JOHN GUNTHER'S INSIDE AUSTRALIA

The ninth and last of Gunther's well-worn inside books -- he died before finishing it and Forbis, with the help of Gunther's wife Jane, completed the work. It follows the pat format which tactfully might be described as neo-suitcase. All the essentials -- geography, language, people, history, industry, places, politics -- are packed in but there's only room for so Kanga-bloody-roo much, mate. So you kip here for a few pages and meet a jackeroo there and then hustle off to Canberra or New Zealand (three chapters worth) or New South Wales, enjoying this relatively fresh and unfinished continent and its cheery blokes while keeping in mind the dark side -- the pro-Caucasian immigration policy (one official commented ""Two Wongs don't make a white""); the Aborigine problem (assimilate? integrate? reservations?). And so it goes and you will too, observing on the outside but cramped on the inside.