{"product_id":"down-under","title":"Down Under","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs his many British fans already know, bearded Yankee butterball Bill Bryson specialises in going to countries we think we know well, only to return with travelogues that are surprisingly cynical and yet shockingly affectionate. It's a unique style, possibly best suited to the world's weirder destinations. It's helpful here: Bryson's latest subject is that oddest of continents, Australia.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a start, there's the oddly nasty fauna and flora. Barely a page of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eDown Under\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis without its lovingly detailed list of lethal antipodean critters: sociopathic jellyfish, homicidal crocs, toilet-dwelling death-spiders, murderous shrubs (yes, shrubs). Bryson's absorbing and informative portrait is of a terrain so intractably vast, a land so climatically extreme, it seems expressly designed to daunt and torment humankind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis very user-unfriendliness throws up another Aussie paradox. If the country is so hostile how come the natives are so laid back, so relaxed? As Bryson shuffles from state to state, he seeks the key to the uniquely cool Australian character and finds it in Australia's tragicomic past, her genetic seeding of convicts, explorers, gold diggers, outlaws. This is a country of lads and mates, of boozy gamblers--nowadays mellowed by sunshine and sporting success.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlease note that this copy has fading on the spine and some scuffs on the edges of the covers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eISBN: 9780385408172\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eSize: Hardcover, \u003cspan itemprop=\"numberOfPages\"\u003e319 \u003c\/span\u003epages\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003ePublisher: \u003cspan\u003eDoubleday\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003ePublished: 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"B - Good Condition","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47313493524636,"sku":null,"price":4.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0526\/1597\/0972\/files\/downunder_2.jpg?v=1785825980","url":"https:\/\/booksforless.co.nz\/products\/down-under","provider":"Books For Less","version":"1.0","type":"link"}