Michael Palin – författare

ALSO AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW: MICHAEL PALIN IN THE PHILIPPINES - COMING SEPTEMBER 2026.---------The extraordinary new book from the bestselling author, a richly illustrated travel adventure across the African nation.Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and brimming with wry humour and fascinating insights, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.---------With his eightieth birthday looming, it crossed Michael Palin’s mind that now might be the time to hang up his boots, to lounge about at home, to take things easy. Then the opportunity to visit Africa’s most populous nation arose. A few weeks later, he was at Lagos airport, camera crew in town.In the journal he kept during his trip he gives a vivid account of the towns and cities he visited, the landscapes he travelled through, and the people he met: from vibrant but chaotic Lagos, to seemingly deserted streets of Nigeria’s hyper-modern capital, Abuja, to the polluted oil fields of the Niger Delta. Michael Palin is welcomed as an honoured guest by a powerful emir and harangued by a passerby in Benin City. He hears the testimony of a kidnap victim of the terrorist group Boko Haram and experiences the collective spiritual ecstasy of one of Nigeria’s mega churches.And throughout his trip, he experiences at first hand the contradictions of a country that has so much natural wealth and human talent and yet simultaneously grapples with corruption, religious strife and deep inequality._______Praise for Michael Palin:'I cannot remember the last time I read a book so immediately absorbing and affecting.' Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything‘Stirring’ Daily Telegraph'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2‘Tremendous’ Guardian'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' Lorraine Kelly, ITV Lorraine‘Magisterial’ The Times‘[a] winning mix of genuine interest, good-humoured charm and that deceptively steely nose for humbug’ Wanderlust‘ [An] absorbing and beautifully illustrated day-by-day account’ Daily Mirror

_______________THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: the remarkable true story of the exploration ship featured in The Terror In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, HMS Erebus undertook two of the most ambitious naval expeditions of all time.On the first, she ventured further south than any human had ever been. On the second, she vanished with her 129-strong crew in the wastes of the Canadian Arctic, along with the HMS Terror.Her fate remained a mystery for over 160 years.Then, in 2014, she was found.This is her story._______________Now available: Michael Palin's Travel Journals: North Korea Journal, Into Iraq, and In Venezuela. Coming soon: Michael Palin in Nigeria_______________A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'Beyond terrific . . . I didn't want it to end.' Bill Bryson'Illuminated by flashes of gentle wit . . . It's a fascinating story that [Palin] brings full-bloodedly to life.' Guardian 'This is an incredible book . . . The Erebus story is the Arctic epic we've all been waiting for.' Nicholas Crane'Thoroughly absorbs the reader. . . Carefully researched and well-crafted, it brings the story of a ship vividly to life.' Sunday Times'A great story . . . Told in a very relaxed and sometimes - as you might expect - very funny Palin style.' David Baddiel, Daily Mail'Magisterial . . . Brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people since the 1840s.' The Times

This is the definitive, the official, the most lavish, the completely-different-to-anything-done-before Pythons' autobiography, reissued to coincide with the eagerly-anticipated live shows.Over forty years ago, a group of five Englishmen - and one wayward American - rewrote the rules of comedy. MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS, an unheralded, previously unseen half-hour show of sketches, hilarities, inanities and animations, first appeared on the BBC late one night in 1969. Its impact has been felt on the world ever since. From its humble beginnings, it blossomed into the most influential movement in modern comedy. THE PYTHONS' AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY THE PYTHONS is a unique look at arguably the most important comic team of the modern age, with 64 pages of photographs, many culled from the team's own personal collections, many more seen for the first time. This is the definitive word on all things Pythonesque.

Michael Palin's first stage play premiered in the West End in 1994 Faced with a family gathering, world-weary Stephen Febble does his best to be difficult. When his daughter, her dreary husband Alan, their precocious child and - not least - the dog come to stay for the weekend it's enough to make him reach for the whisky, and for the sarcasm. The climax arrives on Saturday night when his patient wife Virginia has laid on a dinner party and the chiropodist comes too. In his first stage play, The Weekend, Michael Palin takes a look at family values with black humour.

Martin Sproale is a mild, conventional assistant postmaster living in a small English coastal town, the only exceptional thing about him being his obsession with Ernest Hemingway. This is confined harmlessly enough to an encyclopaedic knowledge of everything about the man and to living in a room surrounded by Hemingway memorabilia. But when an ambitious young outsider, Nick Marshall, is appointed postmaster over Martin and starts to transform the friendly local post office for privatization and the high-tech challenges of the 21st century, Martin is faced with a choice--to go along with the drastic changes, or to be like his hero and fight for what he believes in. Egged on by an American scholar, Ruth Kohler, who is living nearby while completing a book in Hemingway, Martin allows his obsession to take over more and more of his life, culminating in a final, reckless act of revenge against the ruthless modernizers.

Is the truth really what we make it?From the inimitable Michael Palin, a warm and intelligent novel about good intentions and human frailty.'A feel-good story leaving the reader on a real high' OBSERVERKeith Mabbut has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime - to pen the biography of the elusive Hamish Melville, a highly influential activist and humanitarian. Feeling that his life has reached a crossroad, he seizes the chance to write something meaningful.His search to find out the real story behind the legend takes Mabbut to the lush landscapes and environmental hotspots of India. The more he discovers about Melville, the more he admires him - and the more he connects with an idealist who wanted to make a difference. But is his quarry really who he claims to be? As Keith discovers, the truth can be whatever we make it...'THE TRUTH is the perfect example of [Palin's] literary brilliance' STYLIST'An ingeniously plotted book, beautifully written and hugely enjoyable' DAILY TELEGRAPH

________________'This anthology will help turn your intellectual understanding of oppression into an emotional one' - New Statesman'Thanks for being who you are and for giving us such exposure to wonderful people. Palestine is proud of you' - Suad Amiry________________The Palestine Festival of Literature was established in 2008. Bringing together writers from all corners of the globe, it aims to help Palestinians break the cultural siege imposed by the Israeli military occupation, to strengthen their artistic links with the rest of the world, and to reaffirm, in the words of Edward Said, ‘the power of culture over the culture of power’.Celebrating the tenth anniversary of PalFest, This Is Not a Border is a collection of essays, poems and stories from some of the world’s most distinguished artists, responding to their experiences at this unique festival. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, their gathered work is a testament to the power of literature to promote solidarity and courage in the most desperate of situations.Contributors: Susan Abulhawa, Suad Amiry, Victoria Brittain, Jehan Bseiso, Teju Cole, Molly Crabapple, Selma Dabbagh, Mahmoud Darwish, Najwan Darwish, Geoff Dyer, Yasmin El-Rifae, Adam Foulds, Ru Freeman, Omar Robert Hamilton, Suheir Hammad, Nathalie Handal, Mohammed Hanif, Jeremy Harding, Rachel Holmes, John Horner, Remi Kanazi, Brigid Keenan, Mercedes Kemp, Omar El-Khairy, Nancy Kricorian, Sabrina Mahfouz, Jamal Mahjoub, Henning Mankell, Claire Messud, China Miéville, Pankaj Mishra, Deborah Moggach, Muiz, Maath Musleh, Michael Palin, Ed Pavlic, Atef Abu Saif, Kamila Shamsie, Raja Shehadeh, Gillian Slovo, Ahdaf Soueif, Linda Spalding, Will Sutcliffe, Alice WalkerWith messages from China Achebe, Michael Ondaatje and J. M. Coetzee________________'Every literary act, whether it is a great epic poem or an honest piece of journalism or a simple nonsense tale for children is a blow against the forces of stupidity and ignorance and darkness … The Palestine Festival of Literature exists to do just that – and I salute it for its work. Not only this year but for as long as it is necessary' - Philip Pullman

THE FOURTH VOLUME OF MICHAEL PALIN'S BESTSELLING DIARIESA new millennium, and a new chapter for Michael Palin unfolds. With a Hemingway travel project testing his confidence, doubts creeping in about his abilities as a writer, the death of his great friend George Harrison and the last of his children leaving home, the dawn of the twenty-first century sees Michael at his most reflective yet.  Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy that have endeared him to millions of fans over the decades, Michael documents the day-to-day detail of living in a world buffeted by such powerful winds of change. Amidst this turbulence, one thing remains constant: Michael's irrepressible curiosity and thirst for adventure. These diaries follow his life as he comes and goes through the filming of four blockbuster travel documentaries - Hemingway Adventure, Sahara, Himalaya and New Europe - and reaches the peak of his fame as a beloved TV traveller. And five years on from the last of his children flying the nest, Michael embarks on his greatest adventure yet: becoming a besotted grandfather. There and Back is a new window into the world of Michael Palin, one that reveals more than ever the strength and succour he draws from those constant supporting structures in his life: his family, his friendships and, of course, the Pythons.

THE FOURTH VOLUME OF MICHAEL PALIN'S BESTSELLING DIARIESA new millennium, and a new chapter for Michael Palin unfolds. With a Hemingway travel project testing his confidence, doubts creeping in about his abilities as a writer, the death of his great friend George Harrison and the last of his children leaving home, the dawn of the twenty-first century sees Michael at his most reflective yet.  Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy that have endeared him to millions of fans over the decades, Michael documents the day-to-day detail of living in a world buffeted by such powerful winds of change. Amidst this turbulence, one thing remains constant: Michael's irrepressible curiosity and thirst for adventure. These diaries follow his life as he comes and goes through the filming of four blockbuster travel documentaries - Hemingway Adventure, Sahara, Himalaya and New Europe - and reaches the peak of his fame as a beloved TV traveller. And five years on from the last of his children flying the nest, Michael embarks on his greatest adventure yet: becoming a besotted grandfather. There and Back is a new window into the world of Michael Palin, one that reveals more than ever the strength and succour he draws from those constant supporting structures in his life: his family, his friendships and, of course, the Pythons.

'A social history of Britain spanning four decades, told with unflagging empathy and wit ' Jonathan Coe, ObserverTHE FOURTH VOLUME OF MICHAEL PALIN'S BESTSELLING DIARIESThere 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.

'The Sahara embodies scale and mystery, the thin line between survival and destruction, the power to take life or to transform it . . .'Of all Michael Palin's epic voyages, this may be his greatest ever challenge: crossing the vast and unforgiving Sahara Desert. From the westernmost point of Senegal to Libya's Mediterranean beaches, Sahara is a journey full of beauty, excitement, danger - and plenty of camel stew.

'A battleground of immense geological forces that is a centre of human tectonics as well, with sacred and secular, tradition and technology, all pushing up against each other . . .'In Himalaya, Michael Palin travels the length of the world's most astonishing mountain range from its origins in the Khyber Pass to its final descent to the sea in the Bay of Bengal. Along the way he encounters landscapes both beautiful and deadly - and meets the extraordinary people who make these mountains their home.

'For most of my lifetime, half of my own continent had been chilled by a Cold War and concealed behind an Iron Curtain. Now there was the prospect of being able to travel through once-forbidden lands; of making a voyage of discovery on my very own doorstep . . .'In New Europe, Michael Palin embarks on a very different kind of adventure: a journey around the Europe he has never known. Along the way he meets Romanian lumberjacks, celebrates the summer solstice in Latvia and takes in some traditional olive oil wrestling in Turkey. This is an unmissable odyssey through twenty different countries from one of our most beloved travel writers.

'The reason why the 80-day journey retains its appeal is that it is still the minimum time needed to go round the world and notice it. To see it, smell it and touch it at the same time . . .'More than a century on from Phileas Fogg's fictional adventure around the world, Michael Palin sets out from the Reform Club to complete the route for himself. The rules are simple, but the rest of the journey will be far from straightforward. Around the World in Eighty Days takes us on a rollicking trip across the globe in the company of one of our finest travel writers. From train to ship to hot air balloon, this is an unparalleled tribute to man's ability to make life difficult for himself . . .

'Once a traveller, always a traveller, and as long as there were maps and guide books and airline schedules I was still fatally susceptible to the lure of the open road . . .'Brazil: a growing global superpower, the size of half a continent, home to some of the world's most astonishing natural habitats. But despite having journeyed around the world and from pole to pole, Michael Palin had never explored this extraordinary country for himself. Here, he sets out to discover this vast and diverse nation in the adventure of a lifetime. Taking in shanty towns and waterfalls, pristine beaches and bustling cities, Brazil is the record of a journey of dazzling extremes.

'It was a journey of dazzling extremes. Beauty and ugliness, sophistication and squalor, unceasing urban noise and monastic tranquillity . . . This is a record of a year of wonder'Full Circle is the diary of Michael Palin's epic 245-day, 50,000-mile adventure around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. It's a journey that takes him through eighteen different countries - including some of the most politically volatile and physically demanding places on Earth. Told with Michael's trademark warmth and good humour, this is a spectacular story of high contrasts, intense drama and unmissable beauty.

'Home seems impossibly far away as we step out onto a rough base of ice and snow. The temperature is -25°C. This is considered warm . . .'Michael Palin's journey from North to South Pole sees him tackling Arctic ice floes, scaling Sudanese sand dunes and white-water rafting on the Zambezi. Pole to Pole chronicles this awe-inspiring overland adventure by train, truck, bike and Ski-Doo as Michael races against time to finally stand in Scott's shoes in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

'Hemingway's world was close and uncomfortable and itchy and sweaty and frequently exhausting . . . This stuff was too good to be wasted on school exams. I must be bold and fearless and go out there and do it myself'Join Michael Palin as he journeys from the forests of North Michigan to the bars of Cuba in a quest to unravel some of the myths of Ernest Hemingway's life. Along the way he encounters the running of the bulls in Pamplona, stands at the site of Hemingway's plane crash in Uganda and feels the rush of marlin fishing on the Gulf Stream in this wonderful blend of pilgrimage and adventure.

The funny, warm and moving diaries of a man at the centre of one of the world's most influential comedy troupes.Michael Palin's diaries begin when he was newly married and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of television comedy. But Monty Python was just around the corner . . . This engaging volume is a window into the world of Monty Python, from the group's early cult success to the global superstardom that followed. Amongst tales from the making of THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN are stories of the three-day week and the various trials of a peripatetic life, told with Michael's trademark warmth and good humour.

The second volume of diaries from one of Britain's best-loved national treasures. After a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, The Pythons made their last performance together in 1983 in the hugely successful MONTY PYTHON'S MEANING OF LIFE. Writing and acting in films and television then took over much of Michael Palin's life, culminating in the smash hit A FISH CALLED WANDA (for which he won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor), and the first of his celebrated television journeys for the BBC. He co-produced, wrote and played the lead in THE MISSIONARY opposite Maggie Smith, who also appeared with him in A PRIVATE FUNCTION, written by Alan Bennett. Such was Michael's fame in the US that he was enticed into once again hosting Saturday Night Live (with his mother making a highly successful surprise guest appearance). Over the course of these diaries he films several more journeys for television and becomes chairman of the pressure group Transport 2000. His family remains a constant as his and Helen's children enter their teens.

A rollercoaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of humour, curiosity and a sense of adventure. Michael Palin was not the BBC's first choice for the travel series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, but after its success, the public naturally wanted more. Palin, however, had other plans. There was his film AMERICAN FRIENDS, a role in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama GBH, the staging of his West End play THE WEEKEND, a first novel, HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR, and a lead role in FIERCE CREATURES. This third volume of Michael's diaries delves further into his richly varied career, including the two further travel series he recorded for the BBC in the 1990s - POLE TO POLE and FULL CIRCLE - and the bestselling books he wrote to accompany their release. The story of these ten years lived in different directions yields up riches on every page.

COMING 28TH MAY: The new travel journal Michael Palin In NigeriaALSO AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW: MICHAEL PALIN IN THE PHILIPPINES - COMING SEPTEMBER 2026.______In March 2022, Michael Palin travelled the length of the River Tigris through Iraq to get a sense of what life is like in a region of the world that once formed the cradle of civilisation, but that in recent times has witnessed turmoil and appalling bloodshed. In the journal he kept during his trip he describes the war-ravaged city of Mosul and the children he encounters growing up amid its ruins. He contemplates the graffiti-strewn ruins of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, and he notes the constant presence of armed guards. But there are patches of light amid the dark: boisterous New Year celebrations in Akre, the friendliness of generals and colonels at 'Checkpoint Cheerful', and public poetry readings in Baghdad. People getting on with their lives.

In February 2025, Michael Palin travelled to Venezuela to get a sense of what life is like in one of South America's most culturally rich, vibrant but also troubled nations. In the journal he kept during his trip he gives a vivid account of the towns and cities he visited, the landscapes he travelled through, and the people he met.Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and permeated with his warmth and humour, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.

The extraordinary new book from the bestselling author, a richly illustrated travel adventure across the island nation.Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and brimming with wry humour and fascinating insights, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.---------Michael Palin’s latest adventure sees him exploring one of the most fascinatingly complex and contradictory countries on earth: the Philippines. It’s a popular tourist destination, but also a place of extreme poverty for many. It’s a nation where religious beliefs are strongly held and divorce is illegal, but where political unrest and violence regularly mar everyday life. And, of course, it’s a country still dominated by the legacy of the Marcos family, not least the infamous husband and wife team of Ferdinand and Imelda, whose 21-year rule was dominated by scandal and allegations of corruption.In the course of Michael’s epic journey he gets to see the Philippines archipelago in all its beauty, variety and many paradoxes. He meets some of the warmest and friendliest people he has ever encountered. And at the very end, he finds himself as close to the Marcos family as it’s possible to get – in a meeting that he never thought possible._______Praise for Michael Palin:'I cannot remember the last time I read a book so immediately absorbing and affecting.' Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything‘Stirring’ Daily Telegraph'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2‘Tremendous’ Guardian'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' Lorraine Kelly, ITV Lorraine‘Magisterial’ The Times‘[a] winning mix of genuine interest, good-humoured charm and that deceptively steely nose for humbug’ Wanderlust‘ [An] absorbing and beautifully illustrated day-by-day account’ Daily Mirror

COMING 28TH MAY: The new travel journal Michael Palin In NigeriaALSO AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW: MICHAEL PALIN IN THE PHILIPPINES - COMING SEPTEMBER 2026.THE BOOK BEHIND THE HIT DOCUMENTARYA glimpse of life inside the world’s most secretive country, as told by Britain’s best-loved travel writer.In May 2018, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin spent two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations. His resulting documentary for Channel 5 was widely acclaimed.Now he shares his day-by-day diary of his visit, in which he describes not only what he saw – and his fleeting views of what the authorities didn’t want him to see – but recounts the conversations he had with the country’s inhabitants, talks candidly about his encounters with officialdom, and records his musings about a land wholly unlike any other he has ever visited – one that inspires fascination and fear in equal measure.Written with Palin’s trademark warmth and wit, and illustrated with beautiful colour photographs throughout, the journal offers a rare insight into the North Korea behind the headlines.

Discover Michael's new travel adventure, Michael Palin in Venezuela, available now.'I cannot remember the last time I read a book so immediately absorbing and affecting. Michael Palin has never been better – which is, of course, saying a great deal.' BILL BRYSON___________________________________From the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, he was determined to find out more about him.The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him.Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest.___________________________________________PRAISE FOR EREBUS:'Beyond terrific. I didn't want it to end.' BILL BRYSON'Magisterial . . . Palin brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people.' THE TIMES'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' CHRIS EVANS'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' LORRAINE KELLY