book, but he does talk about Surfer's Paradise.

Very enjoyable listen