There and Back, Michael Palin
There and Back, Michael Palin
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There and Back
Diaries 1999-2009: The brand new volume from the beloved author, TV icon and Monty Python star

Author: Michael Palin

Narrator: Michael Palin

Unabridged: 27 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/26/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

'A social history of Britain spanning four decades, told with unflagging empathy and wit ' Jonathan Coe, Observer

THE FOURTH VOLUME OF MICHAEL PALIN'S BESTSELLING DIARIES

There and Back is a new window into the world of Michael Palin, following him as he comes and goes through the filming of four blockbuster travel documentaries and begins to publish his personal diaries for the very first time.

From TV success to writer's block, Python reunions to lunches with Alan Bennett, the sadness of losing his good friend George Harrison to the joys of welcoming his first grandchild, these diaries document a decade of highs, lows and everything in between - all with the warmth, humour and heart for which Michael is renowned.

About Michael Palin

Michael Palin has written and starred in numerous TV programmes and films, from Monty Python and Ripping Yarns to The Missionary and The Death of Stalin. He has also made several much-acclaimed travel documentaries, his journeys taking him to the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe and Brazil. His books include accounts of his journeys, two novels (Hemingway's Chair and The Truth), three volumes of diaries, Erebus, the Story of a Ship and Great Uncle Harry. From 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Royal Geographical Society. He received a BAFTA fellowship in 2013, and a knighthood in the 2019 New Year Honours list. He lives in London.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Iain on November 23, 2024

Another 10 years in the company of Michael Palin as he enters his 60s. The working class lad from Sheffield has come a long way and there are lots of visits to meet the Royal family and Downing Street to meet the PM, and patron trips to art galleries - and yet Palin still manages to maintain a groun......more

Goodreads review by Ita on October 02, 2024

I can’t wait to re-read this already. Michael’s honesty throughout this decade of memories is equal parts reassuring and refreshing. Some slight spoilers ahead, but he writes so wonderfully about his doubts about his own work, his presenting; his writing, his everyday interactions, audience reaction......more

Goodreads review by Jerry on March 08, 2025

When you are a fan of a celebrity you think you ‘know’ them, but a diary shows you you know very little of their full life. Only after reading it do you feel you really ‘know’ them, but also with the humility that you ‘know’ only a bigger piece.......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on March 22, 2025

Another entertaining batch of Michael Palin’s diaries. It’s quite interesting that the general political/global themes that he writes about you here, are still prevalent now, Russia/Ukraine, Palestine/Israel and cost of living. Probably a sign that we never learn from history.......more

Goodreads review by James on May 20, 2025

Very sad as I am now at the end of listening to his diaries. A wonderful man with the purest soul. Quite funny when I got up to the bit in his diaries where he talks about publishing his diaries.......more

Quotes

True, this evolving series is the ultimate comfort read, but it's also much more than that: a social history of Britain spanning four decades, told with unflagging empathy and wit Observer

Michael Palin knows what makes a good diary . . . it's his attention to the mundane, above all, that makes his diaries so enjoyable to read Daily Telegraph

The dynamic [between the Pythons] remains eternally fascinating: there's a permanent tension and endless bickering, but also a huge, unshakeable love . . . [Palin is] less of a national treasure and more of a sacred monument Waitrose Magazine

A friend's foolishness, his own fears, the minutiae of preparing for an overseas expedition, Palin writes it all down, so we know what happened and so he does as well . . . Perhaps that's why diaries are such an engaging literary form. Like our own lives they veer between the everyday and the profound Radio Times

In the fourth volume of diaries from the Monty Python alumnus, we get to hang out with this thoughtful, amusing, affectionate, intellectually curious man over a decade . . . This is full of friends (numerous, often famous), funerals and fun Saga Magazine

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