Hi - I really enjoy travel writing, but have never gotten around to Michael Palin (ex-Monty Python-ite). Has anyone here read or seen any of his travel writings and/or videos? Which is the best, or which should I start with? Thanks in advance.
Well, he started with Around the World in Eighty Days, then Pole to Pole. That sounds like a good start to me.
Read/watch them in the same order he did them. Around the World in 80 Days had the best classic inspiration, and was good enough to inspire all the follow-ups. Pole to Pole and Full Circle are also good, and both have references to Monty Python that are kinda fun to pick up on.
Having listened to several of Michael Palin’s travel books on audio, I would suggest that that is the ideal way to experience his work. Unlike the tv specials, which are distractingly artificial and staged (though still enjoyable), the books peel back the artifice and show you, as it were, the real Palin: he has more freedom to explore how he truly thinks and feels about what he encounters, and he offers a glimpse of the often burdensome logistics of traveling the world with a film crew and tons of equipment in tow. And by opting for the audio version, you’re not sacrificing the pleasure of Palin’s presence; he’s as charming and fun to listen to as he is to watch.