Michael Palin wordt geroemd om zijn dubbele carrière als baanbrekende absurdistische komiek en boeiende reiziger-documentairemaker. Oorspronkelijk beroemd geworden als een sleutellid van de iconische comedygroep, schreef en speelde hij mee in enkele van de meest memorabele satirische sketches. Overstappend naar een diepgaande verkenning van de wereld, heeft Palin sindsdien uitgebreide reizen ondernomen en zijn ervaringen gedocumenteerd met een unieke mix van intellectuele nieuwsgierigheid en minzame humor. Zijn geschreven verslagen en televisieseries bieden lezers en kijkers een intiem inkijkje in diverse culturen en landschappen, gekenmerkt door inzichtelijke observatie en een oprechte waardering voor het menselijke aspect.
In this fourth volume of Michael Palin's acclaimed diaries, readers are invited into the intimate and humorous reflections of the author's life during a pivotal period. The entries capture his experiences as a celebrated actor and traveler, blending personal anecdotes with insights into his creative processes. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for storytelling, Palin shares his adventures, challenges, and the evolution of his career, offering a rich tapestry of life behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.
In this engaging third volume of Michael Palin's diaries, readers are invited into the life of the beloved actor and writer as he reflects on his adventures and experiences. The entries capture his travels, creative pursuits, and personal insights, offering a candid glimpse into the joys and challenges he faced during this period. With humor and warmth, Palin shares anecdotes that highlight both his professional endeavors and personal relationships, making it a delightful read for fans and newcomers alike.
The diaries offer an intimate glimpse into Michael Palin's life during the 1980s, capturing his experiences while filming iconic projects like "The Meaning of Life" and "A Fish Called Wanda." Through humorous anecdotes and personal reflections, Palin shares behind-the-scenes stories, insights into his creative process, and interactions with fellow cast members. This candid account not only highlights his career but also reveals the cultural landscape of the time, making it a compelling read for fans of film and comedy.
HMS „Erebus” był jednym z najwspanialszych okrętów, weteranem przełomowych ekspedycji na krańce świata. W 1848 roku, wraz z HMS „Terror” i 129 członkami wyprawy, zaginął w Arktyce podczas próby wytyczenia trasy przez Przejście Północno-Zachodnie, a jego los spowiła mgła tajemnicy. W 2014 roku został odnaleziony. Książka to barwny opis doświadczeń pierwszych odkrywców Ziemi Wiktorii w Antarktydzie, którzy zaledwie kilka lat później zamarzli w lodach Arktyki, mimo desperackich misji ratunkowych. To sugestywna relacja z niezwykłej przygody, wskrzeszona przez podróżnika i gawędziarza. MICHAEL PALIN, gwiazda grupy Monty Pythona, podkreśla, że to niesamowita książka, której nie można odłożyć. „Sunday Times” zauważa, że bez reszty pochłania czytelnika, a David Baddiel z „Daily Mail” określa ją jako wspaniałą opowieść. Sara Wheeler w „Observer” chwali barwny pamiętnik, który ujawnia wiele informacji o odkryciach i Królewskiej Marynarce Wojennej w XIX wieku. Dan Snow dodaje, że autor wnosi do książki umiejętności historyka, pisarza i podróżnika, a Erica Wagner z „Financial Times” opisuje tekst jako żywy i sugestywny. Chris Evans z BBC Radio 2 podkreśla, że to genialna książka, o której wszyscy mówią.
From the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, who died in tragic circumstances, he was determined to find out more about him.The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him.Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest.
In March 2022, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin journeyed along the River Tigris and into Iraq to gain a glimpse of life in an area of the world that can claim to be the cradle of civilisation, that has seen the rise and fall of extraordinary and rich cultures, but that over the past two decades has witnessed turmoil and appalling bloodshed. Now he shares the journal he meticulously kept during his trip, in which he describes a country where the past and the present are constantly intermixed. One minute he is exploring the ruins of Babylon, one of the world's most ancient cities. The next he is scanning the plumes of smoke rising from burn-off towers in the vast oilfields outside Basra or surveying the still war-torn landscape around Tikrit or talking to survivors of Saddam Hussein's campaign against the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq. Peppered throughout with his trademark warmth and wry humour, and illustrated with beautiful colour photographs throughout, the journal offers a wonderful and rare insight into Iraq in all its extraordinary variety.
Intrepid voyager, writer, and comedian Michael Palin explores the expeditions of the Royal Navy's HMS Erebus, which ventured to the world's extremes. The narrative begins post-Waterloo when Britain had more bomb ships than enemies. HMS Erebus, with its reinforced hull, was selected for an 1839 expedition to Antarctica, led by James Clark Ross. Despite sailing further south than anyone before, Antarctica failed to capture public interest. The British navy sought to assert its dominance by finding a route through the North-West Passage, leading to Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 mission. At 59, deemed too old for such a perilous journey, Franklin and his crew set off, provisioned for three Arctic winters. They were last seen by whalers in July, and no one ever saw them again. Subsequent searches revealed the tragic fate of the explorers, who succumbed to hunger and scurvy after abandoning their ships in the ice. The mystery endured until HMS Erebus was discovered in 2014, thirty feet below Arctic waters. Palin examines the contrasting motives of the two expeditions—one scientific, the other nationalistic—through historical records and modern travels to key locations, capturing the haunting echoes of Erebus and the secrets that still lie beneath the waters of Nunavut's Queen Maud Gulf.
19. Mai 1845, Greenhithe, England: Sir John Franklin macht sich mit 134 Männern und zwei Schiffen, der Terror und der Erebus, auf den Weg ins arktische Eis, um den letzten weißen Fleck der Nordwestpassage zu kartieren. Drei Jahre später verschwinden die Schiffe, ihr Schicksal und das ihrer Crews bleibt mehr als anderthalb Jahrhunderte lang ein Rätsel – bis 2014 vor der Nordküste Kanadas ein wahrhaftiger Schatz gefunden wird: das Wrack der HMS Erebus. Michael Palin – Monty-Python-Star, Weltenbummler und begnadeter Erzähler – entfaltet in seinem lebendigen und atmosphärischen Bestseller die so glanzvolle wie tragische Geschichte der Erebus; von ihrem Stapellauf über zahlreiche Fahrten auf allen Weltmeeren, die ihr und den vom Forschungsgeist getriebenen Entdeckern Ruhm brachte, bis hin zu der verhängnisvollen Expedition in die Arktis, die in einer Katastrophe endete.
THE BOOK BEHIND THE HIT DOCUMENTARY A glimpse of life inside the world's most secretive country, as told by Britain's best-loved travel writer. In May 2018, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin spent two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations. His resulting documentary for Channel 5 was widely acclaimed. Now he shares his day-by-day diary of his visit, in which he describes not only what he saw - and his fleeting views of what the authorities didn't want him to see - but recounts the conversations he had with the country's inhabitants, talks candidly about his encounters with officialdom, and records his musings about a land wholly unlike any other he has ever visited - one that inspires fascination and fear in equal measure. Written with Palin's trademark warmth and wit, and illustrated with beautiful colour photographs throughout, the journal offers a rare insight into the North Korea behind the headlines.
