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Michael Palin

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Himalaya Hardcover – January 1, 2004

by Michael PALIN (Author)

4.5 386 ratings

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In this his most challenging journey, Michael Palin tackles the Himalaya, the greatest mountain range on earth, a virtually unbroken wall of rock stretching 1800 miles from the borders of Afghanistan to south-west China. Penetrated but never conquered, it remains the world's most majestic natural barrier, a magnificent wilderness that shapes the history and politics of Asia to this day. Having risen to the challenge of seas, poles, dhows and deserts, the highest mountains in the world were a natural target for Michael Palin. In a journey rarely, if ever, attempted before, in 6 months of hard travelling Palin takes on the full length of the Himalaya including the Khyber Pass, the hidden valleys of the Hindu Kush, ancient cities like Peshawar and Lahore, the mighty peaks of K2, Annapurna and Everest, the bleak and barren plateau of Tibet, the gorges of the Yangtze, the tribal lands of the Indo-Burmese border and the vast Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. Facing altitudes as high as 17,500 feet as well as some of the world's deepest gorges, Palin also passed through political flashpoints like Pakistan's remote north-west frontier, terrorist-torn Kashmir and the mountains of Nagaland, only recently open to visitors. They had a brush with the Maoists while filming in Nepal and advice from the Dalai Lama before crossing into Tibet. This book, compiled from his diaries, records the pleasure and pain of an extraordinary journey. Basil Pao, the inspired photographer of SAHARA, FULL CIRCLE and POLE TO POLE, captures the sensational beauty of the finest mountain scenery in the world. This is adventure at the very highest level.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publication date

January 1, 2004
Dimensions

7.68 x 1.06 x 10.87 inches
ISBN-10

0297843710
ISBN-13

978-0297843719
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Weidenfeld & Nicolson; 1st ed edition (January 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0297843710
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0297843719
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.54 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.68 x 1.06 x 10.87 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,684,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #952 in General Asia Travel Books

Customer Reviews:
4.5 386 ratings

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Michael Palin

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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, novels (Hemingway’s Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries. 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.

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4.5 out of 5

386 global ratings

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Rachel

I loved it!

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2011

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What great fun this book is. He has a light touch, using language prettily without laying it on too thick. He gives you glimpses of here and there, conversations with plain folks, descriptions of the little things he sees, maybe with an emphasis on the silly and ironic. Most of the humor is directed at himself, though.

He's not a judgmental traveler (although some food-related preferences are noticeable); he stays well away from assuming he knows what's good or bad about a place and instead just talks about what he finds. I like this. His impression of Srinagar would be a great example.

Oddly the writing for the book seems better rounded and more sensible than the narration for the Himalaya series. Maybe it's a function of the final format of the video part of the project. I'm glad I read the book in addition to watching; I got more out of the series this way and never felt like the book was solely repetitive of anything I saw.

Kim was one of my favorite books as a child. The Himalaya series happens to illuminate many of the places I read about in that novel, so it was fun for me in that respect too.

4 people found this helpful

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Timothy A. Legare

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2014

Good book.

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2021

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Michael Palin does a great job describing the sights he’s seeing as well as the people he meets. Informative but fun!

One person found this helpful

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Jim Moore

Great read!

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013

Verified Purchase

Michael Palin (and editors, etc.) provided me a great read, some lovely photographs, and an entertaining armchair trip thru the coutries "containing" (if any country can indeed "contain" such a physical bodiment, much like the Sahara, the Amazon, and so on) the Himalayas; with the highlands and lowlands, hamlets, small villages, huge cities, religions, and most important (as Palin points out at the end of the book) - the people in these countries. You'll learn about history, and people, religion today and yesterday... and of multitudes' and individuals' achievements. For instance: I never knew it was possible to sleep on Mt. Everest. Learn something new everyday.

2 people found this helpful

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Companion book to the DVD series...

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is the third time I've purchased this book as people keep "borrowing" it and I never get it back. Well-written, hugely funny and lots of excellent photos. This is a great companion to Michael Palin's HIMALAYA DVD series, which I also have a do not let anyone borrow.

2 people found this helpful

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Deborah Ash

The book is wonderful and just what I expected

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2014

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The book is wonderful and just what I expected. However, the shipping was very disappointing. This is a relatively heavy book and was shipped in a plastic mailer. The corners of the book are crushed and I suspect, judging from the quality of the rest of the book, this was not the case before it was shipped. Disappointing.

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Paul Lawrence

Interesting places with a familiar guide

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2016

Spread over six CD's this collection of discs features Michael Palin reading his book about his Himalaya adventure. Now presumably most of the people looking at buying this are familiar with the TV series that begat both book and CD collection. So you are already familiar with the basic premise of the material right? That being that Palin and his trusty companions travelled across the Himalaya mountain range from west to east, starting in Pakistan and then moving across into India, Nepal and China, Bhutan and thence through India again and lastly into Bangladesh. As such the tale is different to innumerable mountain climbing stories as it focusses on the peoples and countries that are spread along this most impressive of mountain ranges.

As noted, this adventure passed through a range of disparate nations and through a range of rather... testing ...places. Pakistan in general and then into Kashmir, brushes with Maoists in Nepal and the politically fractious Bangladesh are all on the menu. Not to mention the sheer physical challenges such as the cold, the remoteness of some of the locations and the issue of altitude sickness. This audio book takes the reader through it all and in fact while it obviously loses in relation to the visual DVD of the series this format allows a little extra detail in some other areas. This is a boon for those familiar with the DVD's as they'll feel as if they are getting a little bonus material.

Production values here are ... well it's just the guy talking so it's hardly the latest opus of an orchestra. But everything is crystal clear. The booklet consists of basically nothing which is in keeping with the other Palin audiobooks though perhaps a touch disappointing. The packaging of these multi-disc collections can be fragile but this one seemed OK.

Ultimately you'd need a pretty strong constitution to sit through the whole six CD's in one sitting but for those who spend hours in planes, trains and automobiles then this is a pretty handy way of entertaining yourself. I'd recommend other Palin audiobooks and a playlist of them in your I-pod can be a handy escape for when the work-a-day gets you down.

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Me

No mountain visiting for me

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018

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A really old world place and dangerous
Not planning a trip there anytime in the future

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Travels by Michael Palin

Reviewed in Canada on November 5, 2017

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I have enjoyed all travel books by Michael Palin that I have read, and this was no exception. It gave such a good idea of the people and the geography of these Himalayan countries, including the challenges of travelling and trekking in mountainous country, and the pleasures from the magnificent views and the interactions with the people. It was the next best thing to actually being there myself.
This was a second hand book but in very good condition and came very quickly so I was able to read it while flying to a meeting.

Mark Gannon

Another excellent read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

After reading four books on travel by Michael Palin, you would think I would be getting tired of him and his adventures, but no. I thoroughly enjoyed this, the fifth book I have read by Michael. Full of his trademark humor, detailed observations and a zest for travel, one would not think that Mr. Palin was sixty when he set out on this journey. From the political and religious life of Pakistan, to meeting the Dali Lama, to Everest Base Camp, to traveling through China and ending up on the Bay of Bengal, there were times I regretted that other obligations got in the way of enjoying this book.

I have noted that other reviewers have, um, maybe not complained about how Michael and co took a few months off during filming, but have noted it. Really, there really is no way to tell that they left their journey while reading the book. This is only known is that Michael admits it at the very start of the book. The writing style does not hint at any sort of interruption. Frankly, given that some of the crew fell to altitude sickness, it is no wonder that some time off was taken.

Five stars for a great read.

3 people found this helpful

Gertraut Seib

relived travels...

Reviewed in Germany on August 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

I own quite a lot of Michael Palins' Travel Books and I love them all. You learn so much about countries, accomodations, transport, etc. when you read them and I love his style, especially the British dry humour he has, First I bought this book for my son and then I decided that I would need a copy of my own... :-)

Mr. Tapan K. Pal

A BEAUTIFUL HANDBOOK FOR ANY TRAVELER HIKERS AND READER OF SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDENTS

Reviewed in India on December 19, 2013

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ENTHRALLING, EXCITING, INTERESTING, ADVENTUREOUS , INFORMATIVE NARRATIONS, WITH CREATIVITY ART IN TRAVEL, MOST OF ALL HOW PRIVILEGE ONE CAN BE TO MEET ANOTHER PERSON WITH ANOTHER CULTURE COUNTRY LIFE STYLE AND OTHER GIFTS IN LIFE . ITS THE SHEER TRAVELLING ACROSS THE LANDS SEA AND PASTURES KNOWING MEETING FEELING HUMANITY AT VARIOUS PLACES ON THIS EARTH
OUTSTANDING IN ITS NARRATION, INFORMATIONS COLLECTED AS REAL AND DESCRIPTIVE, WONDERFUL LITERARY WITH UNEDITED FACTS OF LIFE AND EMOTIONS ATTACHED TO THEM , KNOWING PEOPLE AS PERSON DESPITE STATUS ATTACHED TO ANY PERSON.
KNOWING HOW BEAUTIFUL OUR EARTH IS OUR SOCIETY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE GLOBE SEEKS FOR HUMANITY IN THE SAME WAY

2 people found this helpful

Lorna White

Amazing experience.

Reviewed in Australia on September 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

A breath taking experience !
Amazing experience .

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