Australia

Let's face it...that long haul flight is certainly worth it.

Not only that, any Australian will gladly tell you that there is so much more to see and do than what you just see in the brochure!

That's why it's so important to get your travel plans sorted out properly - whether it's Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, or even the Great Barrier Reef - Australia has it all!

Title : Living and Working in Australia: A City by City Guide
Author : Roberta Duman
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Can't do without it...

this is really useful and a must have for anyone planning a trip out down under for a substantial length of time - it includes all the small things you would never think about but you should know about - truly indispensable..

Title : The Fatal Shore: History of the Transportation of Convicts to Australia, 1787-1868 (Harvill Panther S.)
Author : Robert Hughes
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Well worth the read.

This book is an excellent read, both accessible and fluid in its writing as well as detailed and well researched.
I'm sure that this book will be an invaluable resource for those studying or interested in the transportation process and Australian history in general.
While the main focus is on the penal colonies, the book opens with fascinating insights into both the Aboriginal group around Sydney harbour at the time and also the Georgian "Working" and "criminal" class. Both of which give depth and range to the subject at hand.
Being a history teacher myself I can recommend this book for teachers who are looking for something new and interesting to spice up the industrial revolution. And for the general reader I would recommend this book as a fascinating and balanced insight into a very different world. One that is both part of and a world away from the Georgian world we so often hear about.

Title : Lonely Planet : Australian Phrasebook
Author : Sue Butler
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Phrasebook for Australia

Lonely Planet's "Australian Phrasebook" is a great introduction to the Australian way of life and speaking for foreigners. Whether you are a tourist going on a trip to the land of Aussies, or a person studying English as used in Australia, this can be a good guide and reading supplement. Traditionally to Lonely Planet phrasebooks, this one gives you a short and easy-read introduction to the origin of Australian English. Then follow the sections dealing with present-day Australian English, Australian culture and regional languages.

Firstly, you get acquainted with phonetic and grammar features of Australian English, with British, American and Aboriginal influences, regional varieties of English in this huge country and some borrowings. Here you will also find out how to greet people, get around with Aussie English, and catch the most important colloquial phrases. You will even been able to join the Australians singing their national songs. After you've enriched your general vocabulary it is possible to get to know more about Australian culture and institutions: food and drink, party-culture, sports, urban and rural talk. Whether you'd like to find your way in coffee types or the art of argument "Australian Phrasebook" is helpful enough. It even gives you the recipes of the most popular dishes, so that next time you can throw an Australian party yourself, or just feel sure when ordering damper, pavlova and hedgehog.

The regional section gives you a thorough cultural and linguistic insight into numerous aboriginal languages. Here you will read a lot about the culture of indigenous people, as well as find rather short lists of major words you may encounter during your visit to the inner parts of the country. But, unlike the same sections in "British" or "USA" phrasebooks, the "Australian" one does not let you more or less exchange basic phrases with the Aborigines.

The strong feature of "Australian Phrasebook" is a great number of examples, comprehensive lists of words and expressions, extensive coverage of spoken language. Written in a simple language and entertaining manner, while being very informative "Australian Phrasebook" is a must-have on your next trip to the land Down Under and will certainly be your good companion, which will easily fit in a pocket.

Title : Down Under
Author : Bill Bryson
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Not his best

Bill Bryson concludes 'Down Under' by emphasising (for about the fiftieth time) that Australia is an interesting country. It is, undoubtedly. However, you wouldn't know it from reading this book.

Remarkably, in a country that is packed with things to do (try scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, try Croc watching in Darwin, try partying in Sydney, watching Aussie rules in Melbourne) Bryson spends most of his time pottering around on his own - his inability or unwilling to actually talk to people is quite unrivalled in a travel journalist - and peering at exhibits in out of the way museums. Each day on his travels seems to have the same shape: rise with a hangover, drive a long way on his own, look around another museum and arrive at a hotel to drink quietly on his own. Is this interesting? Is this giving us an insight in life 'Down Under'?

There are so many examples of Bryson coming across as a rather introverted ninny it's hard to pick one, but here goes. On the Great Barrier Reef, where he musters the courage to take a pleasure cruise (after about a chapter of fretting at the dangers of sharks, jelly-fish, groupers (!) etc...) After finally taking the plunge, he decides to extract himself from the water without actually seeing anything because he mask continually fills with water and he feels uncomfortable. Perhaps even more unbelievably, he goes to Adelaide and stumbles upon (yes, stumbles upon ... does he do any research?) an Ashes Test Match. Rather than actually go, by begging, borrowing or stealing tickets he decides instead to sit on his own in a bar and ponder what might be happening.

Put this lack of content together with his infuriatingly limited vocabularly which covers the full gamut of adjectives from 'delightful' to enlightening' and back again and you have the makings of a thoroughly dull read. One wonders whether this was a project foisted upon him by his over-eager publishers as it is striking how weak his pool of historical anecdote-cum-factoids are (which is his usual forte). Did we really have to hear about the Aussie Prime-Minister that managed to drown himself in every chapter?

In summary, it might be an exciting read if you like the Daily Mail.

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