Written by the ex-Python, this book is the story of his journey through the surprisingly varied and liitle known countries that surround the well known Sahara Desert.
Based on the TV series of the same name this book takes us through such countries as Libya, Mali and Mauretania. It also ... Read review
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive in Sahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surrea...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive inSahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surreal...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive in Sahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surrea...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive inSahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surreal...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive in Sahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surrea...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Though famous as a geographical location, the life, landscape and history of the Sahara ... more
are not so well-known. The emphasis of Michael Palin's latest journey is on his interaction with those he meets; periods of difficult travel are repaid with the magical appeal of the desert's sights and sounds.
Michael Palin continues his series of epic journeys, this time crossing the Sahara - an ... more
environment as alien and hostile as any on earth. But, instead of emptiness, the Sahara reveals a vast range of peoples, cultures and landscapes with a rich and unique history.The journey begins in Morocco, where Michael must traverse nature's gateway to the Sahara - the beautiful Atlas mountains. Slowly, the mountains give way to the arid Sahara and its thousands of miles of sand, stone, ferocious winds and vast storms that sting the face and blind the eyes.From the disrupted territory of Western Sahara, through Mauritania on a two kilometre long iron ore train, he makes for Senegal and its old French colonial towns. After paying a visit to Goree Island, from where millions of slaves were sold and sent on to Europe and America, it's on to Mali and a chance to meet the Dogon - people with a view of the world so unique that it can be tricky to grasp, especially when eating lunch in midday temperatures of 134F.In preference to a three month wait for the ferry to Timbuktu, a local cargo boat becomes home for the journey up the Niger River. From the Niger, Michael heads north over the Hoggar Mountains through the rich gas and oil fields of Algeria and on into Libya, where we have the rare chance to experience a culture long closed to outsiders. His final stop is Tunisia, a country familiar to Michael having been the location for Monty Python's The Life of Brian.
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive in Sahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surrealistic, sardonic humour that is the legacy of his Monty Python days. All these characteristics combined to create the perfect host for the ambitious travel programmes with which he's latterly been associated. The shows (and the handsome companion books that invariably accompany them) avoid the sometimes over-serious approach of other presenters and show us some very exotic parts of the world filtered through Palin's very idiosyncratic vision. Audiences and readers can't get enough. Sahara gives us the latest of his epic voyages, and this one possibly represents the most arduous challenge of his career: across the massive and unforgiving Sahara desert. In this beautifully produced volume (studded with some eye-catching colour photographs), we are taken on a unique journey, as Palin reveals the Sahara to us as something considerably more than endless sand dunes. Facet by facet, Michael Palin uncovers a colourful and eccentric panoply of cultures, with chequered histories that stretch back to the dawn of time. Beginning (and ending) in Gibraltar, we are taken from the fabled realms of the ancient Egyptians to the Islamic republics of the present day, as Palin conjures up a journey that alternates between gallows humour and often considerable discomfort. Most of us will never experience the teeming nightlife of Dakar or travel down the river Niger to the fabled city of Timbuktu. But Palin has done it for us, and this book (with or without the accompanying TV series) is a highly enjoyable way to relive that journey with him. --Barry Forshaw
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Michael Palin's personality is a combination of some very disparate elements, many of them ... more
displayed at their most attractive in Sahara. There's the friendly, avuncular manner; the easy-going charm that women find so attractive; and that vein of surrealistic, sardonic humour that is the legacy of his Monty Python days. All these characteristics combined to create the perfect host for the ambitious travel programmes with which he's latterly been associated. The shows (and the handsome companion books that invariably accompany them) avoid the sometimes over-serious approach of other presenters and show us some very exotic parts of the world filtered through Palin's very idiosyncratic vision. Audiences and readers can't get enough. Sahara gives us the latest of his epic voyages, and this one possibly represents the most arduous challenge of his career: across the massive and unforgiving Sahara desert. In this beautifully produced volume (studded with some eye-catching colour photographs), we are taken on a unique journey, as Palin reveals the Sahara to us as something considerably more than endless sand dunes. Facet by facet, Michael Palin uncovers a colourful and eccentric panoply of cultures, with chequered histories that stretch back to the dawn of time. Beginning (and ending) in Gibraltar, we are taken from the fabled realms of the ancient Egyptians to the Islamic republics of the present day, as Palin conjures up a journey that alternates between gallows humour and often considerable discomfort. Most of us will never experience the teeming nightlife of Dakar or travel down the river Niger to the fabled city of Timbuktu. But Palin has done it for us, and this book (with or without the accompanying TV series) is a highly enjoyable way to relive that journey with him. --Barry Forshaw
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Well written, great photographs Disadvantages: none
...that surround the well known Sahara Desert.
Based on the TV series of the same name this book takes us through such countries as Libya, Mali and Mauretania. It also encapsulates the spirit of the early explorer as Palin reads from Mungo Park as he sails along the mysterious Niger.
He visits Timbuktu and revels in the colonial splendour of this mysterious region. Highlights include an encounter with an musket wielding ... ...a town where the buildings are made almost entirely out of mud.
This wonderful book explores a region of the world that very few people ever consider visiting. Palin is, as usual, an enthusiastic and funny guide. The photographs by Basil Pao encapsulate the wonders of this untouched region.
A must read for anyone who didn't see the TV programme, or is planning a visit to the region. The book is available in paperback ... more
Written by the ex-Python, this book is the story of his journey through the surprisingly varied and liitle known countries that surround the well known Sahara Desert.
Based on the TV series of the same name this book takes us through such countries as Libya, Mali and Mauretania. It also encapsulates the spirit of the early explorer as Palin reads from Mungo Park as he sails along the mysterious Niger.
He visits Timbuktu and revels in the colonial splendour of this mysterious region. Highlights include an encounter with an musket wielding hunter, which almost ends Palin's journey, and a visit to a town where the buildings are made almost entirely out of mud.
This wonderful book explores a region of the world that very few people ever consider visiting. Palin is, as usual, an enthusiastic and funny guide. The photographs by Basil Pao encapsulate the wonders of this untouched region.
A must read for anyone who didn't see the TV programme, or is planning a visit to the region. The book is available in paperback for about £7.99 and in hardback for about £16, you can get them at most major bookshops and online.
Sahara is without doubt one of the best and most inspiring of Palins travel series. Palin's often hillarious descriptions of his experiences combined with the harsh realities of not only traveling but living in th deserts makes this book such a great read.
Palin is able to convey the vastness of this inhospitable and lonely desert in such a way it makes you feel you have traveled with him! A hugely enjoyable read and very educational.
I found this ... ...just helps to add a picture to the story. I have read Shara after just completing Pole to Pole and Full Cirlce which are both fantastic reads but I found this one to be the best as it gave such a powerful insight into the lives of people living in one of the most reomote but amazing places on earh. ...
EmBe 14.05.2006
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Advantages: By turns funny, insightful and sad. Disadvantages: None
For those who are not familiar with Monty Python or MichaelPalin, Monty Python were one of the most successful comedy groupings of the late 60s / early 70s on television and went on to make a host of films and records. After this productive time, MichaelPalin went on to such projects as Pole to Pole, Round the World in 80 Days and Sahara. He is now more of an author than a comedian, but this diary charts the beginning of his career.
The other Pythons were John Cleese - also famous for Fawlty Towers, Graham Chapman - a much missed Python, who was described by John Cleese as the best actor of the group, Terry Jones - who shares an interest in comedy with an interest in medieval history - hence his recent series Medieval Lives, Eric Idle - also a great musical talent, who supplied most of Python's songs, and Terry Gilliam - responsible ...
