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Michael Palin: Pole to Pole

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Michael Palin: Pole to Pole

By: Michael Palin
Narrated by: Michael Palin
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About this listen

In Pole to Pole we join Michael Palin on the second of his epic challenges. Travelling from the North Pole to the South Pole, he experiences every extreme the globe has to offer. As he crosses 16 countries by train, truck, raft, Ski-Doo, barge, balloon, and bicycle, he meets a diverse range of fascinating characters and landscapes while his own endurance is tested to the limit. With his customary aplomb, he plunges himself into the local cultures, starring in a crayfish documentary in Novgorod, attending a baby-rolling ceremony at a Cypriot wedding, and consulting an Mpulugu witch-doctor. He samples the local cuisines, from goat stew in Kigoma to seal lasagne in Tromsø, and the local customs, beating himself with birch twigs in a Finnish sauna and enjoying a mud massage in Odessa. His incredible journey is a delight for anyone interested in our weird, wonderful world.

©1999 Michael Palin (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Adventure Travel Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Polar Regions Travel Writing & Commentary Adventure Funny Feel-Good Suspenseful Thought-Provoking
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This is a really interesting journey with great narration by the author. Especially intriguing to reflect on the world he travelled through in the early 90s.

An interesting story with excellent narration

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Michael Palin has the gift of creating word pictures so the listener can feel he/she was actually there. His words have the ring of authenticity. Nothing is sensationalised, just told like it was. He is not afraid to revel both the light and the dark of himself, which makes him engaging.

I felt I was there ...

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By now, pretty much everyone knows what they're going to get when they read or listen to a Michael Palin travel book: If you're looking for a normal travel guide, this isn't it. If you're just wanting an audio version of the TV series, this isn't it either. The books delve much deeper into the day to day of the trip than was conveyed on the screen. You find out more about the crew that travel with MP on his travels, and the things that happen off camera. Think of this as the companion piece to the TV series. To get the full effect, you want both, and ideally you'd watch one episode, then read/listen to the chapters/days in the book that go along with it, etc...

As for the narration, MP is of course the only person who could do it. He's not just narrating the book, he's re-living it, and breathing life into the words for you.

I've only marked the "story" rating as a 4, because whilst it's a grwat read/listen, it doesn't *quite* reach the heights that he reached on Round the World and Full Circle....

How travel writing should be...

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I always start off these books being envious and end up being grateful that someone has given me all the pleasure without having to undergo the gruelling torment. Wonderful as usual.

Envy?

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I can't get enough of Palin, the way he paints a picture of the journey, makes you feel like you are there seeing his experience.
Can listen to him all day long, buying all of his books

A real journey

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