These days new travelogues are released every day, recording the travails of a lonely traveller in a strange land. One tends to forget the works of the pioneers who first sat in some sort of vehicle, passing commentary on the local people and their customs.

For many years, "In the Land of Oz" held a prominent position in the Australian psyche, being the first major work on looking at Australia from an outsider's eyes. Jacobson and his wife lap Australia, taking in the sights and the local customs. There is nothing too much of a revelation in here but Jacobson's writing is sharp, as is his eye for detail. Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburnt Country" is better and funnier but "In the land of Oz" is still worth thumbing through. ( )