Product Description

Mary and her young brother Peter are the only survivors of an aircrash in the middle of the Australian desert. Facing death from exhaustion and starvation, they meet an aboriginal boy who helps them to survive, and guides them along their long journey. But a terrible misunderstanding results in a tragedy that neither Mary nor Peter will ever forget...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1008392 in Books
• Published on: 1979-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

An insightful classic of its own kind.
Walkabout is a story of the unification of two cultures that are 10,000 years apart. Peter and Mary, two American kids from Charleston, South Carolina, end up in the ruthless Australian outback where not one person is found in miles, just true desolation, after their plane crashes on a flight to visit their uncle in civilized Adelaide. However they don't encounter what we call civilized. Almost on the point of dying they find an aborigine who saves them from hunger. The boy teaches them how to survive in his habitat from finding alkaloola (water) to how to kill fish in a fresh water pond. The aborigine performs his tribal dances, taking them hand in hand through the weird and mysterious world of one of the most primitive cultures ever seen on earth. One of the most important customs performed by the aboriginal people is the "walkabout" really the initiation to manhood, just like the bush boy is doing in the story, Mary and Peter however are not on a walkabout to manhood but a walk for survival. The author explains the wonderful surroundings with such detail that you feel you are there living every moment. From Koalas to baby Wombats, reading this book is like diving into an ecological realm. A story of insight and warmth straight from the heart. The book accomplishes what it's set out for to teach us more about the aboriginal people, as each chapter, which might seem long but very informative. If you are being assigned this book get ready to consider it a gift and if you are reading by choice you are guaranteed to consider it a very smart move.

Walkabout In A Nutshell
The book Walkabout by James Vance Marshall portrays the difficulties that arise when two siblings find themselves lost in the Australian Outback fighting to stay survive. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it showed how the children were guided and how the knowledge of an Aborigine boy provides a vital source of information that greatly increases their chances of survival. The story had an excellent flow to it, and the word choice is exceptional, Marshall's description of the land lets the readers imaginations' run rampant. My only complaint about this book would be the fact that it was a little slow at times, but overall it was an excellent, well-written book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is captivated by the television show Survivor. There are so many descriptions of native plant life and species of animals that provide a source of nutrition for the children. Also, anyone who is interested in the outdoors and living in harsh, extreme conditions would be fascinated by the techniques that are used to stay alive by the Aborigine boy. These skills have been used for thousands upon thousands of years, but they still hold true even in the technologically advanced 21st century. This book was an excellent read, and it would most likely be enjoyed by anyone who read it.

Dated but still a compelling read
As dated as this book is and remember it was first published in the 1950s, there is something compelling about it that makes you want to read it from cover to cover.

The plot in itself is quite simple, two white children, a boy and a girl are lost in the Australian outback after a plane crash which kills the crew; neither child has any experience in the art of surviving in a hostile environment and it is only by luck they are found by a young Aborigine boy who is on Walkabout, a trek he must make alone before he can be called a man.

The story follows the children and their saviour through the outback until the death of the Aborigine caused either by the racial prejudice of the white girl who fears the Aborigine along possibly with her own blossoming sexuality (however I am not so sure about this because of the era the book was written in) or the fact he (the Aborigine) did not have any immunity against the diseases that while people carried such as the common cold.

Either way the children are on their own again but they now have the survival skills they need to make their way back to their own world which is filled all the trappings of supposed civilisation, such as technology and racism.

A surprisingly haunting read even now in the 21st century and it was made into a film some years ago with Jenny Agutter in the leading role.