Customer Reviews
From the back cover... - By: Angel Silver, 24 Feb 2008 
In Pole to Pole we join Michael Palm on the second of his epic challenges. Travelling from the North Pole to the South Polein a comic race against time, he experiences every extreme the globe has to offer. As he crosses 16 countries by train, truck, raft, Ski-Doo, barge, balloon & bicycle, he meets a diverse range of fascinating characters & landscapes while his own endurance is tested to the limit. With his customary aplomb, he plunges himself into the local cultures, starringin a crayfish documentaryin Novgorod attending a baby-rolling ceremony at a Cypriot wedding, camel-shoppingin Khartoum, & consulting an Mpulugu witch-doctor, who prescribes tree bark to remove his evil shadow. He enthusiastically samples the local cuisines, from goat stewin Kigoma to seal lasagnein Tromsø as well as taking partin the local customs: beating himself with birch twigsin a Finnish sauna & enjoying a mud massagein Odessa. His incredible journey is a delight for anyone interestedin the many different cultures of our wonderful world.
A completly delightful read. - By: F. Franklin, 07 Oct 2007 This is the first Michael Palin book I've read, so i can't compare itin quality to any of the others, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, much more than I expected toin fact. It can take a little while to get used to Palin's style, as he constantly switches from a detailed narration to a note book shorthand, but once you've acclimatised you quickly realize he is a very competent writer. With a broad yet never verbose vocabulary he paints vivid pictures of the lands he passes through whilst at the same time making many & varied observations about the people & cultures he encounters. It was like having a constant traveling companion & by the end you can't help but feel a great deal of affection not just for Palin, but for the whole team.
I would say one of the books greatest virtues is that you can either read it a few days at a time (the book is divided into days instead of chapters, each a few pages long), or (as I did later on) you can read for hours without getting board. The pictures of the very talented basil are a constant & illuminating delight, yet the book is never so flooded with them that they feel like they are taking over form the writing, they fele more like a garnish than a marinade.
Allin all, I highly recommend it.
Fantastic - By: C. J. O'bryan, 30 Sep 2006 This is tied top of my favourite Palin books along with Full Circle. It was very funny & i love finding out about parts of the world you just never hear about it's just such an interesting book. My favourite part is the Africa leg, from top to bottom, with many obstacles along the way. Briliant book.
Takes Pole Position. - By: Dave Stewart, 19 Jul 2006 'Pole To Pole' is yet another fantastic documentary from Michael Palin & an excellent follow-up to 'Around The World In 80 Days.' It appeared at first difficult to see how a sequel would work, after the first '80 Days' series, but with his now well known format, Palin carved another enjoyable adventure out of what already seemed a difficult journey.
'Pole To Pole' does not have the same sense of deadline or urgency as '80 Days', but this is entirely self-explanatory, since the former was set around the travels of fictional Verne adventurer Fogg, who didin the book travel the worldin that specific time. This time round, Palin does have the opportunity to spend more time on the places he thinks would be of most interest to the viewer, & the partsin Africa are especially captivating. Filmed during the famine & millitary oppression that still haunts Africa to this day, it is a clear & at some times brutal account of lifein poverty stricken Africa.
This journey takes quite some time longer to complete than '80 Days' which is not surprising since they chose to follow the thirty degree longitude linein order to cover the most amount of land; & there is a great dealin this DVD. It was recordedin 1991, a year that saw a lot of change across the world, from Russia to Africa, & Palin brushes with this change & its effects on the people with his usual light hearted humour & optimism.
North Pole to South Pole via Africa - By: Rennie Petersen, 23 Jan 2006 This review is based on watching the DVD version of "Pole to Pole", the BBC TV program madein 1991 that showed Michael Palin traveling from the North Pole to the South Pole.
The trip was based on several self-imposed rules. The use of aircraft was only allowed when surface travel was not possible, & public transportation was used as much as possible. The trip attempted to follow the 30 degree east longitude line, down through Scandinavia, the then-existing USSR, Turkey & all the way down through the continent of Africa.
The trip took five months & was quite arduous at times. Transportation was almost non-existentin central Africa, parts of Africa had to be avoided due to civil war & Michael Palin was hit by several health problems including two cracked ribs.
The wonderful thing about Michael Palin's travelogues is the enthusiasm, wit & charm that Mr. Palin shows. There are many impromptu encounters with the local people that are humorous & interesting. And, of course, there's the beautiful photography showing the stunning nature that was found along the way.
On the down side it was depressing to see the poverty & hints of political repression & social unrestin parts of Africa. The AIDS epidemicin Africa was also mentioned, & Michael Palin visited an evacuated village near Chernobyl.
This trip was madein 1991 & already when the trip was over world history had changed the landscape,in that the USSR completely unraveled shortly after Michael Palin traveled through it. The years that have passed since 1991 can be noticedin other ways too. For example, the situationin most of Africa has unfortunately gotten worse rather than better. And Antarctica, almost completely inaccessiblein 1991, now has a tourist trade with 23,000 landed tourists during the 2004-2005 season!
The DVD version of this trip consists of three discs. These contain eight 50-minute episodes (total of six hours 40 minutes) and, as extra material, a 30-minute interview with Michael Palin. I found the interview to be very interesting & am glad that it was included.
Highly recommended, as is the book version of this trip & all of Michael Palin's other trips, bothin DVD version & as books.
Rennie Petersen
