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)

Literally crying that it's over.

Few books I have read have impacted me like this one. Whereas previously I had little interest in visiting Australia, I come away from this book desperate to not only visit, but live there--live in all of it. Bryson is just as perspicacious, charming, and funny as he was in Walk In The Woods, but this book is orders of magnitude better. Perhaps that is because the material offered more, but I believe it is because he couldn't keep his affection for the entire country from spilling out onto the pages. I cannot leave it, so I am starting it over.

A word about the narration. While I was initially disappointed with his narration (sometimes his voice is nasal, sometimes the inflection he gives a sentence is less funny than it would have been on the page) it is overall a gain. I cannot tell you why. If you dislike his voice, stick with it. You'll be grateful you listened.

I'd love to travel with Bill Bryson

This is my 3rd Bill Bryson book and I'm dreading the day I run out of titles. Bryson is an engaging travel companion, with lots of interesting background about the places he's visiting, not to mention an always lively commentary on the places he's passing through. Having an author with a good voice reading his own work is a plus, and Bryson's voice is easy to listen to, conversational, often quite understated and wry.

You'll be glad this version is unabridged and feel as if you, too, were leaving Australia and a good friend behind when it ends.

An endless trip

I love Bill Bryson's books, and have read every one of them, except "A Short History of Nearly Everything." This was my first experience with his writing in audio format, and I think I may stick with his books from now on.

Bryson's dry sense of humor is charming, and really funny in a subtle way. However I found his accent annoying. That may just be a matter of taste, so it shouldn't stop someone from purchasing this audiobook.

The thing that was the biggest downfall of this book was its length. It's almost twelve hours long. That's a lot of obscure Australian history and museum descriptions. If I had been reading the book version, I probably would have skipped some of these parts.

Bryson's writing truly sparkles (and the amount of expression in his voice increases) when he is reading dialogue between himself and his traveling companions. Some of these conversations had me laughing right out loud.

If you've never read Bryson's work, you should consider it-you'll be happy you did.

Easy listening

Loved it. easy listening. great peak into Australia. love his writing. kept checking out a map to see where he was.

Great information & story

Really quite interesting & informative. I've been to Australia briefly & now would like to go back.

I've never wanted to go to a place so badly...

Bryson is a hoot. The book is impossibly fun! But, it made me want to ditch everything and head down under to live out my days. I ALMOST did that when I went to the Grand Canyon for the first time. As huge and impossibly picturesque that is, Australia is a whole continent of incredibly interesting things to see (and one-of-a-kind places to drink beah).

This is a great book and anyone who is interested in other places would do well to read/listen to it. Bryson is a great literary giant posing as an informal mortal. You will like him immensely.

On a scale of one to ten, I give it a thirdeen (as the Aussie's say, "thirteen" ;-) !!

Re: Great Travelog

This a fine, funny travel book on a fantastic country by a writer at the peak of his powers. This is well worth a listen even if you've read the a copy of the book in the past.

A view of Australia like no other

What a truly excellent book! I will admit it took me a bit to get rolling with this book, maybe it was other books I had recently read and/or listened to, maybe it was my expectation that this would be a bit more like “a walk in the woods”. After finishing this book I am happy to say that it is Bill Bryson’s best expulsion! Download!? Word dump!??

I’m not a writer but this is an excellent read/listen! I have looked forward to the time I could spend in this book and am sad it is done. I have a new appreciation for Australia and 1000 new subjects I want to purse! Thank you Bill for such a great telling of your adventures and stimulating my interest in subjects I have either passed over or had no idea they existed at all!

…yeah read this

Great book

I really liked this book. The narrator's voice was very soothing. I learned a lot from this book. Wonderful journey

Terrific book!

Funny and fun listening to Bryson
Makes me want to go back to Australia asap!