Michael Palin

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BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: Sahara: Description:
crossing of sahara desert, from BBC series

Title: Pole To Pole: Description:
Having circumnavigated the globe from west to east in Around the World in 80 Days, Michael Palin proceeded to stretch even his endurance with his next journey, travelling due south from the North Pole, arriving five months later at the southernmost point of the globe, the South Pole. The result is Pole to Pole, Palin's account of his extraordinary journey between July and December 1991, passing through 17 countries from Greenland and the former Soviet Union in the north to Kenya, South Africa and Chile in the south. From the frozen wastes of both poles, to the scorching heat of Africa, Pole to Pole is a travelogue of bizarre extremes. Palin revels in the surrealism of it all as he travels through a range of vastly different European and African communities undergoing massive social and political upheavals in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Palin's shrewd observations are as ever interspersed with his eye for the weird and the comical, as he meets Santa Claus and Lenin, goes shopping for camels in Omdurman, and makes a final hectic dash to the South Pole via Chile. It's all quite exhausting! --Jerry Brotton

Title: The Pythons' Autobiography By The Pythons: Description:
That The Pythons by the Pythons is going to be an absolute treat is evident even from the book's blurb. The six men behind Monty Python's Flying Circus--the most influential of all British TV satires--are actually four Englishmen, one Welshman and an interloping American, and it's largely in the words of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam that we're told about the fractious process through which one of the great glories of British TV and film came into being. Yes, Graham Chapman is here too, although sadly he died some years ago. The acerbic Chapman would have loved the frequent irreverent references to the fact that now he's dead. But nobody is spared in the hilarious introduction: its unsparing analyses of the post-Python careers of the participants would have most showbusiness types phoning their lawyers. But that's just one of the many joys in this chunky, arm-straining celebration of the glorious and surrealistic humour of the Monty Python team. Bob McCabe, the man who managed to corral the unruly members of the team here, has helped create this marvellous tome. It functions as a history of a well-loved comedy phenomenon, a biography of six extremely talented men and also a really eye-catching object: the book's design utilises the unmistakable animation style, created by Terry Gilliam, that was so much a part of the TV series and films. The iconoclastic attitude to the participants is perfect, but who would have accepted anything less from social critics as deadly as the Python team? In fact, the revelation here that they were often at each others' throats suggests that inter-Python conflict may have been the catalyst that produced their inimitable humour. The only problem with The Pythons by the Pythons is resisting the temptation to read it at a sitting. --Barry Forshaw

Title: Himalaya: Description:
The book of the TV series - or vice versa!

Title: Hemingway's Chair: Description:
Life is pretty straightforward for Martin Sproale; in fact the only thing that's exceptional about Martin is his obsession with Ernest Hemingway.

Title: Hemingway's Chair: Description:
great story from the monty python star

Title: Sahara: Description:
Michael Palin's epic voyages have seen him circumnavigate the globe, travel from the North to the South Pole and circle the countries of the Pacific Ocean, but this was perhaps the greatest challenge yet: to cross the vast and merciless Sahara desert. As the journey unfolds, the Sahara reveals not the emptiness of endless sand dunes, but a huge and diverse range of cultures and landscapes and a long history of commerce and conquest stretching from the time of the ancient Egyptians to the oil-rich Islamic republics of today. On his way, he encounters dangers such as camel stew, being run over by the Paris-Dakar rally and Dakar nightlife, as well as returning to the original spot where THE LIFE OF BRIAN was fimed. This is travel writing at its very best. About the Author Michael Palin is one of the most popular comic figures of our time. His exploits with the Monty Python team and in subsequent films such as A FISH CALLED WANDA are now the stuff of legend. It is as the adventurous traveller of his major television series however that he has acquired a vast and loyal following.

Title: Monty Python's Flying Circus: Just The Words: V. 1: Description:
This is the first volume of complete and unedited scripts from the four series of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", with most of the 45 scripts published for the first time. It is published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Monty Python show on BBC television.

Title: Monty Python's Flying Circus: Just The Words: V. 2: Description:
This is the second volume of complete and unedited scripts from the four series of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", with most of the 45 scripts published for the first time. It is published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Monty Python show on BBC television.

Title: Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure: Description:
When Michael Palin was researching for his novel HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR his interest was stimulated by Hemingway's appetite for travel and 'Papa's' evocations of the places he knew. Hemingway remains a compelling figure, and Palin's goal was to revisit Hemingway's world. This book includes the American West ('wide lawns and narrow minds'), Idaho, Michigan ('fly fishing, hunting'), Europe in the First World (where Hemingway was wounded serving in the Ambulance Brigade), Cuba (where Hemingway wrote FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS), Paris in the Roaring Twenties and Spain during the Spanish Civil War, Sun Valley and Key West - where the Hemingway lookalike competition is an annual event. About the Author Michael Palin is one of the most popular comic figures of our time. His exploits with the Monty Python team and in subsequent films such as A Fish Called Wanda are now the stuff of legend. It is as the adventurous traveller of his major television series however that he has acquired a vast and loyal following.

Title: New Europe: Description:
Until the early 1990s, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, travelling behind the iron curtain was never easy. In undertaking his new journey through Eastern Europe, breathing in its rich history, filming its exquisite sights and talking to its diverse peoples, Michael fills what has been a void in his own experience and that of very many of his own generation. As in all his series, Palin's New Europe takes the form of a journey through countries which have rich and complex cultures. Few have survived intact, as the ebb and flow of warring armies has continually changed the map of Europe. Starting in the mountains of Slovenia he travels down through Croatia and the former Yugoslavia to Albania before turning northwards to embrace Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, The Ukraine, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, the former East Germany, Poland, the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad (as Konigsberg originally home to the Teutonic Knights), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, opening up a new and undiscovered world to millions of viewers and readers. About the Author Michael Palin established his reputation with MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS and RIPPING YARNS. A self-confessed dromomaniac (travel addict), he has written books to accompany his six very successful travel series, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1988), POLE TO POLE (1991), FULL CIRCLE (1995), HEMINGWAY ADVENTURE (1999), SAHARA (2001) and HIMALAYA (2003), the last three published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. HIMALAYA was the No 1 bestseller for 11 consecutive weeks.

Title: Himalaya: Description:
In this his most challenging journey, Michael Palin tackles the Himalaya, the greatest mountain range on earth, a virtually unbroken wall of rock stretching 1800 miles from the borders of Afghanistan to south-west China. Penetrated but never conquered, it remains the world's most majestic natural barrier, a magnificent wilderness that shapes the history and politics of Asia to this day. Having risen to the challenge of seas, poles, dhows and deserts, the highest mountains in the world were a natural target for Michael Palin. In a journey rarely, if ever, attempted before, in 6 months of hard travelling Palin takes on the full length of the Himalaya including the Khyber Pass, the hidden valleys of the Hindu Kush, ancient cities like Peshawar and Lahore, the mighty peaks of K2, Annapurna and Everest, the bleak and barren plateau of Tibet, the gorges of the Yangtze, the tribal lands of the Indo-Burmese border and the vast Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh.Facing altitudes as high as 17,500 feet as well as some of the world's deepest gorges, Palin also passed through political flashpoints like Pakistan's remote north-west frontier, terrorist-torn Kashmir and the mountains of Nagaland, only recently open to visitors. They had a brush with the Maoists while filming in Nepal and advice from the Dalai Lama before crossing into Tibet. This book, compiled from his diaries, records the pleasure and pain of an extraordinary journey. Basil Pao, the inspired photographer of SAHARA, FULL CIRCLE and POLE TO POLE, captures the sensational beauty of the finest mountain scenery in the world. This is adventure at the very highest level. About the Author Michael Palin is one of the most popular comic figures of our time. His exploits with the Monty Python team and in subsequent films such as A FISH CALLED WANDA are now the stuff of legend. It is as the adventurous traveller of his major television series however that he has acquired a vast and loyal following.

Title: Bert Fegg's Nasty Book For Boys And Girls: Description:
We hope that Dr Fegg's charming book will bring delight and instruction to your little ones and their friends. "A childs greatest gift is its laughter" - Dr. Fegg.

Title: Full Circle: Description:
Book about his travels

Title: Michael Palins Hemingway Adventure: Description:
Michael Palin travels in search of the legend - Ernest Hemmingway

Title: Sahara: Description:
Michael Palin travels throughout the desert in diary form.

Title: Pole To Pole: Description:
Michael Palins own record of the pain and pleasure of this journey.