The
Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding
by Robert Hughes
Paperback from Vintage Books
Media Published: 1988-02-12
ISBN: 0394753666
The history of the birth of Australia which came out of the suffereing
and brutality of England's infamous convict transportation system. With
16 pages of illustrations and 3 maps.
An extraordinary volume--even a masterpiece--about the early history
of Australia that reads like the finest of novels. Hughes captures everything
in this complex tableau with narrative finesse that drives the reader ever-deeper
into specific facts and greater understanding. He presents compassionate
understanding of the plights of colonists--both freemen and convicts--and
the Aboriginal peoples they displaced. One of the very best works of history
I have ever read. |
| |
In
a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson
Paperback from Broadway
Media Published: 2001-05-15
ISBN: 0767903862
Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature
threatens to break out. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail
resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods.
In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely
different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and
a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather,
and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. The
result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance
by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity.
Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you
in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles,
snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he
takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path.
Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and
unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe
cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful
book. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bill
Bryson its perfect guide.
Bill Bryson follows his Appalachian amble, A Walk in the Woods,
with the story of his exploits in Australia, where A-bombs go off unnoticed,
prime ministers disappear into the surf, and cheery citizens coexist with
the world's deadliest creatures: toxic caterpillars, aggressive seashells,
crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and the deadliest of them all, the dreaded
box jellyfish. And that's just the beginning, as Bryson treks through sunbaked
deserts and up endless coastlines, crisscrossing the "under-discovered"
Down Under in search of all things interesting.
Bryson, who could make a pile of dirt compelling--and yes, Australia
is mostly dirt--finds no shortage of curiosities. When he isn't
dodging Portuguese man-of-wars or considering the virtues of the remarkable
platypus, he visits southwest Gippsland, home of the world's largest earthworms
(up to 12 feet in length). He discovers that Australia, which began nationhood
as a prison, contains the longest straight stretch of railroad track in
the world (297 miles), as well as the world's largest monolith (the majestic
Uluru) and largest living thing (the Great Barrier Reef). He finds ridiculous
place names: "Mullumbimby Ewylamartup, Jiggalong, and the supremely satisfying
Tittybong," and manages to catch a cricket game on the radio, which is
like
listening to two men sitting in a rowboat on a large, placid
lake on a day when the fish aren't biting; it's like having a nap without
losing consciousness. It actually helps not to know quite what's going
on. In such a rarefied world of contentment and inactivity, comprehension
would become a distraction.
"You see," Bryson observes, "Australia is an interesting place. It truly
is. And that really is all I'm saying." Of course, Bryson--who is as much
a travel writer here as a humorist, naturalist, and historian--says much
more, and does so with generous amounts of wit and hilarity. Australia
may be "mostly empty and a long way away," but it's a little closer now.
--Rob McDonald |
| |
Over
in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under
by Marianne Berkes
Hardcover from Dawn Pubns
ISBN: 1584691352
In the Down Under continent, baby wallabies learn to hop, brolgas learn
to dance, and emus learn
to zig-zag and children will want to hop, dance, and zig-zag right
along with the amazing animals
of Australia. As with all of Marianne Berkes award-winning Over books,
children will also want to sing, clap and count to the rhyme of Over
in the Meadow as they learn about wallabies, koalas, wombats, and more.
What an easy, fun way to learn about these endearing, unique Australian
animals! Jill Dubin s cut-paper illustrations add to the fun. |
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Art in Australia : From Colonization to Postmodernism
by Christopher Allen
Listed under Australian Art
Australia : True Stories of Life Down Under (Travelers' Tales)
by Larry Habegger (Editor), Amy G. Carlson (Editor)
Listed under Australian
Travel Books
Australian Food : In Celebration of the New Australian Cuisine
by Alan Saunders (Introduction), et al
Listed under Australian Cooking
The
Australian People : An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their
Origins
by James Jupp (Editor)
Cambridge Univ Pr (Short)
Hardcover
The
Architecture of East Australia
by Bill MacMahon (Editor), et al
Edition Axel Menges Gmbh
Paperback - 272 pages (December 15, )
Australian
Beach Cultures : The History of Sun, Sand, and Surf
(Cass Series--Sport in the Global Society, 28.)
by Douglas Booth
Frank Cass & Co
Paperback
A
Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms
by G. A. Wilkes (Editor)
Paperback 4th edition
Oxford University Press; ISBN: 019553798X
Australia
by Rail
by Colin Taylor
(Paperback)
Borderline
: Australia's Treatment of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
by Peter Mares
New South Wales Univ Pr Ltd
Paperback - 192 pages
The
Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia (A Cambridge Reference Book)
by Susan Bambrick (Editor)
Hardcover - 384 pages (November )
Cambridge Univ Pr (Trd); ISBN: 0521365112
A
Concise History of Australian Wine
by John Beeston
Allen & Unwin
Paperback - 297 pages 3rd edition
Culture
in Australia : Policies, Publics and Programs (Reshaping Australian Institutions)
by Tony Bennett (Editor), David Carter (Editor)
Hardcover (December )
Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 0521802903
Culture
Shock : Australia
by Ilsa Sharp
In addition to explaining Australia to newcomers and visitors in the
hope of bridging culture gaps and improving the chances of mutual empathy
and friendship, it is the author's wish that Australians will, through
this book, see themselves through outsiders' eyes.
Paperback
Graphic Arts Center Pub Co; ISBN: 1558686134
Down Under All Over : A Love Affair With Australia
by Barbara Brewster
A collection of personal stories that profess an American woman's views
of Australia.
Listed under Australian
Travel Books
Federation
: Australian Art and Society 1901-2001
by John McDonald (Editor)
This magnificent catalogue, published to accompany the National Gallery
of Australia's landmark exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of statehood,
offers an opportunity to enjoy, through the visual arts, some of the fascinating
stories of the nation, a visual history of its progress as a people,..
Amazon.com
National Gallery of Australia
Paperback - 264 pages
The Floating Brothel : The Extraordinary True Story of an Eighteenth-Century
Ship and Its Cargo of Female Convicts
by Sian Rees
Listed under Australian
History
Batavia's Graveyard : The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's
Bloodiest Mutiny
by Mike Dash
Listed under Australian
History
Foreign
Correspondence
by Geraldine Brooks
Paperback: 224 pages
Anchor Books; ISBN: 0385483732;
Joseph Banks : A Life
by Patrick O'Brian
Listed under Captain James Cook
Nine Parts of Desire : The Hidden World of Islamic Women
by Geraldine Brooks
Listed under Islam
The Fatal Shore : The Epic of Australia's Founding
by Robert Hughes
Amazon.com writes "An extraordinary volume - even a masterpiece - about
the early history of Australia that reads like the finest of novels. Hughes
captures everything in this complex tableau with narrative finesse that
drives the reader ever-deeper into specific facts and greater understanding.
He presents compassionate understanding of the plights of colonists - both
freemen and convicts - and the Aboriginal peoples they displaced. One of
the very best works of history I have ever read."
Listed under Australian
History
The Great Southland
by Ken Duncan
Ken Duncan's vision of Australia invites you to feel the many moods
and manifestations of this country's spectacular landscapes. Drawing on
over 20 years of experience shooting this vast country, ken Duncan uses
all his skill to show the beauty of creation so that it first dazzles the
eye, then goes deeper to touch the spirit. Amazon.com
Listed under Australian
Travel Books
Island Ancestors : Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection
by Allen Wardwell, Dirk Bakker (Photographer), Kimbell Art Museum
Listed under New Guinea
A Natural History of Australia
by Tim M. Berra
Listed under Australian
History
With Byrd at the Bottom of the World : The South Pole Expedition
of 1928-1930
by Norman D. Vaughan, Cecil B. Murphey (Contributor)
Listed under Antarctica
Allies & Mates: An American Soldier With the Australians and
New Zealanders in Vietnam 1966-67
Gordon L. Steinbrook
Listed under Australia at
War
A Taste of Australia : The Bathers Pavilion Cookbook
by Victoria Alexander, Genevieve Harris (Contributor), Sharon Dyson
Listed under Cookery Books
Moments of Terror : The Story of Antarctic Aviation
by David Burke
Listed under Antarctica
My Place
by Sally Morgan
This powerful autobiography of three generations of Aborigines by one
of their own is an "historical document which should be on every black
studies and women's studies course round the world . . . a wonderfully
luminous and entertaining prose poem."--New York Times.
Listed under Aboriginal Australia
True
History of the Kelly Gang
by Peter Carey
Booker Prize 2001
Hardcover - 349 pages (January 9, )
Knopf; ISBN: 0375410848
The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Pacific
by Colin McEvedy
Listed under Pacific Islands
Voyages of Discovery : Captain Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific
by Lynne Withey
Listed under Captain Cook
Oceanic
Art
by Adrienne L. Kaeppler, Christian Kaufmann, Douglas Newton (Contributor)
Hardcover - 642 pages
Harry N Abrams; ISBN: 0810936933 |
| |
One
for the Road : An Outback Adventure
by Tony Horwitz
"A high-spirited, comic ramble into the savage Outback populated by
irreverent, beer-guzzling frontiersmen." --Chicago Tribune
"A fascinating insight into what we're all about on the highways and
byways along the outback track." --The Telegraph (Sydney)
Paperback - 211 pages Revised edition
Vintage Books; ISBN: 0375706135
The Proving Ground : The Inside Story of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart
Race
by G. Bruce Knecht
Listed under Yacht Racing
The
Road from Coorain
by Jill Ker Conway
There is a clarity, elegance, and beauty to Conway's Road to Coorain
that places it firmly at the apogee of autobiography along with such masterpieces
as West With the Night by Beryl Markham, or An American Childhood, by Annie
Dillard. From the first sentence, you will be drawn inexorably into the
story of her childhood in New South Wales, Australia, and her gradual discovery
of--and by--the larger world: the clarity of Conway's language satisfies
like cold clear water after a day in the desert: the rhythm of her sentences
has a timelessness and expansiveness akin to the Australian landscape itself.
This is very likely a book you will remember the rest of your life. Highly
Recommended. - Amazon.com
From the shelter of a protective family, to the lessons of tragedy
and independence, this is an indelible portrait of a harsh and beautiful
country and the inspiring story of a remarkable woman's life.
Paperback: 238 pages
Vintage Books; ISBN: 0679724362; Reprint edition (September
1990)
Stinging
Trees and Wait-A-Whiles : Confessions of a Rainforest Biologist
by William F. Laurance
University of Chicago Press (Trd)
Hardcover - 196 pages
South with Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917
by Frank Hurley
Sir Ernest Shackleton's trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-1917 was
one of the great feats of human endurance -- one vividly captured in the
powerful and dramatic pictures taken by Frank Hurley, the expedition's
official photographer. The Publisher
Listed under Antarctica
Tassie
Terms : A Glossary of Tasmanian Words
by Maureen Brooks, Joan Ritchie
Paperback - 174 pages (March )
Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0195538129
Writing
the Australian Crawl : Views on the Writer's Vocation (Poets on Poetry)
William Edgar Stafford, Donald Hall (Editor)
Mr. Darwin's Shooter
by Roger McDonald
A novel based on the diaries of Syms Covington who accompanied Darwin
on the Beagle. Highly praised. Listed under Charles
Darwin
The Songlines
by Bruce Chatwin
Listed under Aboriginal Australia
Wheels and Deals : The Motor Vehicle Industry in Twentieth Century
Australia (Modern Economic and Social History Series)
by Robert Conlon, John Perkins
Listed under Automotive Industry
Green Guide Birds of Australia
by Peter Rowland
Listed under Australian Birds
New Additions to the Australian Books
List
Les
Murray: A Life in Progress
from Oxford Univ Pr (Txt)
Les Murray is an Australian icon and its greatest living poet.
Treseder:
Man of Adventure
from New Holland/Struik
Yami:
The Autobiography of Yami Lester
from Iad Press
Once
an Australian: Journeys with Barry Humphries, Clive James, Germaine Greer,
and Robert Hughes
from Oxford University Press
Yellow-Eye
by David Spillman, Mark Wilson (Illustrator)
Reading Level ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Crocodile Books(Inteu); ISBN: 1566564107; 1 Amer Ed edition
Tiger Tales : Stories of the Tasmanian Tiger
by Col Bailey
Listed under Australian Wildlife
The
MacMillan Dictionary of the Australian Environment
by David Meagher
(Paperback - January 1991)
Special Order
Australian
Earth-Covered Building (Australian Natural History Series)
by S Baggs, et al
(Paperback)
Special order
Australian
People and Animals in Today's Dreamtime: The Role of Comparative Psychology
in the Management of Natural Resources (Advances in Comparative Psychology)
by David B. Croft (Editor)
(Hardcover - August 1991)
Sydney
by Alex Robinson, Gardenia Robinson
(Paperback)
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
Bush
Pilot!: Flying High Over Australia
by Robyn Brode, Paul Hayes (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback - 32 pages (June 30, )
Barrons Educational Series; ISBN: 0764121537
Flying
Hero Class
Thomas Keneally
Paperback: 308 pages
Warner Books; ISBN: 0446393479; reprint edition (February
1992)
Australia : Biography of a Nation
by Philip Knightley
(Hardcover)
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
Death
Struggle
by Quentin Dempster
Allen & Unwin
Paperback
Out of Print and Hard to Find Books
Nation
and Commemoration : Creating National Identities in the United States and
Australia
(Cambridge Cultural Social Studies)
by Lyn Spillman
Paperback (March )
Cambridge Univ Pr (Pap Txt); ISBN: 0521574323
Special Order
Journeys to the Past: Travels in New Guinea, Madagascar, and the
Northern Territory of Australia
by David Attenborough
(Hardcover - December 1982)
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
Cousteau's Australia Journey
by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Mose Richards
(Hardcover - September 1993)
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
The Sydney Harbour Bridge
by Peter Spearritt
Hardcover (November 1982)
Unwin Hyman; ISBN: 0868613312
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
Hell West and Crooked
Tom Cole
Collins/Angus & Robertson Sydney 1990
Chronicles a rapidly disappearing lifestyle of a crocodile and buffalo
hunter in the Northern Territory. The author spent most of his life in
the outback and Papua New Guinea, and is able to communicate to the reader
the exhilarating, but gritty reality of frontier life.
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
MY CROWDED SOLITUDE
by Jack McLaren
Fascinating tale of an attempt to establish a coconut plantation at
the tip of Cape York in 1910.
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
Riding the Wildman Plains: The letters and diaries of Tom Cole 1923
- 1943
Tom Cole
First published 1992
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
Dream millions- new light on Lasseter's lost reef
by Fred Blakeley
Angus & Robertson; ISBN: 0207124418
Out of Print - Try Used
Books
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Australian Biographies
