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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 Funny Adventure Witty Feel-Good Suspenseful Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant  
Love it, if you loved the series you're in for a treat. Gives you all that and the different pictures Michael paints with his words.

Travel with the legend

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loved it, - good easily listening , think everything he does is enjoyable - one word remaining

great

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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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Palin has an easy style of narration and - unsurprisingly - is completely at home with his text. His knack of noticing the remarkable and unremarkable, and comparing these with our everyday home life is engaging. It’s a wonderful antidote to the (American) “Buy six now!” “Your life depends on THIS!!” style that makes him - for me - such a good travelling companion. Quite short, and definitely recommended.

Short, Palin-esque, sweet

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Pole to Pole is another fantastic travel story from Michael Palin and is full of interesting twists and turns as they travel through Europe and Africa

Another Palin classic

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Another incredible adventure from Michael Palin. Read as always with wit and much charm. Palin really stakes a claim as the greatest living Englishman.

Pole to Pole

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Planned as an adventure and the ultimate road trip, the choice to pass through Eastern Europe in 1991 proved momentous as Michael finds himself an accidental witness to the last days of the Soviet Union. A fascinating journey through wildly contrasting geographies and culture, told by Michael Palin himself in his trademark style: that gentle blend of humour, honesty, keen observation and respect for the fascinating people he meets.

An adventure and an unexpected time capsule

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Ok if you do, this is Michael's second outing, after round the world, and while it doesn't have the same time pressure, Mr Palin comes good with a very god travelogue of a world sadly past, he would I fear not be able to do the same trip now

It's Michael Palin, do you need any more ?

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Great story telling, voice, accents and adventures on a fantastic journey to wonderful places meeting some incredible people. Wish he’d spent more time describing the famous cities.

Great adventure and story telling

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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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