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Full Circle
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Having gone round the world and down the poles in Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole, it seems fitting that Michael Palin should complete his travel odyssey for the BBC by completing Full Circle, the book which describes his journey through the 18 countries which border the Pacific Rim, and which make a rough circle of 11,000 miles in diameter. The result is a journey which, even by Palin's standards, is truly epic.
Pole to Pole represents what is probably Palin's most ambitious piece of travel writing to date, as he gradually begins to piece together a common Pacific culture, as he travels through Russia, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Australia and South America. Often the sheer scope of the journey becomes overwhelming and slightly impressionistic, but as ever Palin's wit and wonder at his discoveries and encounters is unflagging, from the wonders of the ancient civilisations of Asia to the startling modernity and squalor of Latin America. It's all enough to turn you into a Buddhist, and, in Full Circle, Palin comes as close to conversion as it's possible for an old Python. --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
In this account of the third of Michael Palin's travel adventures for BBC Television, he journeys for almost a year, covering 50,000 miles and all of the 18 countries that border the Pacific Ocean, encompassing a wide diversity of landscape, culture and people. The Pacific Rim is one of the world's most volatile areas, with economies that are expanding faster than anywhere else on earth - and here the earth itself is in a constant state of flux. Not for nothing is the Pacific coastline known as the "Ring of Fire" - volcanoes mark Palin's journey like stepping stones, and he climbs one which has recently erupted and is still smoking. He negotiates mountains and plunging gorges, crosses glaciers, dodges icebergs, follows great rivers such as the Yangtse and the Amazon, and confronts the notorious Cape Horn and the wild and windswept beaches of western Alaska. The people Palin meets include one of the few remaining survivors of a Siberian Gulag camp, head-hunters in Borneo, and Japanese monks. He eats maggots in Mexico, rustles camels in the Australian desert, lands a plane in Seattle, and sings with the Pacific Fleet choir in Vladivostock.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Michael Palin's longest journey of them all,
By
This review is from: Full Circle: A Pacific Journey with Michael Palin (Radio Collection) (Audio CD)
Michael Palin's "Full Circle" trip involved traveling all of the way around the Pacific Ocean. He (and his film crew) started at the Bering Strait in Alaska and then traveled down the Asian side of the Pacific, crossed over to Cape Horn, and traveled up through South and North America, returning to Alaska.The trip covered 50,000 miles through 17 countries in ten months. Specifically, these countries were visited: USA (Alaska), Russia (Siberia), Japan, S. Korea (entry to N. Korea was denied), China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, USA (California and Washington), Canada (British Columbia) and back to Alaska again. This trip, like the other ones done by Michael Palin for the BBC, was filmed for viewing as a television mini-series. (This version is available on DVD.) Afterwards, Michael Palin and Basil Pao (the stills photographer in the filming crew) created this book as an alternative record of the trip. The book is richly illustrated with Basil Pao's beautiful photographs. Michael Palin's text is wonderful because he has a way of finding interesting places and people and of describing them with warmth and humor. The diversity of the many countries and places is amazing. Artic wilderness, tropics, deserts, cramped cities, huge rivers, high mountains, etc., etc. There are many high points along the way, the most exciting being when Michael Palin had to lasso a camel while standing in the back of a pickup truck that was going over bumps and around bends at break-neck speed! At the same time, Michael Palin does not shy back from visiting and describing the thought-provoking places along his journey. The Russian Gulag in Siberia, Hiroshima and the remembrance of the atomic bomb, the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea and the border between Mexico and the United States are all discussed with unusual insight. This book easily deserves five stars. Except for the audio version, that is. The nice thing about the audio version is that Michael Palin reads the book himself, and he does a great job as a reader. But the audio version does not include Basil Pao's beautiful photographs, of course, and worst of all, it's abridged. My dislike of abridged audio books results in me giving the audio book version only three stars. Rennie Petersen
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
full circle michael palin,
By road nomad (ebbw vale wales) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: Full Circle (Paperback)
yet another great book from mr palin. i have read his previous books ,pole to pole,sahara,himalayas and around the world in 80 days. this book is on par with his previous books. well worth reading whether you are a seasoned traveller or just want a good book to read. i read this book in a couple of days.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
The book does not match up to the TV programme,
By A Customer
This review is from: Full Circle: A Pacific Journey with Michael Palin (Hardcover)
The companion to the TV series of the same name does not add much that was not seen on the screen. In fact despite the many glossy photos, the atmosphere which was ably captured on television has not been transferred to print. The book takes the form of a diary of the former Python's travels around the Pacific Rim, and details his and the crew's experiences. The TV series worked well as it highlighted the cultural diversity of the area and the spectacular, but these are elements which can not be converted to book form without a far more in depth commentary which was not possible for an author who typically spent two days in each city. I would recommend buying the video rather than the book.
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