While browsing our local town library (Norton, MA, USA), I came across "The Extraordinary Voyages of James Cook." This is a pleasant read and while it is more about Cook's voyages than about Australia, it does a good job introducing the reader to the European introduction to Australia. In Cook's first voyage, he spends a good deal of time exploring New Zealand, but he does eventually site Australia's eastern coast. The naturalist Banks does a great job at detailing the unique (at least to these white Europeans) flaura and fauna. Off the northeast coast, Cook meets the Great Barrier Reef as it takes a bite out of his ship. This is a long read, but worth it.

Hughes' the "The Fatal Shore" is another long read and contains perhaps more than the average tourist will want to know about the early colonization of Australia. During the late 18th century, England was bound and determined to rid itself of the "criminal element" and since America (due to the American Revolution) would no longer accept prisoners, Cook's accounts of Australia looked appealing to some members of parliment as a new alternative site for a penal colony. The "First Fleet" arrived in 1780 (or so) and for the next few decades, England shipped off thousands of criminals. Most interesting to me was that most of the "criminals" were charged with but petty theft, e.g., stealing stockings off a clothes line got you "seven years transportation", and since there was not a regular way back, a sentence to Australia was a sentence away from the homeland for life. Hughes covers the details of this early period with precision. In addition to coverage of Australia, life on the notorious Norfolk Island (an island well off the eastern coast to hold the worst of the worst) and Tasmania gives the reader a great impression of the fortitude and independent spirit of the early colonists. In short, I didn't think I'd finish this book when I started, but I found myself coming back to it night after night. Highly recommended.

Michener's "Return to Paradise" is a wonderful read. Although the rhetoric is somewhat dated, i.e., perhaps too much World War II pro-American point of view, Michener weaves a wonderful view of the south pacific. The book explains life in a number of locations (e.g., New Zealand, Australia, Java, the Atolls, etc) and then following each chapter he tells a story. His stories are just wonderful. Not really much but Australia here, but still Recommended.

Bryson's "A Sunscorched Country" was as good as the recommendations I received from my colleagues. Perhaps three of my faculty colleagues said, "Oh, you've just got to read Bryson." At first I was afraid this would too much 'Dave-Barry-like' for me, but the truth is that Bryson is much more than that comparison. Bryson is a wonderful writer and his book did more to prepare me for meeting the wonderful people of Australia than anything else up to the point of actually getting there and experiencing them for myself. Bryson says (loosely paraphrased): "The Australians spend one-half of their time saying that the perils of the land are way overrated and the other half of the time telling you stories like when their Uncle Joe got bit by a Tiger Snake that was up under his dash board, but 'no worries, he's off life support and he can communicate with eye blinks!' " In short, if you are going to visit Australia or if you just want to get an inside glimpse of the country and its people, I highly recommend that you sit down with a glass of Australian wine and enjoy yourself.