In a Sunburned Country

More or less recovered from his Appalachian walk in the woods, Bill Bryson embarked on a tour of our under-discovered neighbor to the far, far south. It was a dirty job, but somebody had to fend off crocodiles by day and perform Olympic-caliber pub crawls by night.

But not to worry; Bryson is as inquisitive as he is daring. In a Sunburned Country is crammed with news and knowledge -- in this case, about the mysterious Aborigines, exiled British convicts, careless prime ministers, and a disturbingly cryptic lifeguard. Along the way, readers also get an education in eating steaks that are the size of catcher's mitts, avoiding attack by killer seashells, and preparing for cyclones. And with such an entertaining traveling companion at the wheel, what's a 600-mile drive across the desert, even if the temperature soars to 140ºF? From the beach to the bush, and at every quirky roadhouse in between, Bryson's latest jaunt is a painfully hilarious tribute to a singularly peculiar locale.