Bill Bryson   Down Under (Black Swan UK; Doubleday US). Characteristically dry humour in this outsider's view of national character, though Australians will find Bryson relies overmuch on stereotypes.

 

Bruce Chatwin   Songlines (Picador UK; Penguin US; Vintage Aus). A semifictional account of an exploration into Aboriginal nomadism and mythology that turns out to be one of the more readable expositions of this complex subject, though often pretentious.

Sean Condon   Sean and David's Long Drive (Lonely Planet). Australia's answer to Kerouac's On the Road , with humour in overdrive: Melbourne-based Condon and his friend David are fully fledged city dwellers when they set off on a tour around their own country, to come face to face with the dangers of crocs, tour guides and fellow travellers.

Robyn Davidson   Tracks (Picador UK; Random US). A compelling account of a young woman's journey across the Australian desert, accompanied only by four camels and a dog. Davidson manages to break out of the heroic-traveller mould to write with compassion and honesty of the people she meets in the Outback and the doubts, dangers and loneliness she faces on her way. A classic of its kind.

Neal Drinnan (ed) The Rough Guide to Gay & Lesbian Australia (Rough Guides Ltd UK, Aus). Well-reviewed and comprehensive manual listing gay-friendly hotels, bookshops, bars, cafés, restaurants and beaches, plus info on support groups and specialist travel services, and the lowdown on gay and lesbian events countrywide.

Howard Jacobson   In the Land of Oz (Penguin UK, Aus o/p). Jacobson focuses his lucidly sarcastic observations on a round-Australia trip that gets rather too close to some home truths for most Australians' tastes.

Mark McCrum   No Worries (Phoenix UK). Knowing nothing of the country except the usual clichés, McCrum arrives in 1990s Australia and makes his way around by plane, train, thumb and Greyhound, meeting a surprising cast of characters along the way. As he travels, the stereotypes give way to an insightful picture of modern Australia.

Ruth Park   Ruth Park's Sydney (Duffy & Snelgrove, Aus). Prolific novelist Park's 1973 guide to the city was fully revised and expanded in 1999. A perfect walking companion, full of personal insights, anecdotes and literary quotations.

Alice Thomson   The Singing Line (Chatto & Windus, Aus). The great-great-granddaughter of Alice Todd, the woman after whom Alice Springs was named, retraces her ancestor's journey to central Australia. Nice change from the usual male-centric view of the early pioneers.