Outback / by Thomas Keneally

[Kim Allen Scott]

This is a dated study, but a good one.  In 1985 Thomas Keneally traveled around Australia’s vast Northern Territory to compose an essay more about the people than the landscape they live in.  This is not to say he ignored the scenery, but rather he studied the effects of that scenery on both Aboriginal and Euro-Australian residents.  The result is a very entertaining coffee-table book that is jammed with some beautiful photography. I especially appreciated his descriptions of Darwin and Alice Springs, two cities I would very much like to visit in the future.  At the time he wrote, Keneally stressed the emphemeral nature of Darwin, and how the town was blown away in two natural catastrophes that have left an infrastructure he could only see as temporary.  I also appreciated his description of Uluru, which was written prior to the construction of the resort facility I visited in 2008.  Overall an entertaining book that deserves an update.

[Karen Redlich]

Hi Kim,

The Library will keep our eyes open for a newer edition of "Outback." I recently read a good spiel about Thomas Keneally here:       http://bit.ly/2aN6RHn

Thanks for your review :-)

Karen