Pole to Pole with Michael Palin: North to South by Camel, River Raft, and Balloon

by Michael Palin

Book Overview

'Home seems impossibly far away as we step out onto a rough base of ice and snow. The temperature is -25 C. This is considered warm . . .' Michael Palin's journey from North to South Pole sees him... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0912333413
• ISBN13: 9780912333410
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Kqed Books
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Best of the series

This time, avoiding the obvious too-much-time-at-sea problems of "Around the World in 80 days", Palin's team becomes a marvel of light travel and problem-solving in this somewhat dangerous, honest and good-natured tour of 1990 Eastern Europe and Africa. The music's better too. The best of his series, without a doubt, and possibly the best of this genre of travelogue.

It's like I was there, but in book form!

I actually purchased the book before seeing the series, noting the name Michael Palin on the cover, and remembering his adventures around the world in 80 days. The fact that I did not see the show somehow made the book more enjoyable to read. Palin has a very descriptive, yet easy-to-follow writing style, which helped me vividly imagine the exotic locales & various personalities. Of course, the photos by Basil Pao helped a lot. All in all, great work, so much so that it doesn't feel like a TV companion, but a travelogue that can stand strongly on its own.

A superhappyterrific fun-time video series

Michael Palin takes us on a voyage from North to South Pole and along the way introduces the interpid couch-traveller to some great sights, inateresting people, and the usual Palin humor. Highlights include the fjords of Norway, Russia and the Ukraine before the general's coup and a crazy long trip through the heart of Africa. Lots of fun...a great way to spend a cold autumn saturday.

A Great Travel Book

In this, the best of his travel works (see also Around the World in 80 Days and Full Circle), Palin travels along the 30 degree longitude line, which takes him to many rarely-travelled places, including Chernobyl and parts of Africa where there simply are no roads to travel.Throughout, Palin is witty and insightful, and one wishes they were with him (except for the scene with the maggots). While travel writing might seem boring, Palin makes it interesting, and exciting. I devoured all his travel books within a very short period of time, and was left wanting more.