Australia Books

"Big Bother" by Dr. Toni Johnson-Woods examines the Australian "Big Brother" reality television program from a celabratory and popular culture theory perspective. Dr. Johnson-Woods lectures at the University of Queensland, and is (among other hats to wear) an expert in popular contemporary television.

Toni explores "Big Brother" in an international context, the production of of the program, the generic markers of "Big Brother" and reality television genre theory in general, the filmic techniques, the program's content and contestants, the audience, and the numerous media representations of the program. As "Big Brother" was such a successful and pervasive program within Australian television culture, it was very much worthy of investigation as a media case study.

I think that it is wonderful for our academics to be recording significant elements of contemporary culture, and using their research to define WHO we are at the moment, and WHAT we do in our recreation hours. Dr. Johnson-Woods has not only written an educational and informative book, but one that is fascinating to read. Five stars!

I myself have been in the health industry for approximately 18years and have seen books come and go. This is a wonderfully refreshing "No bull" sort of health book. It reads very nicely and what I love most is the real stories and facts that are given. It makes to really relate to what he is telling you. And with the meal plan and other guides in there, it really makes it a fat loss guide as well as a book for good references regarding health. It sold me.

Big Rain Coming is the kind of picture book teachers dream about. It deals with a culture and situation unfamiliar to most of us, but these are revealed as natural background, natural characters, natural situations. The one thing Big Rain Coming does not reek of is the 'shove it down your throat' cross-cultural drudge that is found in far too many books written for young children.
Big Rain Coming tells a beautiful story with incredible lyrical simplicity.
As an author, simplicity is the hardest of all to master. Germein has done it beautifully here.
The location, the characters are wonderfully authentic and I know, because I've lived and worked in such places too.
Big Rain Coming is a wonderful book to use when teaching because all children can relate to the feeling of waiting for rain, yet they can compare many aspects of the people's lives to their own and see huge differences as well as the many similarities.
The artwork is beautiful, although I'm not a great fan of Bronwyn Bancroft's work. It is unfortunate that because she is a well-known artist, much of the acclaim for the book has been directed towards the illustrator, and not the author who created this brilliant piece of literature.
It doesn't get any better than this.

Australian birder Sean Dooley describes his Big Year, an effort to break the record for the most birds seen in Australia (and environs) in a year.

I loved this birding memoir. Dooley is a lively, humorous, engaging writer, and his Australian slang makes his voice particularly come alive, at least for this American reader. He conveys a passion for his pursuit and a concern for wildlife and the environment without sanctimony.

Clearly, there are scads of awesome birds in Australia, and undoubtedly they have the best common names of any birds anywhere. The species list at the back of the book is an entertainment in itself.

I am at a loss, however, to explain Mr. Dooley's difficulty in finding women who bird. Maybe it's a cultural thing?

Definitely recommended, especially for American readers to whom the language and most of the species will be engagingly exotic.

This story is one that I have read many times. It starts off with the girl from the city not knowing anything about the outback. She meets up with a smug rancher who just waits for her to mess up. During their time together they work together, rub each other the wrong way, and learn to respect each other. The surprise ending is entertaining as well as enlightening. The witty repartee is throughout the book and keeps you reading carefully so as not to miss those perfectly stated phrases.

The book was as I expected, it would'd be better ir they show the picture and mention the editon.

We use this book in 8th grade and it really helped me get through Biology! The book plainly states all the ideas and clearly too!

Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?

Le'ts start with the bad: THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA, A BOOK OF IDENTIFICATION is no longer available in its original hardcover format with its beautifully illustrated birds and its handy bird-by-bird location map.

The good news: you can get the same great book in reformat as one disintinguished member of the excellent Princeton Field Guides series.

In addition to the standard features that make a book like this a success, BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA trails a section called - enigmatically - 'The Handbook'. This extensive postlude provides an excellent introduction to classes of birds, the life cycle of birds that hobbyists with middling knowledge like this reviewer will greatly appreciate.

The Aussies are great folks and make marvelous life-time friends. As though it couldn't get any better, they now have a superb book for identifing the birds of their beguiling and sunburned country.

This is a terrific book. Read in conjunction with John Birmingham's 'Leviathan: an unauthorised biography of Sydney', you will get more than a working knowledge of how and why Sydney is like it is.

Flannery has written an introductory essay 'The andstone City', which gives a good overview. The bulk of the book is an anthology of voices from the earliest days to late 19th century -from Captain James Cook to Mark Twain, Aboriginal women, and British governors.

2000 saw a plethora of books on Sydney, as it hosted the Olympic Games. This is one of the best.

Georgia Beaumont in 24 when she boards a ship for Australia. Behind her is South Africa, her homeland she loves but can no longer endure.

Bitterbloom tells the story of the delicate balance between escape and feelings of guilt and loss; of Georgia's shattering relationships with two men who come close to destroying her. In a passionate and often devastating emotional journey, Georgia must come to terms with her past to find peace in a new and hostile land. Alison Stewart brings a new sense of the pain of loss and the joy of re-discovery as she charts a course form confusion and dislocation to peace with the clarity and force only personal experience can afford. Bitterbloom introduces a brilliant and established Australian writer to the world.

I give this extraodinary novel a 5 out of 5 and wish this talented and popular writer good luck in the future.