'Ben Stubbs uncovers the sheer delight and surprise of discovering what's in your own backyard.' - Bob Byrne, author of Adelaide Remember When and Australia Remember When

Outsiders thinkof South Australia as being different, without really knowing much about it. Combininghis own travel across the million-square kilometres of the state with aninvestigation of its history, Ben Stubbs seeks to find out what South Australiais really like.

In the spirit ofthe best travel writing and literary non-fiction, he lingers in places of quietbeauty and meets some memorable people. Along the way he debunks most of thecliches that plague the state. Travelling to Maralinga, Ceduna, KangarooIsland, the Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, the storied Adelaide suburb ofElizabeth and the once-mighty river that is the Murray, Stubbs brings thisdiverse state to life. He even addresses head-on the question 'Is SouthAustralia weird?'

Readers will find it hard toresist the book's implicit invitation to take a look at places much closer tohome, to take the time to drink in dramatic landscapes that are slow, deep andspeckled with unforgettable characters.

'Takes you where the silence is massive and the beauty unexpected.' - Christopher Kremmer

'Out beyond the vineyards and the festivals that everyone knows, Ben Stubbs finds tales of South Australia's beauties and dangers: great white sharks and megafauna fossils, opal mines and limestone caves, nuclear tests and murderous camels, 19th century settler towns and timeless Aboriginal stories.' - Kerryn Goldsworthy, author ofAdelaide