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)

Needs Aloe

I bought this book because of the reviews. The voice of the narrator was somewhat irritating and may have something to do with my not liking the story. I listened to the first CD and did not bother to "burn" the remaining CD's.

Laugh out loud funny

Delightful, and a perfect book for listening in short stretches as in city driving.

Wow

Only got this one because my daughter recommended it. It is over the top. Am listening to it for the second time. This title gets my vote for book of the year.

Very funny

I have never read a "travel" book before so I was not sure what to expect. I simply wanted some information about Australia. What I got instead was one of the funniest stories I have listened to in a long time. I did also learn a great deal about Australia in the process. Bill Bryson is a great author and he reads his work like a pro. The section where he describes how the game of cricket is played is worth the price of the book alone.

Plan your trip to Auz, don't plan on laughing

I read "Lost Continent" when it came out and laughed myself silly! Recently I had a long car trip to take, and thought I'd re-acquaint myself with the author, and was disappointed.

The book is factually packed with useful information if you are planning a trip to Australia and need some background knowledge, but it is very long in this audio format with any entertainment way too thin on the ground (a couple of "ha's" every 5-10 mins and one laugh-out loud joke in the first hour is disappointing).

That leaves this heartfelt and interesting description of Australia in limbo between a travel book that doesn't give hotel phone numbers, and topical, entertaining writing that falls way short of the authors previous work.

Now I have thought this through, I've given it 2 stars instead of 3!

Great read even better when Bryson reads it!

This is the best of Bryson's work. It's fascinating, informative & best of all, funny. This book had me laughing out loud! Bryson is an excellent writer & nobody can read his books better than he does. I was bereft when I finished it. I will listen to this again. Maybe again and again.

Excellent!

I wasn't really interested in Australia - but I love Bill Bryson! So while recovering from eye surgery, I decided to give this 12 hour audiobook a try.

Mr Bryson took me all around Australia and back. The book was so great I almost wished for another day of laying in the dark. I had been apprehensive about 12 long hours of reading... but it made the time fly and I was sad when I came to CD number 10 and end.... And now Australia is on my list of places to go!

A Heartfelt Love Story

If you have ever traveled to Australia (or feel any sort of particular draw to it), this book is ready to help you sing the joys of falling in love with a sunburnt, dangerous, and beautiful country. The book is funny, intelligent, and offers an excellent outsiders reflection of how mesmerizing Down Under really is. Even 20 years removed from this book’s 2000’s release, Australia still resonates inside the pages of this book.

excellent

Truly wonderful book especially as it's read by Bill himself
As an Australian myself I learned a lot from it that I had never heard before.

Careful

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better performance and story, or a $500 check to go with it - because it was a bit of a task listening to it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Bill Bryson again?

sure

How could the performance have been better?

The author himself, at least in this book, is... well, boring. I mean, he might be a boring person in general, with exaggerated adventures. But I like the writing and story telling well enough usually. Just didn't cut it for me in this one. He was... boring. Bars and tourist attractions I could have experienced for myself, and no unique adventures. I think most of his facts came from wikipedia; every bit of history (2/3 of the book, by the way) was about death and misfortune, because he's fixated on it. So, more unique adventures and information would have been nice.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Bill Bryson is actually a funny guy, when he's not being a serious coward weenie about everything.

Any additional comments?

Don't listen to this one if you expect a quality Bill Bryson book. Nearest I can tell, he got money to visit bars, exaggerate everything, be afraid of everything, visit bars, visit tourist attractions, and visit bars. Boring....