text: I read Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" and laughed hysterically at many parts of the book, and through the rest was either duly entertained or pleasantly educated (for the "educated" aspect, Bill interlaces the book with fascinating factual tangents).
  
  I started into "In a Sunburned Country" with similar expectations, and especially since I have always longed and planned to visit Australia.  To state that I was disappointed is a severe understatement.  After reading this book I now have little to no desire to visit the "land down under;" my only hope is that I will completely forget what I read in Bryson's book so that I may one day look forward to and enjoy visiting Australia.  (Senility be merciful and consume me hastily!)
  
  My best estimate is that Bryson was commissioned to write a ~350 page book about Australia.  During and / or after his trip, his creative sense must have taken a vacation of its own.  I have rarely struggled so much to get through a book as I did with this one.  Bryson even stooped so low as to use an urban legend as a "story" relayed second-hand from one of the Australians he "met."  Such a stunt makes me question if any of his accounts are real in any of his books.
  
  The only saving grace to this book was the educational tangents.  These, at least, provided for some interesting reading.
  
  After comparing notes with another person who ventured to read another of Bryson's books ("I'm A Stranger Here Myself") after she read "A Walk in the Woods," it would appear that "In a Sunburned Country" is not the only snore-fest that Bryson has churned out.  Perhaps he isn't a "one hit wonder," but I for one am not going to waste my time or money finding out.
  
  So, if you are looking for the same caliber of writing that Bryson provided in "A Walk in the Woods," look to another author or prepare to be greatly disappointed. 
  