|
In 1968, Baldwin moved to Queensland, Australia's Gold Coast and fell in love with the beach. He bought a business that supplied chairs and supplies for beach goers, and enjoyed the sun as much as they did, but he wanted to protect them from sunburn. So he devised a spray machine to quickly douse his customers with sunscreen. It's estimated he sprayed down three million people to protect them from the sun. He became known as "The Suntan Man" to beach regulars. "Everybody came to see Al," said his longtime friend Sue Bowman. "Celebrities, media and tourists -- everyone." Baldwin died September 14 from lymph cancer at 74, after managing one last visit to the beach three days before. From This is True for 12 September 2004 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Bill Bryson List Price: $14.95 Amazon Price: $10.17 Editorial Review: Bill Bryson follows his Appalachian amble, A Walk in the Woods, with the story of his exploits in Australia, where A-bombs go off unnoticed, prime ministers disappear into the surf, and cheery citizens coexist with the world's deadliest creatures: toxic caterpillars, aggressive seashells, crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and the deadliest of them all, the dreaded box jellyfish. And that's just the beginning, as Bryson treks through sunbaked deserts and up endless coastlines, crisscrossing the "under-discovered" Down Under in search of all things interesting. Bryson, who could make a pile of dirt compelling--and yes, Australia is mostly dirt--finds no shortage of curiosities. When he isn't dodging Portuguese man-of-wars or considering the virtues of the remarkable platypus, he visits southwest Gippsland, home of the world's largest earthworms (up to 12 feet in length). He discovers that Australia, which began nationhood as a prison, contains the longest straight stretch of railroad track in the world (297 miles), as well as the world's largest monolith (the majestic Uluru) and largest living thing (the Great Barrier Reef). He finds ridiculous place names: "Mullumbimby Ewylamartup, Jiggalong, and the supremely satisfying Tittybong," and manages to catch a cricket game on the radio, which is like listening to two men sitting in a rowboat on a large, placid lake on a day when the fish aren't biting; it's like having a nap without losing consciousness. It actually helps not to know quite what's going on. In such a rarefied world of contentment and inactivity, comprehension would become a distraction. "You see," Bryson observes, "Australia is an interesting place. It truly is. And that really is all I'm saying." Of course, Bryson--who is as much a travel writer here as a humorist, naturalist, and historian--says much more, and does so with generous amounts of wit and hilarity. Australia may be "mostly empty and a long way away," but it's a little closer now. --Rob McDonald Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity. Taking readers on a rollicking ride far beyond packaged-tour routes, In a Sunburned Country introduces a place where interesting things happen all the time, from a Prime Minister who was lost at sea while swimming at a Victoria beach to Japanese cult members who managed to set off an atomic bomb unnoticed on their 500,000-acre property. Leaving no Vegemite unsavored readers will accompany Bryson as he dodges jellyfish while learning to surf at Bondi Beach, discovers a fish that can climb trees, dehydrates in deserts where the temperatures leap to 140degreeF, and tells the true story of the rejected Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House. Published just in time for the Olympics, In a Sunburned Country provides a singularly intriguing, wonderfully wacky take on a glorious, adventure-filled locale.  By: Mary Pope Osborne List Price: $3.99 Amazon Price: $3.99 Editorial Review: "A feeling of dread came over Jack. 'What if...' he said. 'What if...' In the distance, a tree suddenly burst into flames. 'We're looking at a wildfire!' he said." On a magical mission from the mysterious tree house near their home in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania, Jack and his sister Annie find themselves in the wilds of Australia during a drought. Things heat up pretty quickly for this adventuresome pair, as what initially appears to be a campfire turns into something a lot more frightening. Meanwhile, one exotic animal after another crosses their paths, from koalas to kookaburras to kangaroos. In previous episodes of the Magic Tree House series, Jack and Annie found three of the four gifts they must receive in order to free an enchanted dog from a spell. Now they must track down "a gift from a kangaroo." But can they find this gift before the forest--and all its furry and feathered residents--burns up? This enormously popular series by award-winning author Mary Pope Osborne is full of thrills and enchantment. She manages to infuse each easy-to-read chapter book with heaps of historical, cultural, and geographical information, without ever missing a beat. (Ages 6 to 10) --Emilie CoulterJack and Annie are whisked down under to the land of Australia, where they save a baby kangaroo, a koala, and other animals from a raging wildfire.  By: Justine VaisutisBecca BlondLindsay BrownTerry CarterLara DunstonGeorge Dunford List Price: $29.99 Amazon Price: $19.79 Editorial Review: Discover Australia Feel the wind in your hair as you cruise the world's longest road; tips for driving across this magnificent, monster country. Find out where Lonely Planet's favorite Australians would rather be. Seek refuge in Cape Tribulation's Wet Tropics where the rainforest greets the sea. Join the dots; hear about Aboriginal culture from Australia's first people. In This Guide: 12 intrepid authors, over 70 weeks on-the-road research, 204 maps, one possum in a tent. Wine regions boxed and packaged, brilliant food in every state, decent coffee every 300kms! Visit lonelyplanet.com for reviews, daily updates and traveler suggestions.  By: J. Maarten Troost List Price: $12.95 Amazon Price: $10.36 Editorial Review: At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost—who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs—decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better. The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious story of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish—all in a country where the only music to be heard for miles around is “La Macarena.” He and his stalwart girlfriend Sylvia spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life). With The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Maarten Troost has delivered one of the most original, rip-roaringly funny travelogues in years—one that will leave you thankful for staples of American civilization such as coffee, regular showers, and tabloid news, and that will provide the ultimate vicarious adventure.  By: Peter Carey List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $16.47 Editorial Review: When the boy was almost eight, a woman stepped out of the elevator into the apartment on East Sixty-second Street and he recognized her straightaway. No one had told him to expect it. That was pretty typical of growing up with Grandma Selkirk . . . No one would dream of saying, Here is your mother returned to you. |
About the HUs
About This is True
Prev: Jack-O-Farmer Nick Venetucci Next: Accidental spy Iceal Hambleton |