Australia certainly has some strange history. Things you would never imagine happening anywhere else happen here. It truly is like the forgotten outpost of the world. But like Mr. Bryson said, that is entirely our loss. And he would be correct.I've never really wanted to visit Australia before. I figured yeah it had some cool animals, but the people there are just like Americans. The country itself isn't all that different. Why would I want to go travel someplace just like my home country. No culture shock. Well, I was ridiculously wrong.Australia is not only a different country, it's an entirely different world. And since reading this wonderful travelogue it has moved close to the top of my list of places I want to go some day. I try my hardest to write my reviews spoiler free so you can read them without worrying about having anything ruined for you, and there is some serious fun to be had in reading this book. Mr. Bryson has a wonderfully snarky sense of humor. He has a way of setting the scene for the reader so we can picture the hilarity in our minds as it occurs. There were some delightfully funny stories in the book that I found myself laughing LOUDLY at.If you're like me, you hate reading history. It's boring. History classes and shows on the History channel put me to sleep. You will not find boring here. Australia's history is anything but boring, but even if it was, Mr. Bryson has a way of writing it so it is not boring. It is almost mesmerizing. I found myself googling things just because I couldn't believe some of this stuff even happened. And even more astounding is that I knew practically nothing about Australian history. And it truly is a shame. It is a fascinating and beautiful country. Dangers are to be found lurking everywhere in the plant and animal kingdom.This I was aware of, but not to the extent that I learned from the book. Whoa crazy! Not kidding. I knew about the box jellyfish and the redback spider, but the rest I was clueless about.I honestly could go on and on, but I have to stop somewhere. Basically what I will tell you is this. If you have ever been interested in Australia, wanting to visit or just interested in reading travel writing like I am, you need to read this book. It's fantastic.
