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The Bush

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The Bush

By: Don Watson, Hamish Hamilton
Narrated by: Don Watson
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About this listen

An enthralling journey, showcasing Watson's trademark literary gift and sardonic wit, through the Australian landscape and character.

While most Australians live in cities clinging to the coastal fringe, our sense of what an Australian is, or should be, is drawn from the vast and varied inland called the bush. But what do we mean by 'the bush', and how has it shaped us?

Starting with his forebears' battle to drive back nature and eke a living from the land, Don Watson explores the bush as it was and as it now is: the triumphs and the ruination, the commonplace and the bizarre, the stories we like to tell about ourselves and the national character, and those we don't. A milestone work of memoir, travel writing and history, The Bush takes us on a profoundly revelatory and entertaining journey through the Australian landscape and character.

©2014 Don Watson (P)2017 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Australia & Oceania Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Oceania Travel Writing & Commentary Witty
All stars
Most relevant
Attitude confirmation for me living and enjoying living in the bush, SE NSW.
Also a few more hard truths I need to attend, rectify.
Thank you for the advice, if unintentional.

Every soul living or contemplating living in the bush, a must read

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Watson beautifully captures a lifetime of thinking of our complicated place in the Australian bush. More than history, biography or philosophy could be in the singular- it achieves a depth that resonate wonderfully especially as someone with a similar journey as yet only half travelled

A genuine pleasure

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Amazing book, well worth the listen. Extremely well read and will resonate with many who love the bush

Awesome

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As deeply as he could go, Don has mined his soul and his intellect and reflected on life and history, readyng the reader to abandon the paltry myths, know the heartbreaking truths and to begin to "reclaim" the bush. Australian Indigenous peoples and conservation farmer scientists given a rare attempt at a fair rendition, if not hearing. i was simultaneously re-appalled to call myself Australian and made hopeful that it would be possible one day to reclaim a new kind of alliegence.

A truth telling....

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I have listened to this book in excess of a dozen times over the last few years. In that time I moved from a small town east of the ranges, to the city, and then western NSW. This has allowed me to get a deep understanding of many of the locations described by Don throughout the book. I would also say that this book has given me a deeper understanding of the places I have lived. This book is truely remarkable for its story telling of a lost time, about significant, and somewhat insignificant snippets of Australian bush life and the hard realities that come with it. I think Don’s reading of the book was perfect and made this audio version perfect.

Perfect

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.