Things I knew Australia before I read this book:

"It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else." (pg. 12)

There's a reason I never want to travel there, even if I were inclined toward travel. I'm not sure I like the idea of taking my life into my hands every time I step outside (or inside, spiders can get you there too!)

Despite that, Australia has a fascinating history-giant island prison colony?!-and great culture. I excitedly told Eric about how the gold rush essentially stopped Australia from being said giant island prison colony. Not much use as a punishment when droves of people are going there voluntarily.

On that note:

"It is a fact little noted that the Aborigines have the oldest continuously maintained culture on earth, and their art goes back to the very roots of it. Imagine if there were some people in France who could take you to the caves at Lascaux and explain in detail the significance of the paintings—why this bison is bolting from the herd, what these three wavy lines mean—because it is as fresh and sensible to them as if it were done yesterday. Well, Aborigines can do that. It is an unparalleled human achievement, scarcely appreciated, and I think that is worth a mention here, don’t you agree?"

It was not all rainbows and unforgiving jails. Australia has a bloody history regarding the Aboriginal peoples. They were considered nonhuman to the burgeoning government and European settlers. Bryson compiles a disgusting amount of examples of torture and murder perpetrated upon them. I wish that he had spent some time actually talking to the native people about their own history or ... about anything at all. His information pretty much all came from white people.

All this being said, the whiny tone Bryson takes on is occasionally funny, but mostly dull and hard to slog through. I enjoyed historical bits and glazed over his bitching and long descriptions of roads.