Down Under

Critics

• 'Down Under' by Bill Bryson

  A hilarious romp across the world's "driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents". As an Australian I had expected to take offence at Bryson's travelogue given the caning he receiv ... (read full critics)

  readingmatters published on Mon, 27 Sep 2010

• Down Under by Bill Bryson

  Bill Bryson is, apparently, the most read author in Britain; his new book, Down Under (Doubleday, £16.99), is top of the hardback bestsellers list; it has just been read on Radio 4; the man can clearly do no wrong. But can he write? Many critics insi ... (read full critics)

  guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

8 Reviews

• 2 people find this helpful

  

  Bryson, as usual, is able to fill his books with a ton (or heaps, considering it is about Australia! ;-) of very interesting facts and precise figures, all the while the books remain real page turners, and most funny and entertaining.
  After reading this you won't be able to listen to any news r ... (continue)

  Bryson, as usual, is able to fill his books with a ton (or heaps, considering it is about Australia! ;-) of very interesting facts and precise figures, all the while the books remain real page turners, and most funny and entertaining.
  After reading this you won't be able to listen to any news related to Australia and share the author amazement in the fact that no one ever seems to be able to remember who the Australian prime minister is!
  :-)

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  NickBert said on May 25, 2007 about the Paperback edition | 1 feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  Funny, but not so much as other Bryson's travelogues. It's funny in bits and pieces across nearly 400 pages, so it also often gets boring or uninteresting between one funny bit and another. I guess Bryson's own words about Australia could apply also to this book: there is such a lot to find in it ... (continue)

  Funny, but not so much as other Bryson's travelogues. It's funny in bits and pieces across nearly 400 pages, so it also often gets boring or uninteresting between one funny bit and another. I guess Bryson's own words about Australia could apply also to this book: there is such a lot to find in it, but such a lot of it to find it in.

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  ary29 said on Jun 19, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  I think we read too many Bill Bryson titles too close together as although they are all about different places, they have all seemed to merge into one travelogue.

  Probably more interesting if you have visited Australia or are about to do so.

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  Lindyloumac said on Sep 24, 2009 | Add your feedback

• 

  Amazing non-adventures

  Bill Bryson manages to be an interesting travel writer in an era where everyone has travelled everywhere (and wrote about it on their blog if not on their book).

  Nothing really unusual or super exciting happens to him, along his wanderings through australian country, yet the book is as intriguing ... (continue)

  Bill Bryson manages to be an interesting travel writer in an era where everyone has travelled everywhere (and wrote about it on their blog if not on their book).

  Nothing really unusual or super exciting happens to him, along his wanderings through australian country, yet the book is as intriguing as the best page-turners. Thanks to Australia itself, no doubt, but especially thanks to Bryson's excellent sense of humour.

  A must read for everyone who loves Australia.

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  Leonaltro said on Aug 21, 2010 about the Unbound edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Bill Bryson is awesome in an underwhelming way, I would love it if he lent his voice to Hollywood, he sounds so compelling and reassuring. A great author and narrator.

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  Bibliobum said on Jun 22, 2008 about the Audio CD edition | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  Absolutely brilliant. One of the funniest books ever. Just look for the English publication, being the Italian translation truly disappointing.

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  Arthur Lee said on Jan 13, 2008 about the Paperback edition | 1 feedback

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Book Details

• Rating:
  (128)
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• English Books
• Hardcover 319 Pages
• ISBN-10: 038540817X
• ISBN-13: 9780385408172
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Pub date: Jul 01, 2000
• Dimensions: 1484 mm x 1032 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Paperback, Audio CD, Audio Cassette, Unbound, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Livres Français, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani

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