John Howard, who Bill Bryson eviscerated in Down Under for being ''by far the dullest man in Australia''.

''Imagine a very committed funeral home director - someone whose burning ambition from the age of 11 was to be a funeral home director, whose proudest achievement in adulthood was to be elected president of the Queanbeyan and District Funeral Home Directors Association - then halve his personality and halve it again, and you have pretty well got John Howard.''