Name: Down Under
ISBN: 9781409095644

Down Under

In a Sunburned Country is the 2000 travelogue book about Australia written by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. The title is taken from the famous Australian poem, "My Country". In other countries, including Britain, the book was titled Down Under. In this book, Bill Bryson describes his travels by railway and car throughout Australia, his conversations with people in all walks of life about the history, geography, unusual plants and animals of the country, and his wry impressions of the life, culture and amenities (or lack thereof) in each locality. In a style similar to his book A Walk in the Woods, Bryson's research enabled him to include many stories about Australia's 19th-century explorers and settlers who suffered extreme deprivations, as well as details about its natural resources, culture, and economy. His writings are intertwined with recurring humorous themes, notably, in the chapter Crossing Australia he makes constant reference to drinking of urine to survive, as was done by many 19th century explorers.

What Hacker News says

bwbApr 2023

Thanks, this is super helpful! I love Bill Bryson as well :)

Yep, I totally understand what you are saying, and that is what I am working toward. It is a challenge.

Right now, I ask authors to share 5 books they love around a topic/theme/mood. So I am collecting a human grouping of books similar in some way that humans decided along with why they love it.

For example, if you like "Notes from a Small Island" or "Down Under" (two of my fav Bill Bryson books), here are books that authors have grouped with it and also loved:

https://shepherd.com/books-like/notes-from-a-small-island https://shepherd.com/books-like/down-under

So I am using human groupings to help discover books that humans associate with his work somehow. And above each book, their list title helps you understand how their mind grouped it.

For example, "Into The Wild" is associated with it based around a human grouping books that capture the spirit of Jack Kerouac's On The Road.

What do you think?

What is next to improve this?

I'll add filters to help people hone in on why they loved the book to help pull that thread out and show books along those lines. For example, if I liked Catch 22 for its absurd humor, I want to make that the common denominator on the page. Or if I like "From a Small Island" for the humor and history, picking those to try to find books with a similar book DNA.

In about 4 to 5 weeks I'll ship the first version of this on the bookshelf pages. And in maybe 12 to 16 weeks on the books-like pages, as that needs a lot more work.

And, I am hoping next year to launch Book DNA, where I pull in reader data and help line up books that are your all time favorites with others to map this out a bit further. Slowly getting there and a lot will dependon collecting more data from readers in 2024.

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DyslexicAtheistFeb 2021

Crossing the Nullarbor on foot must have been insane. I did the same route but with camping gear and a car in the 90ies, and had the time of my life. The scale of the distances between points on the map are not comprehensible (to a kid from Europe at least). I wanted to do a day trip to Monkey Mia right after getting off the plane and started planning out my journey from Perth. I didn't believe (understand) that there is often nothing between 2 points on the map. A map entry would often just be a literal petrol station (that is also a pub and a shop and a farm) and nothing else. I had to learn the hard way that when they say "there's f*k all there mate" that they really mean it.

I guess the reason for him cutting short the Kimberley's and Northern tip of Queensland, was that it must have been inaccessible or too dangerous back then. Anyway it seems like travelers have already been advised 100 years ago to stay clear of these places.

There is an Ed Stafford "Marooned" episode where he tries to survive in the Kimberley's. (much endorse).

edit: If you have visited Australia (or plan to go) don't miss out on Bill Bryson's "Down Under" (must read if you like travel literature that is also hilarious) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Under_(book)

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