Pole to Pole

By: Michael Palin

Narrated by: Michael Palin

Three years after the epic adventure described in Around the World in 80 Days, Michael Palin was off again. Not circumnavigating the globe, but journeying from one end to the other: the North Pole to the South Pole. Following the 30 degree east line of longitude and using aircraft only as a last resort, Palin and his team endured extremes of heat and cold as they crossed 17 countries on trains, trucks, ships, rafts, ski-doos, buses, barges, bicycles, and balloons.

Whilst making his way down the world, Michael took part in an impressive and eclectic array of activities: a Russian kissing dance in Novgorod, a mud bath in Odessa, white-water rapids on the Zambesi and a squash game at 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Kartoum.

All of these adventures and more, including trying to buy a camel, are described by Michael Palin in his usual vivid and humorous style, leaving you wide-eyed with wonder whilst also laughing out loud.

©2014 Michael Palin (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Palin vividly reports on the almost daily changes in panorama and the acutely experienced differences in climate, culture, politics, plumbing, lodgings, food, and mores.....The narrative is witty and Palin's exuberance contagious." (Publishers Weekly)

A delightful voyage

I've listened to several of Palin's travels & this is by far one of my favorites (they are all good though!).

In this voyage, Palin and team begin at the north pole then cut down to greenland and through Europe. They eventually reach Africa and continue southwards.

Alas, in South Africa they experience insurmountable transportation issues and have to hop over to South America to continue down to the South Pole.

Palin's narration makes this trip a delight to listen to & brings alive the places they pass through.

Michael Palin is a great storyteller

Michael Palin, the ex Monty Python member, has become really a prolific author. I read his books on Brazil, The Erebus, and following the trail and life of Ernest Hemingway. I really enjoyed this book, although in the 30 years since it was written, there is so much that has changed with the world. I still would highly recommend a sport to anybody who enjoys travel by an author, with great observation skills, and a wonderful sense of humor.

fun!

Charmingly eccentric in an English sort of way. Palin is an astute observer and more whimsical than laugh out loud funny. It is nice to hear him read his own work and this book was time well spent.

It's not the destination...

This book is a followup to his Around the World in 80 Days book and, like that volume, is a good companion to the video series although it can be read and enjoyed on it's own. What makes either of these works worth listening to more than once is Michael's humanity when describing the pathos and comedy he encounters in his voyages. The sites that he visits are important, but only as much as they affect, or have been affected by, humanity. It is the stories of the characters and how they go about their lives, and the heart that goes into their telling, that makes you wish you were actually there along for the ride. It is the way that Michael describes the great highs and the dire lows of humanity's habitations and constructions and achievements that make his travelogues the ones that cause you to forget that you aren't actually eating cobra, waiting with trepidation at a hostile border crossing, or fending off unwanted attention. Short of actually going on the trip, this is the best way to go.

excellent as expected

Palin describes his incredible journey with wit and astute observation, every stage of his journey is fascinating.