Literature of Australia in a sunburned country

¶ … Sunburned Country is typical warm, humorous and engaging Bill Bryson fare. Bryson is one of those rare travel writers that can almost literally pull you from the comfort of your couch, and into the place that they describe. Unlike other books that often read like an itinerary of hotels, sights, and restaurants, In A Sunburned County will seemingly transport you to the sunny island itself.

Bryson's affection for Australia is readily evident. He writes, "The people are immensely likable -- cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted, and unfailingly obliging. Their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water. They have a society that is prosperous, well ordered, and instinctively egalitarian. The food is excellent. The beer is cold. The sun nearly always shines. There is coffee on every corner. Rupert Murdoch no longer lives there. Life doesn't get much better than this."

Interspersed among his engaging prose and likeable style is a plethora of interesting information. He notes that almost 80% of all life on Australia exists no place on earth. He gives interesting anecdotes about the May 1993 atomic bomb detonation in the Western Australian desert that no one noticed. The sheer vastness of the territory kept the boom and the Japanese cult that set it off from being connected until 1997.

In the book, Bryson also examines Australia's relationships with the world. One of the most interesting passages is when Bryson examines Americas disinterest in Australia. He notes that the New York Times wrote 20 articles about Australia in 1997. In the same year, the paper ran 120 articles on Peru, and more than 500 on Israel. He notes, "As a place that caught our interest Australia ranked about level with Belarus and Burundi."

Bryson notes that Australia is home to some of the deadliest creatures in the world. Each one of the world's deadliest snakes can be found in Australia. The box jellyfish also makes Australia its home. The jellyfish's sting is so painful that it has been known to make men scream with agony even when they are unconscious. The funnel web spider also makes Australia its home.

He gives a great deal of interesting and engaging trivia about famous Australian cultural icons. He notes the Sydney Opera House ended up costing over fourteen times the original estimate, finishing at an overwhelming $102 million. Not only this, but Sir Eugene Goosens, the man who pressured the city to build the Opera hose, was kicked out of Australia after being caught with an enormous amount of pornography.

Bryson's wit and eclectic personality also target Australia's political system. He notes that former Prime Minister Paul Keating was well-known for using colorful language in public debate. This included references to "scumbags, pieces of criminal garbage, sleazebags, stupid foul-mouthed grubs, piss-ants, mangy maggot, perfumed gigolos, gutless spivs, boxheads, immoral cheats, and stunned mullets."