Australia - Travel Logs / Biographies / Historical

BossArky

Anyone got recommendations on good books on Australia? I'm not looking for guide books. Travel logs, bios, historical accounts would be good though.

I just finished "Australian Explorers" by Robert Coupe:

Australian Explorers covers the exploits of Australia’s most memorable land and sea explorers. After an introduction to set the scene, each chapter focuses on the achievements of individual explorers, relating the triumphs, defeats and hardships of their pioneering adventures.

Cheers.

tHE vAGGABOND

Bill Bryson down under - one of the best travel books ever written imho, part history, part travelogue, sometimes serious, but very often hillarous

BossArky

Ah yes - good one!

I have a list of books on order in the library here. I'll add that one.

Anyone else got suggestions?

fontanalis

Fatal Shores is a very hefty historical one, can't remember the autor but it's supposed to be very good.

nompere

"The Fatal Shore" was written by Robert Hughes and is terrific. It's unlikely to make you smile, though. I bought it after reading a long piece about Hughes in "Snake Charmers in Texas" – a Clive James anthology.

There's a lot to be said for James writing about Australia, particularly the early parts of his autobiography. I have "Always Unreliable" which is a single volume containing the first three books. James is almost always interesting, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

I'm in a minority on Bryson's "Down Under". I didn't think his heart was in it. It reads a bit like a book that a publisher wanted one of his prolific and popular authors to write. It's not a patch on "Notes from a Small Island".

fontanalis

nompere wrote: »

"The Fatal Shore" was written by Robert Hughes and is terrific. It's unlikely to make you smile, though. I bought it after reading a long piece about Hughes in "Snake Charmers in Texas" – a Clive James anthology.

There's a lot to be said for James writing about Australia, particularly the early parts of his autobiography. I have "Always Unreliable" which is a single volume containing the first three books. James is almost always interesting, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

I'm in a minority on Bryson's "Down Under". I didn't think his heart was in it. It reads a bit like a book that a publisher wanted one of his prolific and popular authors to write. It's not a patch on "Notes from a Small Island".

That's the one. I always meant to get around to reading it. Something on Galipoli may be worthwhile considering the impact it had on the country.

nompere

The best book I have read on Gallipoli is Les Carlyon's, published about six or seven years ago. It's just called "Gallipoli". Carlyon is an Australian.

BossArky

Thanks for the info! Keep it coming.

So far I've read these in the past week:

• Australian Explorers: Unlocking the Great South Land - Robert Coupe
• Australians at War: Word War 1 - Robert Hillman
• Great Australian Stories: Gallipoli - Robert Hillman
• Down Under - Bill Bryson (about 50 pages into this at the moment)

The first 3 were quick reads with lots of maps and graphics. Exactly what I wanted for a quick overview before diving into the heavy stuff.

fontanalis

Is there a book on the Azaria Chamberlain case? It was made into a film called A Cry in the Dark (worth getting). It was like the Australian version of the Jon Benet Ramsey and Madelaine McCann case.

PhiliousPhogg

Songlines by Bruce Chatwin is a pretty highly regarded account of the aboriginal way of life. He is a (pretty damn adventurous) travel writer who spent some time out in the bush and it goes into the aboriginal relationship with nature & the land & becomes quite philosophical towards the end. To be honest I found it a bit overromantic but informing.

Not sure if you'll find this in Ireland, but I picked up a book called Patrol in the Dreamtime by Colin McLeod, an Australian who became a lawyer, but worked as a welfare patrol officer in the Northern Territory during the 50s when he was young. He was responsible for investigating social issues involving the aboriginals, living conditions, reports of crimes, disputes etc. Very interesting book and includes a first hand account and some sensible reasoning behind the stolen generation for which the Australian goverment famously apologised in 2008.

Bryson's book is pretty entertaining in parts, if you like that, check out Billy Connolly's world tour of australia on DVD!

fontanalis

PhiliousPhogg wrote: »

Songlines by Bruce Chatwin is a pretty highly regarded account of the aboriginal way of life. He is a (pretty damn adventurous) travel writer who spent some time out in the bush and it goes into the aboriginal relationship with nature & the land & becomes quite philosophical towards the end. To be honest I found it a bit overromantic but informing.

Not sure if you'll find this in Ireland, but I picked up a book called Patrol in the Dreamtime by Colin McLeod, an Australian who became a lawyer, but worked as a welfare patrol officer in the Northern Territory during the 50s when he was young. He was responsible for investigating social issues involving the aboriginals, living conditions, reports of crimes, disputes etc. Very interesting book and includes a first hand account and some sensible reasoning behind the stolen generation for which the Australian goverment famously apologised in 2008.

Bryson's book is pretty entertaining in parts, if you like that, check out Billy Connolly's world tour of australia on DVD!

Very good suggestion.