Australia

Historia said, "Banjo Patterson - poems from Australia. His long poem 'Man from Snowy River' is considered the BEST, and it surely does represent the Australian Outback. Could also be read for books to movies as well. Alice Springs by Nevil Shute is another good book."

Banjo Paterson (Complete Poems) is one of Australia's best-loved poets and his verse is among Australia's enduring traditions. This complete collection of verse shows the bush balladeer at his very best with favorites such as "A Bush Christening," "The Man from Ironbark," "Clancy of the Overflow," and the immortal "The Man from Snowy River." A. B. (Banjo) Paterson was born in Australia in 1864 and wrote poetry and fiction from 1900 until his death in 1941.

A Town Like Alice tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a Japanese "death march" in World War II, and of an Australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help her — even at the cost of his life. When an old Scottish man dies, his sole heir is a young woman named Jean Paget, who is soon off to Malaya to repay the village where she stayed during WWII by digging a well. The story, based on real life, is about how she and other women were held prisoner by the Japanese, but eventually found refuge in a small village. They had encountered Joe Harmon, a young Australian, who was crucified for stealing food for them. When Paget returns to Malaya, she learns that Harmon had survived and returned to Australia, where eventually meet up. Jean, determined to make her home in Harmon's area, sets out to make the godforsaken town into "A Town Like Alice" (Alice Springs).