Customer Reviews:
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 A dusty, irreverent, beer-soaked adventure November 17, 1999
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
When I finished reading this book, I felt like I had spent a month swatting flies, drinking Darwin stubbies, riding in the back of utes, breathing dust, and choking on diesel exhaust. Having spent some time hitchhiking through the Australian Outback myself, I can say honestly that Horwitz's observations about the people there are true. I did find myself amazed at his inability to find anything naturally beautiful except for Uluru (Ayers Rock)--on numerous occasions he misses beautiful places narrowly, in favor of the next pub or the next mining town, and ends up claiming that the Outback connsists of nothing but barren plains and dry lake beds. Not entirely true. But he certainly captures the essential desperation and loneliness of the people of the Australian bush. The book is at times a little monotonous, but at least Horwitz knew enough to keep his adventure short. His observations are wry, a little condescending, and usually perceptive. Not a great work of literature, but an above-average travel book and a must for anyone hitching through the Outback.
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