Lonely Planet Sean & David's Long Drive

Sean fills his debut novel with enough wit, information, inaneness and Condonia to keep you smiling throughout this lengthy travelogue. I loved this book the first time I read it and my opinion hasn't changed yet. A lot of us readers will never get to visit many or most of the places Sean and David do so we have to rely on what Sean writes as a sort of (occasionally very) offbeat guide to Australia and Australians. Driving through the snow in Northern New Mexico I read then re-read a line in this book (Fossey Sisters in case you want to read that bit). I could not utter it to my girlfriend for laughing so much.I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in travel.

I have read this book twice. The first time was in Brisbane, Australia, when a friend gave it to me when, unknowingly, my girlfriend and I had just completed a very simmillar trip. I laughed very loudly at the some of the very obvious observations of a very funny man. I recently read the book again 1 year after leaving Oz and now back in the sunny UK. The sarcasm and the wit of the tale made me smile on every single page. This coupled with the fact that I now recognize and understand the less obvious truths about his country envoked a great deal of enjoyment. Mr Condon is a very talented man and I would tell anybody who has been to the heart of australia, and not just teh Opera House, to read this tale. BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ!

This is the book, at which, all other books shall be compared. Funny?...You bet!!! Educational?...Could not have been more so!!! Made me laugh?....til' the milk was coming out the nose. If the Gods have any sort of kindness in them, they will allow Mr Condan to continue traveling and writing throughout his days (this is by no means wishing homelessness upon you!). Someday the Pultzer guys will realize the grave mistake they made by overlooking this book, but until that day, I shall continue my quest of trying to get this book into every drawer of every bedtime nightstand in every Motel in America!!! If you havent read this book. Do so!!! Now!!!

I couldn't stop grinning when I read this book. Which was a bit embarassing as I was on the Tube in London at the time and you are not supposed to show any emotion on there! Excellent book - brought back memories as I have been all around Australia but the expressions were what cracked me up the most. Already passed it onto a friend and told others about it.

I'm an American who will be traveling to Australia for the first time in one week, so I read this book for "background." It's quite funny-- Sean Condon has a certain sarcastic yet empathic way of looking at the world. He's sort of a Gen-X cross between Bill Bryson and Dave Barry. What was also interesting to me is the degree to which American pop culture had totally saturated Sean and David's worldview and vocabulary as they talk back and forth during the trip. They not only reference the easy stuff that everyone in the Western world knows-- Charlton Heston, Disneyland-- but also obscure pop cultural references that I thought we had agreed to keep within our own borders-- e.g., The Hawaii epsiodes of "The Brady Bunch" and Snuggle the Bear. It sort of depresses me; I wished there was more of an even exchange, but I guess the only Australian pop cultural references shared by my generation here in the US are that "Kookaberra/gum tree" song and Crocodile Dundee. All in all this is an entertaining book. It shatters the impression of a desolate Outback when Sean can tune into bad TV shows from a hotel near Ayers Rock. I'm really looking forward to their next book, their drive across the US.