What would you recommend to an American on what to read to learn about Australia?
I need your help because I’m a little stumped. Michael Wagner in a comment exchange here has asked for some ideas on how to learn about Australia. I’ve pointed him to Peter Garrett’s Australia Day speech where he describes the things you might do with an overseas visitor but I’ve realised I don’t have a good answer and was hoping you might suggest some good books or web sites.
Shawn, author of Putting Stories to Work, is one of the world's leading business storytelling consultants. He helps executive teams find and tell the story of their strategy. When he is not working on strategy communication, Shawn is helping leaders find and tell business stories to engage, to influence and to inspire. Shawn works with Global 1000 companies including Shell, IBM, SAP, Bayer, Microsoft & Danone. Connect with Shawn on:
Comments
Comments are closed.
Bill Bryson’s Down Under is good – gives an American impression of Australia without being patronising or stupid. Gives a good insight into what makes us Aussies tick.
Such a big question 🙂 Australia encompasses so much – where would you start? Cloudstreet by Tim Winton to explore the language, vibe, times and summers of the 50s that influence so much of Australia today; Four Fires by Bryce Courtney that includes so many archetypical Australian characters and explores the tragedy of war and the relationship with the ‘bush’; Bill Bryson’s Down Under; and finally, Lonely Planet’s Australia guide book. Heven’t even touched on Aboriginal culture either!
Cheers
Viv
Great suggestions! Bill Bryson is a hometown boy for us here in Des Moines – it is a small planet afterall – super!
Lots of Australian history in story format in Ion Idriess – read more on the Idriess page on my site (including where to buy).
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes, is definitely a winner. How Australia got to be Australia.
Larry